Posted on December 31, 2014 by Jenny Cromack
So this week the personal training team at motive8 North in Leeds thought we would blog about our own New Year resolutions.
I’m a little bit like Chris in the fact that I don’t tend to set specific New Year resolutions as I tend to just set goals throughout the year. It’s not that I’m saying I don’t value New Year resolutions as I do, if they are what motivates someone to achieve their goals then I’m all for setting New Year resolutions. BUT, it’s just like any goal, set at any time of the year, you will only achieve them if you have a plan of HOW you will achieve them and set yourself REALISTIC targets. If you’re sat thinking about your own New Year resolutions now then take a look at our previous blogs about goal setting as these may help.
I went on holiday in December and for me holidays are a great time to reflect about what I have achieved, review whether or not I achieved my goal and what I could have done better and then also set some new goals to achieve.
So here are my current goals for the next 12 months:
1. I’m having a break from running a marathon this year and I want to focus on getting my Half Marathon and 10k times back to where they should be! Running a marathon has slowed me down and I should be running faster than what I currently am. I have a 10 mile race in February so my current training is focused on speed work and lots of 1 mile race pace reps!
I still need to find some 10k’s and Half Marathon’s to enter but this is what I will spend New Year’s day doing.
2. I want to have a change and set myself a new challenge so in 2015 I’m going to do a triathlon. In 2014 I completed the Pink Triathlon which was an amazing event for as an introduction to triathlons but as the distances were quite short it wasn’t very challenging so I’m going to enter a Sprint Triathlon – probably the York Sprint Triathlon
3. This year I’m going to be injury free because every time I train I’m going to foam roll and stretch my weary legs – not just jump in the shower straight after!! I’m also going to make sure I practice my strengthening exercises such as hip drops, clams, etc every other day.
So they’re my exercise related goals but what about me?! It may surprise you that us personal trainers do have a life outside of fitness and exercise! So, whilst I was on holiday I also decided I would do the following.
1. Make sure I take Sunday’s off from work and spend it with my hubby, friends and family (most people know I’m a work-aholic) and I tend to work 7 days a week but no more! It’s massively important that I don’t neglect my family and friends and also having a break from work will leave me feeling refreshed and raring to go on a Monday morning!
2. Cooking. I love cooking! No matter what time I get in from work (and often it is after 9pm) I always make sure I cook something from fresh, it’s my way of winding down at the end of the day. Sometimes a simple, quick omelette or stir fry is called for at that time of night but I want to make sure that at least once per week I try a new recipe. We have thousands to try on our own website so I have no excuses!
3. Reading. Holidays are great aren’t they for catching up on a good book and I love to read. So, whilst I’m getting more time on a Sunday and because I’m also going to start making sure I don’t work after 9pm I’ll be able to spend more time reading. Some of the books I read are fiction, a chance to escape in a good story line, but I’m also going to spend time reading more factual ‘self-development’ books as I enjoy reading these and think there is a lot to learn about yourself and your behaviour by reading these.
Hopefully this has given you some food for thought about what you would like to achieve in 2015 – watch out for our blog next week about how to stick to your New Year resolutions.