Go Team Tuesday!

It wasn't a typical week with Poppy being unwell, but hopefully everyone was able to get to what they needed from other sessions. I'm sure I can speak for everyone in wishing Poppy a speedy recovery!

Congratulations to those who showed resilience by turning up in the pouring rain on Tuesday. Nothing is getting in the way of YOUR goals!!

Resilience leads to success in so many endeavours, including the pursuit of fitness goals. Setting specific, measurable goals is an important first step, but resilience enables us to weather the storms (sometimes literally) and continue toward our desired outcomes.

The importance of goal setting won't be new to anyone, but let's refresh our memories:

1. Setting goals significantly improves your chances of success.

2. Setting fitness goals guides your actions and tracks your progress.

3. Without goals, it's easy to lose focus and neglect intentions.

4. Regularly checking and updating your goals keeps you motivated and on track. 
   

Fitness goals make workouts more efficient, help you progress faster, and provide a clear measure of your achievements, keeping you motivated when obstacles come along.

Assuming you know what you want to achieve and how you intend to do it, you're left with taking action. You're more likely to succeed if you have a plan. One of the primary reasons for Andy's text on Sundays, along with managing resources, is to get you to make that plan. Making a commitment on Sunday sets you up for success, by encouraging accountability to yourself and your goals. Don't let the weeks slip by. Text through your intentions first thing on Sunday and make the week count. 

It looks like you've had a great week - rain, hail or... extreme humidity. The proof's below. Have a fabulous weekend!

Strength it is!

Just like that... its February! Hopefully you all made the most of the long weekend and found a way to beat the humidity. Apologies for the absence of a newsletter, I've included photos below from the last fortnight to make amends, but first up, Kathryn's captured the beautiful natural light you all get to witness at 6 am. Thanks, Kathryn!

Thank you to those who got involved with my goal poll (its not too late for anyone who forgot). It wasn't surprising to see that strength came out ahead, though I've since realised I didn't include an option for fat loss! Fat loss is best achieved in partnership with other goals, particularly gaining strength. Chasing gains is much more satisfying than chasing a loss, and an increase in metabolically active muscle mass is a much more sustainable approach to weight loss than hours of cardio, particularly when accompanied by good food choices (keep scrolling for the return of recipe suggestions).

Getting stronger is a fantastic goal. Most of us will have heard that we begin to lose muscle mass from around the age of 30, with the process accelerating from about 50. Load bearing exercise is crucial to prevent this decline. But the benefits of strength training are numerous:

• Strong muscles protect joints from injury and improve balance and posture

• Strong bones (improved bone density) reduce the risk of osteoporosis and bone injury

• Increased muscle mass maintains or improves metabolic function, burning through more energy at rest

• Assist in the management of chronic conditions such as arthritis, back pain, obesity, heart disease, depression and diabetes

• Improved self-confidence, body image mood and sleep... And lets not forget that feeling strong just feels great! Moving with ease is hard to beat.
  

When it comes to strength goals, one thing always comes to mind: "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten". The absolute key to progress is change, but more specifically, progressive overload. No matter what resistance you're working with (body-weight, bands or weights), if the stimulus doesn't increase you won't gain strength. If its a body-weight workout this might be the difference in the depth of a squat, plyometrics to target explosive muscle groups or simply increasing the load by moving the fulcrum. A great example of this is push-ups on your toes instead of knees, or if you're really keen, raising your feet to increase the load on your chest, upper back and shoulders. If you're working with weights or bands, you simply MUST increase the work in small increments REGULARLY. Increasing the actual weight is ideal, but adding a couple of reps to ensure you work the muscle to capacity can also help. Every resistance session should challenge you, so try picking up something a little heavier this week. You can always skip a rep if you need to, or do one heavier set before returning to the weight you're more confident with. 

And now for the fun bit - highlights from the last fortnight. All the best for the week ahead!

What's your goal?

I love January. Many of us have time off work, there are more opportunities to see friends and family, more excuses for a glass of wine, more time to relax, go to the beach, or in our house... more chances to go to the gym! With young kids the latter becomes a luxury we don't take for granted.

January is also a great time to think about what we hope to achieve in the year ahead. Since we've all nailed regular exercise, perhaps we have more specific performance or aesthetic goals this year (Tough Mudder, anyone?). I'd love you to click an option below or email me with something more specific. This will help me to include useful content in the coming weeks.

• Faster

• Stronger

• Fitter

• All of the above

• An event (marathon, wedding, etc)

• Maintenance

Training with friends is great fun and great motivation, particularly if they share your goals. Fortunately at Daybreak you're already friends! But if you know someone hoping to improving their health in 2024, you could help them take the first step by bringing them along. Until the end of February, in addition to the two week free trial, Andy is offering the first month half price for you and your friend, and since- we don't have steak knives to give away, you'll also get a Daybreak t-shirt from the new batch! Don't miss out on the opportunity to bring a friend along - I'm sure they'll thank you.

It looks like loads of you put in the effort this week. Here are the photos to prove it: