New Years Eve. A day for reflecting on the last 12 months and for making all sorts of promises to ourselves that the New Year will somehow be different. Only to realise as we pack away the Christmas decorations that the New Year doesn’t feel any different from the old one. Many New Year resolutions focus on ‘losing weight’ and/or ‘getting fit’ but is the beginning of January the best time to make changes to lifestyle. It is the middle of winter and there is still a fridge full of Christmas goodies to be consumed. It is not surprising that so many brand new gym memberships go unused.

But let me first reflect on my last 12 months. 2016 has been kind to me where my health is concerned. I started the year with a lot of catching up to do. I hadn’t trained for six months apart from a rather sedate cardiac rehab programme at my local hospital. But I was determined. And with a lot of help from my Personal Trainer and my gym I competed in a strongman contest, completed a Tough Mudder, deadlifted 102kg and ran 20 Parkruns and 3 10k’s. I also qualified as a Personal Trainer. I have loved it but it has not been easy. Nothing worth doing ever is. It has been challenging and sometimes downright frustrating and painful. Frustrating due to the medication I’m on (betablockers) which reduces my heart rate, and therefore my speed, consigning me to the bottom of any finisher table. Painful due to the arthritis in my fingers which I have lived with for over 20 years but the latest flare up is the worse yet. 

So will I change anything in 2017. Well I am kicking it off with a 28 day challenge to lose the Christmas weight and then I will start training for a half marathon that I’m running on the 23rd April. This would have been my friend’s 58th birthday. I have signed up for a three peaks challenge in August and have my eye on a 10k ‘toughest’ in the Peak District. I would also like to do a Parkrun in another country. I am in Toronto in June so who knows. Throughout the year I will be raising money for Bowel Cancer UK. A disease that took my mum and my best friend.

What is fairly evident is that I don’t need a New Year resolution to get fit. Exercise is part of my life. I make time for it. I enjoy it most of the time. I love the way it makes me look and the way I feel. All those endomorphins.

Although I probably need a bit of a push to chuck out the mince pies and cut down on the gin and prosecco.

So if tomorrow is not the best day to start getting fit what day is. The day that feels right for you. It may not be the first day of a new year or a Monday. It may be when a friend asks you to join a bootcamp with them, colleagues sign up to run a 10k for charity, or you book a holiday of a lifetime and want to smash those Facebook photos. Many inspirational stories are born out of a negative event such as a cruel remark, an unflattering photo or being unable to run for a bus. It doesn’t matter. It is your day.

You are more likely to succeed if you have a fitness goal. If your ultimate goal is fairly daunting then break it down to smaller, achievable goals. To run a marathon start with couch to 5k. And have a realistic plan. A marathon is not achievable in 2 months unless you are already a runner.

Over the next 24 hours Facebook will be awash with posts wishing friends and family a healthy and happy New Year. Make their wish come true.

Here is to an amazing 2017.