The Apprentice #2

It's coming to the end of January, and we are firmly into 2017. I thought it was about time to  share my goals for the year with you. So here goes:

1. Develop a healthy relationship with food. This is something I have struggled with my whole life, to maintain balance. In reality I know one burger is not going to add 2% to my body fat, but in the moment I struggle to really relax and enjoy my food without worrying about the ‘after affect'. Ultimately, what I'm striving for is consistency and balance in this area. 
2. Do yoga at least 3 times per week. For someone who has been diagnosed with Scoliosis, I haven't actively been maintaining good spine health. Last year I  started adding a dedicated ‘back day' to my training, to strengthen the muscles around my spine. But this hasn't alleviated the overall stiffness and pain I sometimes experience. Yoga will be great for my spine and body overall, to help reduce any muscle stiffness. 
   
3. Deadlift and Squat my bodyweight for 5 reps. I don't mind saying that I weigh 50kg. And to be able to deadlift and especially squat this would be a great achievement. I believe it is good to set yourself training goals, instead of aesthetics; as these will be much healthier for your overall wellbeing.  My approach to this will be relaxed and it is just to be consistent with my training, increasing weights slowly. Darren has just helped me to develop a new strength programme, which I'm excited to start!
   
4. Run 10k in just over 1 hour. At the end of April I'm doing the Great Birmingham 10K run. My usual running distance is around 5K, so I'm going to have to get training my legs to run this far! I have decided to raise money for Cancer Research https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Aimee-Jefferson, as this is a charity important to myself and my family. 
   
5. See my family at least once every month. Since 2013 (going to University) I haven't really seen my family on a consistent basis. Now, that I've started at Motus and living in Stratford, this has again added a challenge to seeing them. I'd like to go and spend a significant amount of time with them for one weekend every month. 
   
6. Read more and get educated. I used to read at least one book every month. But I  found my passion for reading has disappeared over the last few years. At the end of last year, I started to regain this passion. I have recently decided I want to read more educational books, and keep learning as there is so much more new information out there. Being new to the health and fitness industry, I'm wanting to extend my knowledge further. 
   
7. Don't sweat the little things. I seem to have always stressed over everything. Cue a new job, home, and everything else that comes alongside - last year challenged me in ways I hadn't been challenged before. This year, I have decided to be more relaxed about life in general, and understand not everything is within my control. When a situation becomes stressful  and things don't go the way I'd like them too, I am going to try and take a moment to think “Will I care about this tomorrow?” - if the answer is no then I'm not going to let it ruin the rest of my day. 
   

I hope this gets you thinking about your goals for 2017, and what you'd like to achieve this year. I've decided not to set myself any new year's resolutions and focus on what not to do (ie eat chocolate), but on what I want to do and be positive about the year ahead.