Out of the darkness.

Daffodils and snowdrops tentatively push upwards to a bright sun in a hazy blue sky. Dare I say it, but it feels like spring is on the way. January is a grim and distant memory. Unfortunately for most of us, so are the promises and resolutions we made at the turn of the year.

According to Strava, January 12th was the day most of us decided enough was enough and slid back into the comforting arms of old habits.

January is a strange month to decide to massively overhaul your health and fitness. Mentally of course it makes perfect sense. It's a clean break, drawing a line under a year that often ends with alcoholic excess and eating your body-weight in Stilton (just me?). Apart from that it's miserable, it's dark, you're skint and it's no surprise that most of us don't make it to February with our ambitions intact.

One thing you mustn't do is beat yourself up about it. We all fail. It's what we learn from it, which is important. Progress is never a straight line.

It's important to decide on what you want, THEN figure out how to get it. If it's an ambitious goal like running a marathon or losing a significant amount of weight then that's not going to happen overnight. You have to break things down in to manageable and achievable chunks. Hit goal A, move on to goal B, etc.

When it comes to late February / March many of us have let things slide a little, but actually this is the best time of year to start. The days are warmer and longer; and the sunny weather we're having just makes getting out of the house an absolute joy.

So why not dust off those resolutions and jump start your year.

Sit down with a pen and a notepad and list out three things you want to achieve with your fitness over the next 12 weeks. This doesn't have to be anything big, in fact it's better to make it smaller and more achievable.

So forget about losing 3 stone and completing your first Ironman, make a promise to yourself to walk for at least half an hour everyday, prepare and bring your own lunch into to work, or join a regular exercise class and commit to it for, oh I don't know, six weeks. Make a promise to yourself. Three little things you know that you can achieve. A promise you'll keep.

If you find it a challenge to begin with, keep going, we all slip up. Just start again, and again, and again. Keep going until you find that you're not just restarting you're doing something with consistency and commitment. It's become a habit.

So go and get it everyone! The year is waiting.

p.s. - Please feel free to share your goals in the comments section.

p.p.s. - If your looking for ideas, check out our new group sessions starting this weekend.