Top Ten Tips: To Make Your Body Its Best For 2020

Get ready to make changes now!

From fat-loss to strength training, sticking to an exercise regime is sometimes easier said than done. Luckily, we have a fitness expert to help. Here, Daniel Wells, Dubai personal trainer and co-founder of Fit Squad DXB, shares his top ten tips for fitness success

1. We all have ups and downs in life with regards to fitness, and the festive season is probably a down for most. The best advice I can give for getting back in the zone after all the festivities is to go ‘cold turkey’ (excuse the pun). Use the new year to kickstart your training and completely abstain from one of your vices, be it sugar or dairy for example, for the whole month. This should get you back on track. The key is to start on the first of January. Don't allow days to roll into weeks.

2. For a safe, yet speedy, way to shed unwanted weight in the gym come January, consistency is crucial. Get your diet in line, and as mentioned, eliminate one of your main vices. Then keep training at least three times per week, all the way through to February. This will see you feeling fit, lean and ready for anything.

3. As with anything in life, what you put in you will get out. “How long before I see results?” is probably the most asked question, and the honest answer is that it’s different for everyone. The advice I give to all of my Dubai clients is to make the goal: your consistent training and your diet, and then the results will come. Focus too much on the end result, and more often than not you will fall off the wagon again.

4. Getting back into exercise after a break requires a different approach for different levels of fitness. If you're a seasoned trainer, then usually one slightly less intense session will suffice before you hit it hard again. If you're slightly less fit and less familiar with exercise, use the first week of sessions to build the tempo and intensity back up.

“On the days when training seems like a huge task, focus on a treat”

5. Many people are left feeling a little self-conscious after the festive season. I would always advise my clients not to worry and focus on the goal. If, for instance, you do not have a personal trainer and are worried to re-enter the gym, use the first few weeks to go on long walks or jogs with friends and shed a few kilos before you return.

6. I can’t think of anywhere better to be in January than Dubai, the weather is perfect, and ideal for training outside. The Skydive Dubai callisthenics park is the obvious choice for outdoor training in the city, but there are so many green spaces and basketball courts for a nice training session.

7. Many people are motivated to work out in January and then lose interest as the year goes on. But, as I mentioned before, consistency is the key to a fitter, stronger, happier you. Remember: if you have a bad day, week or even month it’s not all over, get back at training again ASAP.

8. After a long day at work, or early in the morning, the battle between sofa or bed and working out can be easily lost. A good tip that motivates me is to associate training with something that you like. For example: your carb-heavy refuel meal you get to eat afterwards, guilt-free! On the days when training seems like a huge task, focus on a treat.

9. When it comes to how often you should be training, there are various approaches. You can stay reasonably fit training two times a week, but to hit fat-loss and strength goals, you're looking at more like four to six times per week.

10. The most common mistake made when beginning a new fitness programme is setting unattainable goals and attempting a regime that is too intense. People want to see results straight away and go at it like crazy, then discover that they can’t keep up the pace. Set realistic goals, and if you don't know how to, it’s important to get a personal trainer on board who does.