Starting the year to win with health in 2026
If you are starting your year with a new health goal or feeling a little sluggish coming out of the holiday period and back into a heavy work schedule this one's for you.
Where and how do I start my routine to give me the greatest chance of success over a long period of time? Do I do an 8-week challenge? Do I do a crash diet? Do I download a new highly time dense mentally and physically challenging physical training plan?
Well, for some people the answer may be a yes, but from experience, the answer is more often than not no.
Often training volume, intensity and health "optimisation" are focused on way too early in the process for new starters or restarters. Because we typically set "here and now" goals or goals on a small-time horizon (6 weeks, 8 weeks etc) that are unreasonable it leads to a decision-making process that is less practical with life and therefore doomed to fail before you start. To be as clear as I can be, I am not saying short term goals don't play their role, I am just saying that unrealistic time horizons lead to poor decision-making processes.
Based on experience this can lead to clients reporting:
Feeling burnt out trying to do it all
Feeling like recovery takes too long as they have to stretch their limit beyond capability every session
Feeling disheartened because they are on the up and down roller coaster of yo-yo health routines and results
Injury due to overload and spiking training volume
The feeling that this is just how it's meant to be for me
It's not and it doesn't have to be.
So, if I don't start here, where do I start?
Start with habit forming decisions in mind, not physiology or direct training consequence driven decisions. In other words, progress only relies on your ability to frequently and consistently work on your health. Frequency and consistency are the measures for behaviour. Without the right systems, process and behaviour, there is no health routine that works, not long term and your health is a long-term endeavour, it's the longest endeavour you will undertake. For many people this is the true individualism of health programs. It's not about what exercise you pick or even how many reps you do (sure it has its place but in reality, it's a smaller lever than behaviour), it's about your ability to have lifestyle systems in place to consistently do it.
Physical training and health overall are a relatively simple process, managing life stresses however is not and is often layered with many difficulties, trade-offs and sacrifices.
So, to start with keep it simple and try asking yourself some of these questions before you start;
What do you enjoy doing that is the most closely linked to your goals? Do that! (Small increments every day at this point are more effective than 1 or 2 large efforts that you struggle to recover from)
What is the minimum amount of time per day I can commit to something that pushes my health forward on a bad week? (sure, you can and should aim to exceed the minimum, but it's the tough days and weeks that unravel us the most, even if the time is small remember it's a process and the point here is habit formation not winning gold medals)
What barriers exist and how would I work around them / through them to ensure not to prioritize my health?
Whose support do I need to help keep me accountable and talk it out when and if needed?
Extend your time horizon. If you struggle to do this work with someone who can and set longer term goals (years) for your health with appropriate short-term markers to track success
Remember this is just about getting started, this isn't about becoming the best version of you possible… well not yet, it's about taking the first consistent step forward to noticeable and sustainable changes within your health.
If that step feels daunting or the path is unclear feel free to reach out that's why we are here!
