Happy New Year! I’m writing this and realising that somehow we are already half way through January!

But finally, the message seems to be getting out there that New Years resolutions (NYR’s) rarely work – and if you have made some for 2026 you may already be wondering why you bothered and coming around to this realisation yourself.

They are generally big bold statements such as – I am going to:

• Stop smoking
• Get fit
• Run a marathon
• Go vegan
• Lose 3 stone
• Give up chocolate (and no one wants to do that!!)

I may as well say I am going to go to the moon……!

There is a lot of pressure with NYR’s. There’s a win or fail mentality and if we fail we beat ourselves up with a big stick. Most people ‘fail’ in the first 2-3 weeks and if you do succeed, you realise that you are actually back smoking / eating crap / hitting the snooze button 6 months later…and then you pick up that big stick.

However, there are 12 months in a year……

How about 12 mini goals or habit changes, if you will, that you can set over the course of the year. If you ‘fail’ 6 of them then that still means that 6 have gone well and total that up and it will be a big improvement over the course of your year. Well much bigger than failing to lose weight after two weeks in January.

Humans want big fixes quickly and easily – and if they come quickly and easily then we lose that sense of achievement and most of us need a bit of a ‘struggle’ for it to feel like an achievement or win. Micro goals feel a bit more achievable. It’s not a year long slog. Thats why ‘Dry January’ works well for many. 31 days is ‘doable’.

But even more achievable than that are micro habits.

Scenario – If drinking too much alcohol is the habit that you would like to work on (ie you want to cut down not drink more) then look at your current habits. Maybe you go out and drink on a Thursday evening with friends, after work with colleagues on Friday, with your partner at home on a Saturday evening and at home on a Sunday afternoon to unwind. Perhaps your partner is also keen to cut down on drinking, so you both decide to not drink alcohol on a Sat night. That could be 4 bottles of wine not drunk in January, maybe more. Thats a big win. Thursday night you normally drink 5 pints/glasses of wine. You decide that you will have one alcoholic drink and then go on to soft drinks. That’s 16 alcoholic drinks you have not drunk in February and thats a win! By March, you’ve realised that your jeans are a bit looser and you’ve lost 4 pounds. Thats a win you hadn’t event planned for!

If you are not a ‘all or nothing’ kind of person, then cutting out completely won’t work for you. Nor will going to the gym (or running) EVERY day. If it is great – but it’s still hard to maintain (not impossible) and then you are back on the downward slope again.

Example micro habits:

• Allow yourself 5 cigarettes a day not 10
• Follow a ‘couch to 5k’ running program where you get eased in gently and its not everyday
• Cook one vegetarian/vegan meal every week
• Buy one small bar of chocolate for the week. once its gone there is no more until next week!!
• Go for a 20min walk 5 days a week (or 7 days a week)
• sign up to a volunteering role to help out once a week
• Get up 15mins earlier every weekday so you are not always late for work

The main point is that you are a little bit better today than you were yesterday. After a month, some of these habits will have stuck without making to much impact on your day to day, so you can build on them further. If the habit hasn’t stuck then you can set another micro habit for February which gives you another shot. It feels good when you have achieved your micro goal and you realise that you are regaining control of your chosen habit.

As a Personal Trainer, it is expected that I exercise regularly, I am good at it and I love it. But sadly this is not always the case. My exercise levels fluctuate. I am a PT, but also a mum, a wife, I look after the house, I cook from scratch most days and it is very easy for my workout or run to drop off the list by the end of the day when I’m tired. Sometimes I am strength training 4 times per week, running two times a week and throw in a climb for good measure. Then suddenly I get a bit run down, rest for a couple of days or go on holiday and it’s been a month with no regular exercise. Seriously!

