Come on! Get up and get at it! Now is the time to launch 2024 with the brand new you 

So, you want to kick-start 2024 with a renewed commitment to get fitter and look and feel better. But these shorter days and dark evenings make it bloomin’ hard to motivate yourself to exercise. But help is on hand and top performance coach Arj Thiruchelvam has the answer to help keep you fit.

Arj Thiruchelvam has more than 18 years’ experience of performance mentoring, including as a UK Athletics sprints and jumps coach, and says now is a great time to mix up your training and set some specific goals. Here’s how:

KEEP FOCUSED

Grab your notepad and outline two things you would like to improve over the next two months, a perfect start to the New Year. These will comprise two-thirds of your exercise time and, by dedicating the majority of your time to them, means you will see a higher proportion of progress and improvement in your goals.

POWER OF THE INTERVAL

Perhaps you’re looking to improve your aerobic performance, so it’s time to unlock the power of the interval! Alternating short bursts (about 30 seconds) of intense activity with longer intervals (about one to two minutes) of less intense activity goes hand-in-hand with a busy schedule. If you’re able to perform high intensity intervals for more than 30 minutes, the likelihood is that your intervals aren’t high intensity. This workout can be performed running, on the bike or the cross-trainer so really can be achieved anywhere and will keep you warm if you’re outside:

Five minutes warm up + 10 x (1min 30secs slow + 30secs fast) + five-minute cool-down

These paces are relative to your current level of fitness, with slowdown allowing you to start the recovery process while still moving. Walking is OK but as you get fitter you must challenge yourself to increase the speed. Fast pace is above 90 per cent of your maximum effort, so imagine you’re running away from a bull!

It’s tough and gruelling but by including two of these sessions per week, you’ll notice cardiovascular improvements. Knowing in the back of your mind it’s not a really long workout will keep you moving forwards too!

PAIRED SUPERSET

The concept of choosing two areas to focus on is pioneered by leading research which found by adopting this approach, muscle gains were rapidly increased in comparison to following more traditional approaches.

To apply this training method to our busier winter schedules, pick out just two exercises for the two body parts you want to improve and perform five sets of 10 repetitions of each of the exercises, utilising a paired superset (swapping body part without rest) to achieve more in a reduced time.

If you’re looking to gain more muscle, for example in your quadriceps and triceps, you will train these two muscles twice per week, while leaving any remaining time to do just enough to maintain other parts of your body. For example, 5 x 10 of (A) Step-Ups to Tricep Pushdown then afterwards 5 x 10 of (B) Squats to Tricep Extension.

HAVE FUN!

Finally, don’t forget to enjoy exercise! Create game-based or activity-based workouts and grab a training partner if you can. Maybe you don’t want to play a team sport but instead create a circuit of different exercises, some traditional and some a little more ballistic and ‘performance-like’; medicine ball throws, skipping, hopping and box jumps can actually be really rewarding, both mentally and physically.

These can essentially be like a circuit and, like any circuit, can be completed in a really short time. Think 20 seconds on 20 seconds off each exercise or activity. One very important tip is to ensure you warm up before starting. Box jumps, hopping and ballistic exercises are surprisingly tough and therefore you want to avoid doing them when cold. Here’s a pro-tip: put the toughest exercises at the start of your circuit.