Ciaran Russell

It’s January and that can only mean one thing. New Year New You. But instead of finding that the ‘new you’ has disappeared by the time the 1st February has arrived, I am going to tell you how to create some lasting change in your health and fitness for 2022. The first step is to decide what it is you’re looking to achieve. Imagine we are having a chat over a cup of coffee on 31st December 2022, what has to have happened for you to be happy with your progress? This could be ideal time to write down exactly what your health looks like in 12 months’ time. Now that you know where you want to get to, the next step is assessing where you’re currently at. Naturally this will be different for everyone so here are some things to think about. Look at what your current diet is like; do you eat fruit and vegetables every day? Do you have a takeaway more than once a week? What is your alcohol consumption like? Then assess what you’re physical activity is like. Do you have some sort of exercise regime? That could be playing a sport, going to a gym, walking regularly with friends; anything that keeps you active every day. When you now where both your current diet and exercise are at you can then start to look at what’s in the gap between where you are now to where you want to be at the end of the year. This is where you start to create the process required to get you there, more specifically what do you need to do monthly, weekly and daily in order to reach your end of year goals. This is where regularly checking in with yourself to review your progress is important. This can be done weekly, monthly and quarterly. Some questions to ask before you start; how will you know you are on track in 3 months’ time? What needs to happen for you to have gotten closer to your goals at the end of the month? How will you know you’re on track come the end of this week? And lastly what can you do daily to push yourself forward? Not only is it very useful to create the plan and know what progress you’re making along the way, it’s also important to know what obstacles you may face along the way. Sure you won’t be able to account for every little problem that comes up but by starting to think about what might get in your way, you can actively create a plan to overcome any barriers you may face. Once you’ve taken time to create your strategy for a healthier and fitter you, the next step is to take action and get started. A strategy means nothing if you don’t execute it. What can you do today that will take you a step in the right direction? I want to wish you a happier, healthier and fitter New Year. Thanks for reading. Ciaran.