How to stay fit in Feb at Royal Holloway

January is like a 31-day long hangover of the previous year. Everybody is on a comedown from Christmas, but they've made it their resolution that this year is the year to get fit.

This means that for a month the gym is an overcrowded hangout of people forcing themselves to be motivated, fighting the masses to get their turn on the equipment. Fortunately for regulars, this soon fizzles out by mid-January when the cold sets in and the summer body is put on hold because summer seems a long, long, way away.

This shouldn’t be the case. Being healthy and fit doesn’t happen over-night and takes time and motivation. I’m here to motivate you with my 5 fitness top tips.

Remember why you wanted to get fit in the first place

Firstly, think about why you started your fitness journey, whether it was to lose weight or become healthier. Remember that everyone’s goals are different so you should never compare your progress to anyone else’s.

You need to do what works for you, and makes you happy. Set small achievable goals which you can SMASH and spark a continuous chain of motivation.

Keep a journal or log book

Keep a journal and write reminders for yourself to then look back at when you’re feeling lacklustre.

If you have had a great session, write it down so that you will then be able to look back at this and remind yourself how great it felt. Similarly, if things did not go well, you can see how you then sprung back from this. Use this to also track your progress so you have evidence of how far you’ve come. I also like to write motivational quotes in my day-to-day diary to give myself a boost (no matter how cheesy that sounds).

Work out with people

Sign on to group classes or go to the gym with a friend! Working out with a partner will help you push yourself, as well being more fun! It will also help you force yourself to get up and go if you have pre-made plans instead of staying in bed ‘because I’ll just go tomorrow’.

Trust me, this procrastination is all too familiar.

Joining a sports team like Cheerleading is a great way to make friends whilst getting fit.

Get the gear

Buying new workout clothes is a sure fire way of motivating myself to get back in the gym if I hit a lazy rut. If you look good you will feel good too!

Look ahead (as well as looking back)

Think about the future. Fitness is all about improvement and just think about how future-you will thank January-you when you can look back months from now and see how far you’ve come.

Change won’t happen overnight so don’t be disheartened at first because if you stick at it you WILL become a better version of you. Experts say it takes a minimum of 21 days to form a habit, and although I don’t recommend hard cardio or weight lifting for 21 days solid, staying active for these days will put you on the right track to staying motivated.

Go and kick butt!

These tips are small steps you can take to becoming more motivated to live that fit and healthy lifestyle. Instead of breaking your resolutions, break a sweat. So what are you waiting for?