Getting fit, losing weight, toning up: these are the New Year’s resolution of a lot of people in the UK. But, unlike our Southern Hemisphere cousins, it’s doubly difficult for us, as New Year falls in the middle of winter – not the ideal time to go jogging or swimming or cycling. And not surprisingly many good intentions don’t work out.

So, we've come up with a five point plan to help you keep your new year’s resolutions:

1 Don’t try too much – you don’t want to end up like Steve McCroskey in the classic film Airplane, who gets faced with a bit of stress and says: “Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking.” And “Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.” And “Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.” And “Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit...” etc, etc. Focus on one area and achieve it.

2 Aim low – you want to set goals, but make sure they are achievable. We know that management gurus tell you to reach as high as possible and if you fall short, then you’ve still achieved a lot. But we think that when it comes to getting fit, that can be really depressing. If you say you’re going to lose 2 stone and only lose 1, you’re not going to feel great about yourself. But if you target ½ stone and get there, you’ll have the confidence and motivation to keep going through the year.


3 Tell people what you’re doing – we all hate going for dinner with people who claim to be on a permanent diet, eat only salad and are stick-thin anyway. However, if you’re not one of these people and if you tell people you’re on a “fitness drive”, this sounds more credible than a simple diet, in our opinion. And your friends and family will support you. It may be in an unpleasant to hear “are you sure you need that dessert, fatty”, but trust us, it helps in the long term. Any support you can get is good.

4 Reward yourself – not with a chocolate bar after every workout or 2 pints of bitter, but with a gift to yourself or a weekend away or even a quiet Sunday afternoon reading the papers. As you reach your goals, you’ll be feeling better about yourself anyway, but little gifts will help with that final push. And once you’ve reached a goal and had a reward, that’s the ideal time to set your next targets.

5 Make it as easy as possible – exercising is not always the easiest thing to get motivated for, so it’s vital that you make it simple and comfortable. We may be a bit biased, but we reckon that if you can exercise indoors at home in front of a TV this is the best way. Use a comfortable machine and the 30 minute training sessions will just whiz by.



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