This spring has been the most emotional ‘changing of the seasons’ in my life to date. The success of the vaccine roll-out, coupled with the easing of lockdown restrictions and warmer weather, have been a welcome panacea after 2020 aka Annus Horribilis.

Spring always feels great in terms of new beginnings and, for obvious reasons, this one feels more so than many before it. But there is one blemish on the start of spring every year for many of us – we come out of winter with a ‘hibernating’ body and struggle with the mental, emotional and physical strain of getting our summer bodies and fitness regimes back on track!

Today I’ll let you in on an uncomfortable truth... summer bodies are built in winter!

The best time to start is now!

But all is not lost – the best time to start anything is now! If you are currently unfit, carrying a little extra weight, haven’t put together that proposal, posted your application or whatever it is you need to do, it’s time to take the first step.

While none of us have been living the life of our dreams over the past year, it has little to do with a lack of skill, discipline, clarity of purpose, intelligence or motivation. The major reason most people feel they are failing to live a life they absolutely love is because they’ve been afraid.

Fear is the number one paralyser – it limits our perspectives and weighs down our mindset; it keeps people from taking (‘good’) risks and starting or doing things they know are good for them or important for their health, happiness and career/business development.

If we’re not careful, fear can hold us back from achieving the things in life that we’re truly capable of. The good news is that fear, doubt and procrastination can be overcome – real growth happens if you take the first step and make every moment count.

Many of us have tried countless strategies to create results in our lives, to varying degrees of success, but more than any other success strategy, I have found there is one powerful way to transform your life with greater consistency and far less stress than you could do on your own.

Accountability partners

Having an accountability partner or mentor – someone you respect, who encourages and supports you, and will hold your feet to the flames, keeping you on the right path – is an absolute game changer to your well-being. And by extension, being a mentor or accountability buddy for someone else is hugely rewarding too!
With the stresses the pandemic has brought, exercise can be a great break from the realities of daily life, as well as releasing those all important endorphins and improving our mood.

Kick-start your spring fitness regime

Here is a home-based workout to kick-start your spring fitness regime. Set your stopwatch to five minutes and do the following five exercises in a row, then repeat for as many rounds as you can do before your five minutes is up.

Note the variations for different fitness and strength levels, and avoiding possible injury concerns.
• Squat jumps (or squats/30-second wall squat)
• ‘Clap’ push ups (or T push ups/regular push ups)
• Burpees (or squat thrusts)
• Sit ups
• Jumping Jacks

So this spring, get up, get fit, have fun and commit to finding an accountability partner! You will thank me later!