Health and Wellness Advisor Ashleigh Smith shares her top tips for setting training goals for the 2018 BHGE 10k.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Setting New Year’s resolutions can sometimes be difficult to stick to after plenty of turkey and quality streets during Christmas! Most of us have overindulged during the festive period making it difficult to get back into our normal work/fitness routines.

The BHGE 10K on Sunday 20^th of May will be here before we know it so get on top of your 2018 resolutions now by setting some simple goals:

Set your goal

Whatever it is you want to achieve, whether it be to lose a bit of weight, or hit a certain time within the 10K, set your goal! Make sure it’s specific – for example, if you are looking for under an hour for your 10K time, don’t go lifting extremely heavy weights in the gym and avoiding any form of cardio exercise. It is also essential that your goal is achievable within your lifestyle – we don’t want you saying you will commit to five sessions a week if you can only manage three! Start small, achieve your target and move on!

Don’t over complicate

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is over-complicating. Setting short term goals are much more achievable and more likely to keep your motivation high. Use a realistic time constraint to work towards – continue to revisit your goals after each month to ensure you are on target to succeed and make little adjustments. Breaking it down will make it much easier to stay on track rather than aiming for one goal six months down the line with no structure.

Buddy up

Get your friend or partner involved! It can really push your motivation levels running and training with a partner. When you maybe can’t be bothered one evening after a long day at work, all you need is a little push from a friend to get you out and about and one step closer to the finish line. Make sure you both are focused to achieving your goals, and you’ll find a little help from each other will go a long way!

Take Action!

Get those new trainers on and get yourself outside or to the gym. You’ll feel much better for it, especially when you succeed at the end of the day – the first step is always the hardest!

On top of that if you need a help or advice to get your routine together, ask in one of our Sport Aberdeen gyms and one of our qualified staff will be happy to write up a gym or running programme for you to follow.

Happy training!