January is a great time to start a new fitness regime. After the full on feasts of Christmas, all the choccies and all the lounging, it can be nice to commit to a fresh start come the New Year. The best way to get into the swing of a New Year fitness resolution is to plan ahead and maintain a small workout plan over the festive season. It can be hard on the body and the commitment level to go from a regular booze and rich food diet to a strict new routine on the 1st Jan! By exercising lightly over Christmas, you will feel more inclined to step things up in January.

The worst New Year’s resolutions are the ones that are easy to break. It’s no good feeling guilty come February. Be realistic and think of ways to enjoy fitness, don’t tell everyone you’ll be hitting the gym 5 times a week if the idea of the gym is your worst nightmare! On a similar note, don’t be too vague. ‘I will work out more’ sounds great but means nothing. The best way to ensure you will be getting fit in the New Year is to participate in something you really enjoy. If you’ve always wanted to be a roller derby girl, make time to find a local group and see if you can train with them. If basketball will keep you motivated, find a local team or buy a ball and hit the school playground with a friend.

Sometimes having to get out of the house to exercise can also be a chore especially when it’s cold out there. Similarly costs can stop people from really engaging in exercise even when they need it. I know I don’t like to spend money on the gym and personally I’d rather be getting the benefits of fresh air when I work out and not breathing in other people’s sweat and breath, but that’s just me! Think about buying one really good exercise video and commit to once or twice a week. If you love to dance, find a video that suits, similarly if you’ve always wanted to get into yoga or pilates or step fitness there are lots of workout video choices. There’s even websites where you can find workout options and YouTube can also turn up some great exercise channels.

As I always maintain, when it comes to exercise and fitness, you must stick to comfort and enjoyment levels otherwise it’s just too easy to give up. So think about what you’ve always wanted to try and go for it. Treat yourself and your body to a brand new hobby and you will feel great!

Christmas is typically the one time of year when even the most avid of fitness gurus slacks off from their workout schedule. However, if you are the type to easily gain weight, the festive season can lead to a huge guilt complex come January and a few extra pounds to shift in the New Year. For many of us who are trying to lose weight and know how difficult it can be, these few extra pounds can weigh us down emotionally too so if you can, try and take some precautions against a Christmas weight gain this year.

Keeping fit over Christmas should not be a chore. The key is to pick activities that are fun, don’t feel like a gruelling workout and involve friends and family. Christmas is a great time to walk. Typically the weather is brisk but bright, because of the holidays there are lots of other walkers enjoying the fresh air and usually there are lots of great Christmas decorations and light shows to admire en route.

Try and arrange some walks with friends over Christmas time, use it as an excuse to catch up and if you want, since it is the season to be merry, stop at a pub for a sherry half way or end with a nice glass of eggnog and some Quality Street. The key to enjoying Christmas but not regretting it later is to allow yourself the treats and trimmings but maintain a light workout schedule.

Christmas morning, plan a walk with the family after breakfast, this way you’re free to eat the most enormous Christmas dinner and fall asleep straight after! Organise a team game or another big walk with friends for Boxing Day or hit the shops, with all the crowds you are bound to work up a sweat!

If you have got some time off work, use it to take a walk somewhere you don’t get out to much, like a beach or local beauty spot. Try to see it as a method of relaxation and a break from the most stressful season of the year, don’t view it as exercise, it might make it less enjoyable!

In an age of diet fads and workout trends, it’s easy to ignore new exercise options and stick to the same old routine. Zumba might be a word you’ve seen cropping up on your gym schedule recently and likelihood is, you’ve wondered what it is and whether it will help you lose weight and get fit.

Well the answer is yes it can, though the lose weight part comes with a calorie controlled diet as we all know!

Zumba is Latin American inspired dance with world music influences and an emphasis on joy and celebration as part of the mind-body workout. It’s a high energy dance infused with moves from various dance styles, so expect to cha-cha at the same time as hip hop and definitely expect to burn up a sweat.

Zumba is a great workout as the rhythms and beats slow down and speed up a bit like interval training so it’s good for you heart. The dance moves will use pretty much all your muscle groups to burn fat whilst toning and strengthening muscles.

Named one of the best new fitness trends for 2012 by the American College of Sports Medicine, Zumba is being recognised as one of the best all over body workouts out there. With an hour Zumba workout, you can burn around 500 calories and it doesn’t even feel like workout, just one big dance party and it is definitely going to get you fit if practiced regularly.