Therefore, my micro habit for January is to do a minimum of 30mins exercise ‘every’ day. This may sound a lot to some (not enough to others) but on the days when I am tired or if I am unwell I can always drag myself out for a 30min walk or a 30min mobility session. On the other days I prioritise a strength workout or a run and prioritise this over other chores. I also include some indoor climbing, or indoor row. On top of this I may throw in some badminton with the family. And the session needs to be a ‘minimum’ of 30mins but I can do more if I’m in the flow – today’s run was 38min. What this does is prioritise exercise for me in my own head and that is now I now just do. And this works for me. 15 days in and I haven’t missed a day. By the end of January I am hoping to keep this going into February as I see no reason to stop. Consistency is key!

Look at your life and see which areas you want to make some positive changes. Pick one and come up with a suitable micro habit that you think will work best for you – you know yourself better than anyone else.

Keep it small and keep it simple. Good luck!

After over a year of chaos, our new gym is up and ready to go. It is an ideal space to run my personal training sessions at home as well as our own training.

I have upgraded a lot of the equipment so I now have a lot more training options open to clients than I have ever had before including a Concept 2 rower, pull up bar which can be used traditionally or simply as an and anchor point for band work, a full range of dumbbells from 2kg – 12.5kg, weighted bags and balls which I used for my Hyrox training. Oh, and love them or hate them ….mirrors. I can tell you that your back is over arching but to see it, makes it much easier to understand and correct. Mirrors are you friend!

I also have plenty of outdoor space as working out outdoors is so much better for the mind and soul. This is also where I run my outdoor fitness class on a Saturday at 8.30am

Take a look at the photos to see exactly where you could be training

And look at how much fun you could be having!

Following Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday 23 March, I will no longer be able to run group classes or Personal Training sessions. This is because we have all been told to stay at home and avoid any non essential activities outside of the house.

However, I am going to attempt for the first time to run some online sessions. I am currently in the process of setting up the Zoom app to run the sessions and writing some predominantly bodyweight exercises with variations for beginners to more confidant exercisers.

I hope to trial this at the beginning on next week and run my first public session on Sat 4 April time tbc but most likely 9am or 9.30am.

You will be able to sign up to these sessions whether you already attend a session with me or not. If you have not worked out with me before, then you are more than welcome to join us and try a session out. Joe Wicks had over 800,00k on Monday but said that he originally started with 25 so lets see how I get on!

Due to the anticipated high comedy factor of me actually doing this, plus the situation we are currently all in, I will not be charging for these sessions. You can all be my guinea pigs but try be gentle with me. I would not normally choose to be in front of the camera but needs must and it will be good to be able to continue to offer some online sessions once things return to ‘normal’.

So check back here or on my Facebook page for updates and hopefully the Zoom invite will be available in the next few days.

In the meantime, stay at home (unless you’re a key worker obviously) and remember that you are allowed out for a walk, run or cycle once a day to help you get your exercise to boost both your physical and mental wellbeing and thankfully is is lovely outside at the moment. Keep a 2 metre distance from any one who is not a member of your household. Fingers crossed that you can stay well.

Sunday 8th March was the Surrey Half Marathon. Had it of been Saturday 7th March I’m not sure that I would have made the start line as my cold broke out and I felt rubbish. But Sunday morning I was surprisingly ok and I gave it my best shot. It was not a personal best time but at 1.44.03 I had to be pleased as due to my cold and late entry, meaning not as much training as I would have liked, that was either my second or third best time for a half marathon.

To keep up the momentum and motivation I need to set myself some new challenges. I have entered the Tough Mudder in May, although I fear that this is likely to be cancelled due to Corona Virus (more on that shortly) and I will enter the Weybridge 10k in the hunt for a pb if that race goes ahead in June. I also have a challenge that I can do at home which I will share at a later date.

So keep setting yourself goals to give you the motivation and purpose to stick with your training. Good luck with which ever goals you choose to go for!

