How to start 2022 feeling great: A 16 Day challenge.
Advent calendars are great - I had Bonne Maman Jam this year, so good!
However I was thinking if we can do one small thing a day for a chocolate reward, maybe we could start the year doing the same but for improving our health and energy.
So you have sixteen days of simple homework, that can easily fit around your current training or eating. Why sixteen days? I don’t have a snazzy answer but it is one of my favourite songs!
So without further ado, sixteen steps to feeling great and starting the new year healthy.
Sat Jan 1st
Drink Three Green Teas and 3L of water. It’s quite easy to get dehydrated on New Years Eve (😉) so stating the year fully hydrated with lots of antioxidants will be a great start. Simply have two large glasses of water on waking, then a green tea at each meal and it’s easy. Limit drinking by 6/7pm if it’s more than you’re used to, try to have as much as you can early.
Sun Jan 2nd
Take a long walk. Outside, rain or shine. Easy.
*stop eating by 8pm
mon Jan 3rd
Fast until lunch. Black Coffee, Tea and Water allowed but otherwise skip breakfast today and either brunch or lunch, giving your digestive system a chance to rest. A 14 - 20 hour fast is perfect, with a healthy first meal for the day. This is just a one off but could work once a week / month going forwards.
Tues Jan 4th
Today, stretch for 20 minutes. Set a timer and just run through any stretches you enjoy or feel you need. Here’s a gentle lower back routine.
Wed Jan 5th
No screen time from 8pm. Hopefully the easiest homework, but unless in emergency before 8pm set your alarm for tomorrow, and then phone away until the morning. If you can’t do this today then go for the 20 min stretch again.
Thur jan 6th
Cook something you’ve never made before. It doesn’t even need to be super healthy, just try something new, pop some music on and enjoy it.
Fri Jan 7th
So we’re heading into the first weekend of January, let’s make it a healthy, energy boosting one. Today make a plan for your Sunday to have a day that bring you some energy, recovery from the week and some really nutritious food.
sat jan 8th
Today we’re going to train. Hard. Plan some training and really go for it.
SUn Jan 9th
Plan your meals for the week, and read this article. One of the best coaches in the world, often with some of the simplest advice. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.t-nation.com/training/real-life-training-and-eating/amp/
mon jan 10th
Plan your fitness goals for the year. Don’t necessarily stop at just your fitness goals, as you can often see how they can meet, or if that two are unrealistic alongside each other. For example a work goal for me is to launch our tennis and fitness camp, which also gives me a bit of a deadline for my fitness, so they can link really well. Often goal setting can bring the same anxiety that the diet word brings, so let’s make it simple.
What would you like fitness wise? There are no stupid answers, as long as it makes you do the workout when you don’t want to, it works.
Imagine yourself having it. Ideally we’re looking for something achievable but just out of reach.
When do you need it by? Remember this will alter the programme. It may mean keeping a similar pace, if you’re consistent and enjoying it be very wary of changing anything, this space needs to be protected: this is the path to long term progress. If you do have a tight time frame that may actually help though, giving you the real drive to commit fully to something. Remember we’re looking for 1-2lbs of weight loss a week (in a very well behaved week!) so keep in this mind when diet planning.
What do you need to commit to do to get there? Choose four things;
Training - What does your training (AND non training days) look like? Make a week or month plan with the sessions in advance.
Nutrition - Choose the main focus (eg, no booze and only having one ‘sweet’ / non fruit per day)
Recovery - Track sleep hours, or a plan to stretch / Yoga
What’s the reward? Make a deal with yourself to celebrate the achievement eg, a full body massage when you reach it.
A lot of this can be done in your mind, but it is really nice to write things down.
Tues Jan 11th
Sugar free day. Possibly the hardest day of the sixteen. Eat more protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, beans, cheese) and limit sugar to one piece of fruit. Green tea also makes a great way to curb the cravings, and brush your teeth soon after dinner if craving dessert. However if you’re struggling today it probably means that it would be good to reduce your daily sugar intake.
Wed Jan 12th
Substitute teacher today, so it’s time to watch a video!
I will warn you, it’s not for the squeamish, but this really shows how how muscle tightness occurs and gets worse without proper movement. If you ever wondered why dogs and cats stretch as soon as they stand up this explains it, as well as the problems of inactivity. So let’s all move, little and often. It is well worth a five minute watch.
https://youtu.be/_FtSP-tkSug
Thur jan 13th
Take a read of this: https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7894310/anti-inflammatory-meal-plan-for-beginners/
There’s so many different diet plans being sold, but generally the more it’s focused on high quality foods the better. Often anything that based around reducing inflammation is a winner health, fitness and physique wise. Maybe try the plan above or take a few recipes for next week.
Fri jan 14th
Cardio time! Today do 15 mins of steady state cardio (without stopping). Run, Row, cycle, do a 15 min circuit, walk up a long hill, anything that raises the heart rate and keeps it up for the time. The programme below this article would definitely work!
Sat jan 15th
A bit of a challenge, find a hill (or hills) and walk or run up them. Whether this is a long hilly walk, or a set of hill sprints, the mental challenge is always so rewarding. If doing hill sprints, aim to run up as fast as you can, walk down, and repeat for 3-10 sets.
Sun jan 15th
Take a Yoga Class. Aim for in person if you can, but Yoga with Adrienne or Shona Vertue are worth checking out on YouTube. See if you can find something that works for you, whether it’s 15 mins or an hour, just give it a go. Hopefully with the cardio, walk and yoga this weekend you’ll be feeling more relaxed for the week ahead.
Wishing you all a brilliant start to 2022, and if you follow the plan I’m sure you’ll be feeling really good, let me know how you get on and what you enjoyed the most!