New Year, New You?

The Christmas holidays are over and with any luck you’ve started the New Year feeling relaxed, refreshed, and ready to embrace the new you. What better way to give yourself an all over health boost than to assess your fitness, your natural vitamin intake and your mental wellbeing?

GET YOUR SWEAT ON

Whether you take up Yoga, Pilates, Boxing, Running or any other sport, make sure you have the right gear. Invest in quality gear and you’ll feel twice as guilty at letting your classes slide halfway through January, or giving up at the first hurdle. From designer to high-street, the shops are full of new season sportswear that combine fashion and function in a high performance mix to take your training to new levels from winter right through to summer. You’ll improve your comfort and performance in breathable, durable, design-focused sportswear wear. Look out for fast drying fabrics, specifically designed to regulate temperature such as sweat-wicking fabrics on vests for indoor training and thermal, long-sleeved tops for outdoor exercise.

New Look has a new sports collection that takes active wear to the extreme, with bold neon hues and vivid abstract prints, the selection offers on-trend back to basics of hoodies and sweats, perfect both in and out of the gym; while this season’s sportswear for women from Primark and Peacocks boasts form-flattering gym clothes. All the high street retailers offer purse friendly prices so you can slog it out for less.

You may also want to get in on the act at home. There is plenty of at-home exercise equipment around in the sales. Whether you only invest in a pair of dumbbells and an activity tracker from Argos, JD Sports or Maplin, or go the whole mile and splurge on a treadmill or an exercise bike, January is when all the great deals are there for the taking, so do your homework.

GIVE YOURSELF A BOOST

Top up your vitamin intake, give yourself an energy boost, and start juicing.

For super healthy juices use a cold-press as it retains the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and enzymes that promise to help you lose weight, boost immunity and cleanse your system. Because cold-press juicers don’t produce as much heat it means they keep more of the fresh ingredients’ nutrients intact so that your purple beet juices, green kale juices and orange carrot juice are bursting with goodness. Take a look in department and electronic stores now for some of the best bargains you’ll find all year.

Alternatively you can create a juice-smoothie. Get your money’s worth from your juicer and using a blender add bulky fruits or other ingredients that aren’t juicer friendly. Whereas a regular vegetable or fruit juices can leave you hungry a couple of hours later, if you blend a super nutritious juice with a banana and some crushed flaxseeds, chia seeds or nuts, you’ve a more substantial concoction that is absorbed slower and will keep you going until lunch.

Visit a Holland & Barrett or your local health food shop and ask them to talk you through the properties of all seeds and nuts available to you for juicing and for snacking on.

FEED YOUR MIND, BODY & SOUL

Your wellbeing is as important as your fitness and your diet. Feed your mind with the power of knowledge, and your body and soul will benefit. This is the month where you will find a multitude of self-help books and DVD’s available.

WHSmith and Waterstones both have a large variety of titles, many of which are in the sale. From learning the relaxing art of Tai Chi at home and achieving a strong body with daily Pilates, to discovering the art of Clean Cooking and safe ways to detox. There is a book or a DVD to show you the way.