So now you’ve spotted Zumba on the gym schedule, keep your eyes peeled for variations. Zumba Gold is the class for you snowbirds out there, a workout for the over 50s to get their groove on. Coming soon is Aqua Zumba, Kids Zumba and circuit Zumba which is dancing mixed with weights.

For a high energy but fun workout choose Zumba, you will soon get lost in the music and forget you’re exercising – hallelujah to that we say!

Is yoga really going to help me lose weight or are all those models swearing blind that yoga got them in their pre pregnancy dresses 2 months after giving birth really just starving themselves?

Yoga helps your body maintain postural health whilst keeping muscles stretched and limber. If practised correctly and over a prolonged period of time, yoga can strengthen the body and help to tone muscles which in turn can trim fat. However, this isn’t going to happen if you’re practising low key Yin Yoga once a week and still gorging on cupcakes every chance you can get!

You’ll see many yogis that are lean and healthy. This is because a yogi lifestyle often comes hand in hand with a more mindful diet and the avoidance of gluttony and over consumption. Offering the body optimum posture and strength is usually partnered with eating the healthiest food.

When you think yoga, do you think sprouts, veggie stir fry and tofu? You’d be right to.

In my case, yoga is a great way to keep my body limber in a really low energy modality. All exertion is focused into stretching my body to release tension and become more flexible. When I practice my stretches every day, my body feels better as my blood is able to rush to my brain through a freshly stretched and relaxed body.

After practising yoga, even just a few stretches a day, I feel calmer and brighter and my daily stresses are more manageable. This may mean I’m less likely to reach for the biscuit tin when stressed, but I’m not sure yet.

In terms of actual weight loss, yoga can support an exercise regime but will only shift a small amount of calories per hour – around 150 and that’s if you’re practising vigorous poses.

What it does do though is allow you to think about your body and work on sore points either from your day to day activities or from injuries that hinder your workout.

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How dare you! Walking? Boring? On a walking website!

Well okay then, we’ll admit it, we thought about this because it can be true, when you are not a particularly motivated exerciser sometimes, the thought of going for a walk is just, not very appealing. Especially walking in the same locale.

I’m guessing unless we’re all fitness enthusiasts (and then wouldn’t you be reading and I be writing ‘My Life With Muscles or ‘The Runners’ Rag?) we’ve all been in the position where the thought of ‘just going for a walk’ has left us unenthused. Here are a few little tips to get you out of the door:

• Play music – but make sure it’s music you’re in the mood for and will motivate you. Choose something that usually lifts your spirits. For me it’s Ray Charles’ soulful pipes.

• Walk with a friend -catch up with an old friend for an hour. Try and make it a weekly thing. It doesn’t have to be the same person every week, just call someone you have fun with, make it your new way to socialise.

• Phone someone – call your mum, or your sister. Make one old friend or family phone call a week whilst you’re out on your stroll.

• Have a destination or purpose – if you live near town, go window shopping. Walk to the supermarket and buy a magazine or walk to a friend’s house for a cuppa.

• If you don’t have a dog, walk someone else’s. If you’re not a dog fan, this could prove more annoying than fun.

• Change routes – avoid the monotony of the same walking routine. The UK is full of glorious places to walk and inspire so once a month try and get to a new bit of the countryside.

If you are trying to lose weight then every little helps and if you’re at a stage where you exercise either a little or not at all, then walking is where you can focus your energies.

Your current fitness level will determine the type of walking that is going to help you lose weight. Walking is still a fairly low cardio workout compared to more energetic sports so unless you are participating in a good long hike or fell walk, walking might not help shift too many extra pounds.

If you are maintaining a vigorous pace on hilly terrain then likelihood is, your pulse is raised and some calories are being consumed.

If you are carrying extra weight, you have an injury or have not been exercising regularly for some time, then walking is the right place to start in order to get your body more flexible, your organs oxygenised and your blood healthily pumping around your body.

If your lifestyle is particularly sedentary, then try to walk a little further every day. Walk at lunchtime, walk to work or get off the bus a stop early on the way home. If you are relying on walking to help you get rid of a few pounds or maintain your current weight, then watch what you eat and attempt to walk the recommended 10,000 steps a day.

On weekends, plan routes that will push you a bit further each week. Choose areas of beauty so you don’t get bored, aim to go up a nearby hill, walk round a nearby lake or make a historic landmark your final destination – there’s plenty in West Yorkshire.

Pack water and snacks and prepare to be out and about for a while. Make up for all the time you spend sitting down during the week and try to get out of breath at least once.