So how is you current motivation for exercise/eating healthily going as we enter into March? I love exercise and looking and feeling well but I still struggle with motivation. There are always so many other things, especially as a mum of young children, to do instead. And if you leave it until the evening you are often far too tired and hey, there is always tomorrow! So here are two things that work for me:

Do something that you really enjoy

If you hate running but are trying to do the couch to 5k program, you have to rely on your own strong internal motivation to keep you going. But if you love swimming, then you are much more likely to to not miss a session, simply because you enjoy it. To you it’s fun! So make sure you include an activity that you really enjoy. For me, it’s indoor rock climbing. It make me feel young and slightly cool if I’m being honest but it is such a great strength and core workout and I am always exhausted afterwards, but I love going so tend to want to do this more than other workouts.

Give yourself a challenge

Giving yourself a specific challenge or goal really focuses your mind on why your exercising in the first place. So that may well be to lose a certain amount of weight or to get into a certain pair of trousers but having a date to work to is quite a strong motivator. So having a wedding, birthday or other event is a good date to work towards.

For me, it is actually entering a running race. I have therefore entered the Surrey Half Marathon and quite a bit later than I probably should have. I wasn’t sure if I was really fit enough following a pre-christmas chest infection so I didn’t enter until the 31 Jan. The race is on 8 March. 5 weeks is not really enough time to train for a half marathon but it really does help to focus the mind. I have done my long runs but not as many short, fast runs as I would have liked but at least I know that I have the stamina back in my legs to get around. I’ve done quite a few half marathons over the years and the challenge is always to go for a personal best time and the last 3 half’s, I have actually done this. And when I start off on Sunday, I will no doubt think that I can do the same again. The truth is I probably can’t this time but the mind if a powerful tool. So the time I will be aiming to beat, or at least get near too is 1.41.46 (I am laughing was I write this as realistically any under 1.50mins would be good considering) After this, I have two more challenges lined up so I can keep up the momentum.

So try finding out what your own exercise motivation is…..

I hope you had a brilliant Christmas and enjoyed all the excesses that often comes with it. But your thoughts are probably already turning to the year ahead. New Years resolutions…..useful to some but not to most. They come with with unrealistic pressures that generally fizzle out far too quickly. Instead, create some stepping stones. Small steps that you can build on rather than a giant promise that generally fades to nothing and can leave feeling like you have failed.

If you are looking at losing weight then what you eat needs to be your first priority. Be honest with yourself. Write a food diary for at least a week and spot the trends that you can work on straight away. If you have a sweet treat daily, cut it down to two or three times a week. Same with wine or beer, reduce your current intake.

Increase your activity level. This can start by introducing a daily walk to your schedule. Go and explore your local area and find the hidden footpaths. Always loved swimming/cycling but not gone for years. Make the decision to fit it in to your week and regain your enjoyment of being active.

And this is where I come in…I enjoy strength training so my classes focus on getting the body stronger which is vital whatever your age. I run a beginners ‘Rebuild’ class and an indoor or outdoor ‘Repair’ class both of which are good starting points. If you are already familiar with many of the bodyweight and weight exercises, then try the Circuits class as this can easily be adapted so that your fitness levels can build without affecting other members of the class. And if you want something a bit more rough and ready and a bit more challenging, then try the boot camp. This can also be adapted to different fitness levels but it is the most intense of the classes that I run. Or if you have specific requirements or really on a mission to reach a target, then Personal Training is a good option.

Not sure about working out outside…. yes it’s quite cold and wet out during the winter months and getting out of bed is the often the hardest part but you honestly can’t underestimate the health benefits that you get from being outdoors and facing the elements. Dress for the weather, layer up, as you will warm up quickly and enjoy then mental boost that follows. It honestly can help to combat anxiety, depression and loneliness more than working out indoors.

These classes are ‘Rustic’. I cannot offer the frills and comfort of a gym but then not everyone wants that. This is a friendly option, especially if you are unconfident in yourself or your own ability where you can work on these areas without judgement.

So lastly have a very Happy New Year and choose a couple of small stepping stones to put into place and then instead of giving up before the end of January you can instead add a couple of more steps to build a healthier lifestyle which you can stick with for the rest of year and beyond.

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