Were you one of the people who woke up on Tuesday morning, wished your significant other a ‘Happy New Year’ and then declared that 2019 was going to be the year you ‘got fit/ thin/ faster’? So many people make big declarations and set themselves lofty goals which, after a couple of weeks, seem overwhelming and impossible to achieve.

What about we think about it in a different way? What about we think about the wider benefits that exercise can bring? Think of it that way and it might not seem so overwhelming to get out there and get active. Here’s five reasons to be active:

1. Better physical health – get off that couch, move around a bit, get that heart rate raising and you’re improving your physical fitness. Keep doing this and you’ll begin to reduce your risk of all sorts of medical issues. You don’t have to be a marathon runner, every little helps.

2. Better mental health – improved self esteem, a sense of achievement, improved confidence and time spent doing something for you. How can that little list fail to improve your mental health?

3. Improved sleep – physical exertion and a reduction in anxiety through an improvement in your mental health is going to go a long way to improve your ability not only to get to sleep, but to stay that way.

4. Your clothes will fit better – don’t set out thinking that you’ll lose pounds straight away, instead focus on the fit and the feel of your clothes. That pair of jeans that feel a bit snug start to fit a little better and you’ll find yourself picking old favourites from the wardrobe because they’ll fit again.

5. Sense of purpose and achievement – time feels better spent and, if you get some activity into your day before your brain works out what’s going on, you’ll spend the rest of the day feeling rightfully proud of yourself.

If you’re struggling for ideas or motivation to get you moving each day read my January prompts here or follow me on Instagram to get a gentle nudge in your newsfeed each day.

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