Ever felt like the festive season is just one big cosmic attempt at derailing your health and fitness goals? The constant rounds of parties, food, booze and extra family commitments seem to literally block you from walking through the gym door and before you've even blinked you're consuming mince pies every day of December. Sound familiar?
For me, it was the same every almost every New Year. I love food, I love to celebrate, I love spending time with my family and I have a family that celebrates with food and alcohol. Now that's totally cool in moderation but almost every year is the same, we kick off the silly season in December, there's the endless round of parties and functions. Almost all of them involve indulgent food and alcohol. Then, add to that we usually go away to QLD at some stage which interrupts my training schedule and all of a sudden I've gained between 3 - 7kgs! By the end of January I'm usually beating myself up mentally, feeling disappointed and ashamed of myself and spend the next 3 months (at least) trying to get back on track. I wanted to get off the roller coaster and somehow try and stay on track - or at least minimise the damage but all of my friends couldn't care less. They were too busy partying, relaxing and enjoying themselves to worry about their health and fitness. I had no-one to support me or my goals, no-one to give advice on how to get there and certainly no-one help me stay on track.
That's why I created The Resolution Revolution. I want to provide a rock solid plan to setting and achieving health and fitness goals, provide workouts you can do anywhere and fit into the business social schedules so participants could keep going strong and feel fit, confident and empowered by the end of January. I wanted people to have access to fresh new meal ideas & recipes that would leave them feeling lighter and more energised. Most importantly I wanted there to be a safe place people could go to be inspired, feel encouraged and supported and lifted up by their own personal cheer squad.
So we did just that. 35 super inspiring people came long for the ride. We had school teachers wanting to be able to run an 8k before school went back, writers needing some extra support along their weight loss journey, mums who needed some help to 'avoid hydrating with champagne' throughout the festive season. And boy did we deliver! The group was supportive of each other, shared their workouts, what they were eating, how they were feeling and really stepped up to the plate. Some goals were smashed, some fell short but everyone made a positive change to their health and I couldn't be prouder!
Side note: How did I do? The group helped keep me accountable too! For the first time in around 7 years I DID NOT gain any weight over the festive season. My second goal was to be able to complete 1 chin up. Did I make it? No I didn't. But I did get an awful lot stronger in the process. My back, lats, shoulders and biceps all got stronger. Check out the video below of me 'monkeying around' at the park with my kids. Prior to our challenge I couldn't support my own bodyweight cross a set of monkey bars so am I pleased? Hells yes!! I promise my feet are off the ground. The quality of video produced by a 6yo isn't up to professional level yet.
If you'd like more info on setting and achieving realistic health and fitness goals you can ready the article our blog here.
If you feel like you could use a little support on your health and fitness journey, Empower360 Fitness offers 1:1 personal training in Sydney. Check out our Personal Training page for more info or contact Kate on kate@empower360fitness.com.au or 0403 964075 to arrange a no obligation chat or free fitness assessment.