Ah… the start of another year! A glorious time to set new goals and make your health, wellbeing and vitality a priority.

For many years I used to write down the age old resolution to ‘lose weight’.

I laugh at this now. There are lots of ways to ‘lose weight’ and for someone with a kilogram or two to lose, this goal is really not that inspiring!

A big shift came in my body composition when I started focussing on performance goals rather than the weight on the scales.

My waist narrowed out, my booty became more shapely, cellulite started to fade and visible muscle started to form.

Developing an lean, symmetrical bod is an ideal of most women. Unfortunately, many girls use inefficient strategies to get there.

Having a performance goal, instead of a weight loss goal will help you to utilise strategies that will allow you to see a decrease in body fat, as well as a host of other long-term health related benefits, like improved hormones regulation, greater resilience to stress, improved insulin sensitivity and metabolism, stronger bones and you might just fall in love with training.

As you develop a stronger body, you will find that other areas of your life improve too. Your growing confidence and self efficacy will radiate as you hit new PB’s and staying on track with diet and training becomes effortless.

When you focus on a performance goal, you are also more likely to think about yourself as an athlete. Consider how an athlete would fuel their body and workout? Shoot for a high protein, nutrient rich diet that supplies the body with around 1.6g/kg of protein will be a sure fire way to promote the thermic effect of food, promote tissue repair and best of all put your body in the best place to shed unwanted body fat.

Now it is time to set some achievable but challenging performance goals to work towards this year. Depending on your fitness level, you can scale these to suite your individual needs. If you are not sure where to start on these, be sure to get in touch!

Here are my top 10 performance goals. Good luck, now go hit some PB’s!

1. 10, 20 or 30 Push Ups- Push ups are one of the best body weight exercises that tests your upper body pushing power and core stability. Ladies, doing push ups on your toes is a fitness benchmark you can easily hit.
2. 1, 5 or 10 Pull ups- No swinging allowed and ensure that you are at a complete dead hang between each rep. This exercise is incredibly empowering once mastered. If you are working towards your first pull up, being able to hang for 60 seconds will help you to improve your grip strength and shoulder mobility.
3. 1 or 3 Muscle Ups- This is an advances performance goal. You must being able to complete strict pull ups and push ups with ease. This is my big goal for 2018!
4. Run 5km- If you have had a hiatus from running, this could be a great goal to help your ‘find your feet’. I highly recommend using a running app, such as Strava to help you stay motivated. Strava puts you in contact with other like minded folk, and lets you compete against them in challenges—it is also a great way to find tried and tested running spots around you.
5. 1 km or 2 km Time Trial- If you are more into short distance, setting yourself a time PB to hit is super easy and very stratifying once hit.
6. 500m Row under 2:30 mins- If you have bad knees, or simply do not like to run, jumping on the rowing machine can also be a great way to mature developing aerobic capacity.
7. 1 x Body Weight Barbell Chest Press- This is definitely a more advanced strength goal, but a awesome ‘bench’ mark to hit.
8. 10x Body Weight Barbel Back Squats- Back squats are consider king in the gym . Being able to perform 10 deep back squats holding your body weight is an awesome goal to work towards.
9. 1.5 or 2 x Body Weight Barbell Deadlift- The deadlift is a classic full-body strength training exercise that tests your ability to lift a heavy weight off the ground. This should only be performed once good form is developed, alongside adequate hip, hamstring, and upper back flexibility.  This is a solid feat of strength for any athlete, but be sure to have the right guidance on this one.
10. Improve your Mobility- To get stronger, you also need to be able to move well. Consider setting yourself some mobility goals. This could be to hold a Depp squat for 60 seconds, touch your hands behind your back or do a simple 10 yoga sequence everyday for 30 days.

If you are working towards, any of these goals or your own, be sure to let me know and share your progress on social media. I would love to see how you get on!