Christmas has been and gone, over indulged? Feel sluggish? And struggling to get back into the swing of things in January. Sound familiar? 

Often in January we feel like we have completely undone our hard work throughout the year from having two weeks off at Christmas - this actually couldn’t be further from the truth. When it's cold wet and dark and January starts, often it's motivation that we lack.

Check out my four top tips that I implement into my own training, along with advising you to do the same to attack January and make sure you start the year with consistency and routine.

1. START NOW

I’m a firm believer that there’s no time like the present. Truth is we can always find an excuse not to start, how many times have you used the excuse ‘I will start on Monday’?... When I start working with new clients I always tell them ‘just make a start’ whether that’s Monday morning or on a Wednesday mid-afternoon just commit to it and make a start. The sooner you get the ball rolling the better. 

2. DON’T CUT CALORIES BY TOO MUCH

This has to be the biggest mistake I see during January. It’s fair to say we will have all enjoyed some down time and over indulging during the festive period and yes most of us would have gained some excess weight. Remember excess weight can be water retention, so do not panic and cut calories too drastically. Clean up your food intake, introduce foods that are high in nutrients and lower in calories.

Drop your calories to put yourself in a calorie deficit… 200 to 300 calories is enough to start with, if you don’t know what your daily calories are try downloading MyFitnessPal and log your food, this will give a good set point. Set your self a target of going for a period of time without a cheat meal. At AJPerformance whenever we have new clients start we advise 2-3 weeks without a cheat meal so something within this region is a good start. Finally don’t fall into the January DETOX market. Your body has something called a liver and that is pretty good at detoxification. 

3. START WITH LESS AND ADD MORE

Just like with nutrition if you have had a period of time away from training then start with less and add more. Clients often think if they train six times per week then they will get results faster, truth is too much too soon can lead to you feeling tired and run down along with lacking any enjoyment in your training. Start with three to four 45 minute weight training workouts and as the weeks progress look to increase the load (weight), sets & reps. I always advise working with minimal cardio to start with and add when it is needed, however post Christmas, adding cardio can be a good option 20-30 minutes three times a week is a good place to start. 

4. FIND A ROUTINE

Establish some routine again, focus on getting regular sleep patterns along with a regular wakeup time. Start to train at similar times of the day. For example, if you train at 5pm on a Monday evening make sure your next workout is not 7am Tuesday morning allowing for enough rest and recovery inbetween sessions.