A personal trainer’s guide to starting your fitness journey this January

Starting a fitness journey in January is a great initiative, especially with the motivation that often comes with the beginning of a new year.

Here’s my three-step guide to set yourself up for well-being success this year.

Start with goal-setting

Many of us have aesthetics-driven goals such as weight loss or muscle gain. While these are commendable, achieving visual goals is a long-term endeavour.

To stay on track and motivated during tough times, it’s smart to set shorter time-framed goals or milestones. I often help my clients set performance-based milestones every four to eight weeks. I find this approach really effective.

It could be an achievement tied to a workout, like lifting a specific weight, or non-exercise goals, such as consistent sleep hours or an adherence score on your smartwatch.

My favourite approach is to have a short-term performance goal for each of these three pillars: fitness, nourishment and recovery. For example:

- Fitness: Perform 10 squats in a row holding a 20kg weight.
- Nourishment: Drink more than 2.5 litres of water every day for seven days.
- Recovery: Sleep seven-plus hours every night for a week.

Follow a realistic fitness plan

Start slow with an exercise routine that’s easy to follow and maintain consistency. Attempting too much from the start is one of the fastest ways to fall off the wagon.

I advise starting with three exercise sessions for the first two weeks, then progressing to four exercise sessions for the next two weeks, taking you to February.

The exercise modalities you perform depend on your specific goals and preferences.

The second fastest way to fall off the wagon is to attempt to stick to an exercise modality that you don’t enjoy. Hence the saying, “The best fitness routine is the one you’ll enjoy doing, and therefore stick to.”

Here are some general directions to help you get set up.

If your goal is pure fat loss, nutrition is by far the most important, followed by general overall activity and movement. Workouts come third in my opinion, and I would advise including a split of resistance training and cardiovascular training - two times resistance and one to two times cardiovascular per week would be ideal for best results, even better if you can include an exercise modality that you really enjoy, whether that be yoga, pilates, swimming, rucking etc.

If your goal is to build muscle and get/stay lean at the same time, your training and nutrition are equally crucial for success.

Aim to resistance train three to four times per week and sprinkle cardiovascular exercise into the week for a total of at least 60 minutes.

If your goal is primarily health, perhaps you’ve had a recent health scare or you’re fed up with feeling low energy, stiffness, and difficulty moving as well as you could, I would recommend following a routine with an equal split of resistance training, cardiovascular training and an activity you love. One session of each per week is a perfect starting point. Build the consistency, dial in nourishment and recovery, and you’re set.

Manage your nourishment and recovery effectively

Nourishing your body properly with good nutrition, hydration, sunlight and fresh air is essential for body composition, feeling your best, and overall health.

Nourishment goes hand-in-hand with recovery, including areas such as sleep and stress management, both crucial for health, well-being, energy, and preventing burnout.

Although a vast subject, there are a few nourishment and recovery fundamentals I personally consider most important:

Reduce ultra-processed food consumption. Typically, these are foods with a long shelf life, a lengthy ingredients list and that take a week or more to develop mould when left out. Reducing these within your diet should decrease sugar intake, increase the consumption of more nutrient-dense foods and drastically lower your calorie consumption.

Protect your sleep. There’s a long list of actions to improve sleep quantity and quality, but I find the most impactful to be following a regular sleep and wake time each day. Having a strict caffeine cut-off of 2pm, creating a sleep-friendly environment 90 minutes prior to bed - keeping lights dim, reducing screen use, and taking a warm shower or bath can make a huge difference in your sleep.

Daily wellbeing habits go a long way for our health, energy, and adherence. A few healthy habits I strongly recommend include viewing sunlight early in the morning (even if there’s cloud cover) for 10-15 minutes, which is great for our sleep and energy levels.

Taking a short walk after every big meal, even if it’s just to the end of the garden and back, is great for glucose control. Spending time in green or blue space as often as you can can contribute significantly to reduced stress levels and improved mental health.

Remember, starting a fitness journey is a gradual process and consistency is key. Celebrate small victories, stay positive and be patient with yourself as you work towards your goals. Building a support system can be extremely beneficial, whether it be a workout buddy, a local fitness community or, if possible, consider seeking guidance and support from a fitness professional. Check out my details below to discover how I can personally help you dominate your well-being this year.

Have a great January, and I look forward to seeing you next month.

Ollie specialises in helping career-focused professionals get into great shape, build long-term health and perform better in their work. Named as one of London Evening Standards top London Personal Trainers, Ollie works across Cambridge and London and offers both in-person and virtual personal training. Visit www.welltolead.com and follow Ollie on Instagram @olliethompsonhealth for more.