Understandably, fitness and being healthy are not the first thing on people’s minds this time of year. But does that mean you shouldn’t start now?

For most who will likely start their health journey, ask yourself why? Why January? Why not now? If you have a goal you’d like to achieve, why wait until January - why not start now and get ahead of the game.

For example, if my plan was to travel from London to Scotland over the next week, I could easily say I’ll wait until Monday to leave and try and get there in one go. But what if I left Friday evening and travelled half or a third of the way. Doesn’t it make sense that the final leg of the journey would be easier and take less time from a single day’s travel?

Is a health and fitness goal any different? Why not start now - get ahead, start seeing some results and making progress now? Your festive period will likely to be healthier and even if you indulge a little over this period, you will already be closer to your goal than if you wait. You could wait until January while enjoying the indulgences that December bring, but surely that would be like travelling south from London to Dover first, before then making your way to Scotland, having to head back through where you started in the first place.

This will also help break the trend of New Year Resolutions. You either want to achieve a goal or you don’t, the time of year shouldn’t make any difference to your choices.

Have a wonderful Christmas break with friends and family. Enjoy, indulge in the things you really see as a treat and plan your way through towards the goals you want to achieve.

Joe Newbold

Personal trainer at mypremcoach, Premier Fitness Training, Hemyock