New Years Way

New Years Day is always a time when people are gung ho about making the changes that will improve their life in both small and big ways. It is also the first day that many who have waited with anticipation to launch themselves into their new regime fall by the wayside within hours of beginning. Here are a few tips to help you make a lasting improvement, if you really want to!

Don’t  beat yourself up. 

Most people spend the time before and after Christmas Day eating and drinking more than normal. They stay up later and generally let their routines go to pot. Then on January first everything is supposed to change. Cyclists head off and do 100k for the first time in 6 months and expect everything to fall into place. It very rarely does. If you have been overindulging you need to build up slowly to where you want to go. LITTLE AND OFTEN IS THE KEY. Take small steps. One hour 5 days a week is better for your body and mind than 5 hours one day and nothing the rest of the week. Do what you can do comfortably and you will do it again the following day. Then you build a routine and before you know it you are into February and the days are getting longer and you are now making real progress.

Start before you’re ready.

If you were capable of being 100% prepared and fully able to do something you wouldn’t need January first for a kick start. You might not be ready to cycle with a club or group but go anyway. You can always turn back after 10k and then go a further 5k each week. Your bike might be 10 years old and you might have it in mind to get a new one but get out on the old one first. Then reward yourself with the new bike after your first 100k spin, or some other milestone goal that you set for yourself.

Follow the process, not the prize.

You might have set yourself a goal of riding 100k, or loosing 20kg but the key is not riding 50k this week and 100k the next or loosing 5kg per week. It is doing that one training spin or workout as good as you possible can. FINISH THE SMALLEST TASK AND FINISH IT WELL. Then the bigger goal will look after itself. Keep it there as a carrot by all means. That is important. But don’t get caught up and disillusioned about how much you will have to do to get there. Instead concentrate on the job at hand.

Don’t be afraid to fail.

You will never succeed at absolutely everything you try unless you try very little indeed. Failure is the very best teacher and also the best way to strengthen character. You loose every race you don’t enter. You must be willing to try new things in order to grow and develop. The exact training that you did last year will get you the exact same results. To improve you must change and sometimes it will work and sometimes it won’t. But when it doesn’t work you will have learned what to avoid next time.

Happy New Year,

Barry

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