How did this happen? Suddenly it’s January again, and the “R” word is everywhere you look in the media and it’s all your friends can talk about.
I’ll be honest I’m not a huge fan of “resolutions”. If you want to take action and improve your health or fitness, what’s the point in waiting until January? Take action immediately whatever month it is! However, a lot of people seem to have a spike in motivation to do things in January so let’s embrace this and try and put it to good use shall we?
A lot of resolution articles at this time of year will wheel out the generic “make your goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic, Time based) spiel”, which is all well and good, but I think most people tire of seeing that every year and for some this leaves them with too much work to do in order to make some healthy and positive lifestyle changes.
So I’m bringing you six simple but effective ideas for you to try out this January and beyond to make this year one where you feel healthier and fitter than ever before:
1. Cook 3 new healthy dishes a month
People are creatures of habit and tend to eat the same things day in day out, week after week- whether they are healthy choices or not. If you can experiment and cook 3 new recipes every month across the year you will have tried at least 36 new healthy recipes and no matter how bad your cooking skills are I’m sure some will be ones you keep in your cooking repertoire in the long term.
2. Try a new physical activity/challenge
Take yourself out your comfort zone and try something different. It could be hiking up a mountain (no, Castle Hill doesn’t count if you live in the flatlands of Cambridge!), signing up for your first 5k or trying a new exercise class. We have 9 different classes, including Pilates, BODYPUMP and Ballet Barre, all offering different health benefits. Come and give some of them a go. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy them!
3. Record what exercise you do with as much detail as you can
Whether you’re old school like me and drag a chalky notepad around the gym or you’re actually part of the 21st Century and use your phone, recording what you do when you exercise is vital to ensuring that you are following an effective plan. If you did 7 ½ reps when doing a Front Squat at 80.5kg, record all of that information so that next time you know what you have to beat. There’s no way you can remember all your sets and reps for all your workouts (UNLESS you’re doing the same old exercises, weights and reps and wondering why you aren’t seeing any changes to your body or health)! Assess what you’ve done at the end of the month and see what has improved and what hasn’t. If you need some help, remember that FREE personal programmes are available to all members of the Gym, so there are really no excuses to not keep that body progressing.
4. Get 30 minutes extra sleep 4 nights a week
Yes that means you may have to stop your Netflix binge, not write that extra paragraph of your essay or stop scrolling on Twitter! The average number of hours’ sleep an adult in the UK gets is a measly 6 ½ hours (7-9 hours are recommended by the Sleep Foundation). A lack of adequate sleep can affect judgment, mood, ability to learn and retain information, and may increase the risk of serious accidents and injury. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a host of health problems including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early mortality. Your Mum was right – you need to stop procrastinating and get to bed!
5. Plan ahead what you are going to eat and drink
If you’re someone who makes a quick dash to the shop most nights to get something for dinner when you are already hungry, it’s no wonder if you find yourself making poor choices with regards to what you are fuelling your body with. Go to the supermarket with a list once or twice a week, only get what’s on the list and stick to cooking those ingredients when you get home. (You should be making sure you have healthy snacks so you never get too hungry by the way!)
6. Choose one specific physical goal and FOCUS
A lot of people choose a whole raft of physical goals come January time which is often too much and demotivates them straight away as they think they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. Instead, focus on one thing that you would really like to achieve whether it’s getting a deadlift PB, achieving your first pull-up or breaking your 2k erg time. If like a lot of people your weight is something you want to change, did you know that body composition (fat %) testing here at the Centre starts from as little as £5 for a test for students? This will give you a better indication of where you stand than the scales, especially if you’re starting a new exercise regime at the same time and will gain some lean tissue.
So there you go, 6 things that anyone can realistically achieve with just a tiny bit of effort, planning and discipline.
Happy New Year folks!
- by Tristan Coles