Hooray, a new year has begun!
And you’re really planning to do things differently, kicking off the New Year with a clean slate and a bunch of inspiring resolutions.
For example, lots of plans for a healthier lifestyle: more veggies and fewer snacks, and regular exercise of course, because that’s really good for you.
And we’ll skip that little drink to see in the New Year, of course. After all, it’s called Dry January for good reason.
But then…
No time!
I’ll never manage it!
I’ll start tomorrow, promise!
And yes, I know… getting started is the first step, but perseverance comes next, and that’s often where we get stuck. Before you realise it, you’ve quit before getting any closer to reaching your goal.
And that’s a shame, because even the smallest achievement can give you such a great sense of satisfaction, along with the motivation to keep going.
If you’re just not managing, then try to pick up your new habit again the next day.
* Get your day off to a good start with a healthy plant-based breakfast.
* Go for a half-hour walk around lunchtime, preferably in natural surroundings.
Just doing that makes the move towards the gym that much easier.
Personally, I find group exercise classes tremendously motivating. Just this week, I picked up an aqua cycling class. That’s basically a spin class in the pool. The water resistance means you get three times more benefit from it – how great is that?!
We do all kinds of activities on the aqua-spinning bikes to make sure we exercise all the muscle groups. This naturally means leg muscles of course, but abdominal and back muscles are also covered. We use free weights to get our arms into shape. I now go at least twice per week, both because it gives me a nice toned body, and just because the lessons are fun, thanks to the enthusiastic instructor and the little in-between chats I have with classmates.
All of these things help me to stick to my resolutions long after January has passed.