What Does 2017 Have in Store?

I don't want to do a new year's resolutions post as like everyone else I give up after January. I thought instead I would do something different. It's more of what I have in store for myself, what I want out of 2017 and what I want to learn in 2017. So here we go here is what I want out of 2017.

What has 2017 got in store for me?

2017, what have you got in store for me that is the big question I think everyone is asking. Well, I would like to think you have lots of exciting plans and many things that will make me extremely happy. 

I want adventure in 2017, I want to see countries that I've never seen before but also go to countries I've fallen in love with. I plan on trying to go away at least 3 times this year. I want to revisit Wroclaw (Poland) after falling in love with the city but I want to revisit cities within England like London and Manchester. I want to travel with people that are important to me who challenge me to take a step out of my little box.

I want to learn something new this year. I want to learn a skill that might be related to my career or even just to develop me as a person. If you know me you will know that I'm not creative at all but I would like to change that I don't want to become the next big artist or become the next strictly dancer but do want to try something new like photography or cooking.

I hope 2017 has a lot of fun and I get to met even more new people. I want to keep meeting new people, 2016 I did that by trying out new things and going to events.

I'm hoping 2017 will help me get out of my student overdraft, as much as it kills me to say it I want to start becoming an adult and save money. At the moment I live pretty much by the pay packet but I want to change that. I want to eventually move out of my mams house and into a small little flat.

What I want out of 2017?

I don't want much out of 2017 I just want to have fun. I felt last year I just went into a place where I like staying in my bed and not leaving for a few day but this year I want to push myself and enjoy it. Towards the end of 2016, I did things I never thought I would including doing my 1st 10K, booking a random trip away without doing any research on it. I want to just live in the moment a bit more.

Even tho I want to live in the moment more, I also want a routine so I become more organised. there was a point last year where I was forgetting what week and day it was because I was so unorganised. I don't want that this year. Before writing this post I have sorted out my tax return, bills and sorted all my paperwork, 2017 will be my most organised year. 

I want to look after my body. This is not a new year, new me type of look after my body. I want to look after my body in a form of feeling better within myself. I want to look after my mental health and focus on self-care. 

2016 I started going to church and I want to keep learning about Christianity. I have a few small courses lined up with the church to help me learn more and I'm excited to see where it goes. 

What I want to learn in 2017

I want to learn more about myself, I want to learn how far I can push myself, I want to learn how to handle my anxiety that I have surrounding my car, but still want to push myself. 

I want to learn how to say no. I got quite bad at saying yes to everything and got myself so stressed and started to not enjoy certain things in my life. As much as money is important so is having weekends off or a few nights to myself. 

I want to learn about SEO and up my blogging game. I started to really enjoy blogging towards the end of 2016. I've also found someone that is interested in what I do and likes to give me inspiration and help with my blog, which I'm hoping will help up my blogging game. 

Finally, I want to engage in the blogging community more, I want to try and get involved in blogger chat, comment on people's blog post and just be more involved I was lucky to be invited to quite a few events in Newcastle but it would be lovely to meet bloggers outside of events.

These are the many things I want to get out of 2017 as you can see there isn't any number or goals it is all about trying to live life in the moment a bit more. Have you plans for 2017 and what does 2017 have in store for you? 

I hope it's as exciting as my 2017 is going to be. 

Exercise, Why do we start?

Everyone has their own reasons why they start something. When it comes to fitness some people find it harder than other to start. I work with young people, middle aged people and even the older generation who all at some point decided that they wanted to get into exercise for their own reasons. Some reasons are more serious than others but they all have one thing in common and that is that they took the first step and did something. Some people far really fit when they're younger and then life gets in the way and it isn’t the main priority of their life but then something clicks and it then because more of a priority.

This post is to show that everyone has their own reasons for starting and that it isn’t straight forward but if you keep trying you’ll get there eventually.

I thought I would start by telling you about how I got into exercise. I started doing sport at a young age I was involved in every sport at school but when I was at university I couldn’t handle juggling doing exercise, having a job and assignments. That was when I stopped doing exercise but unlike most students I lost a lot of weight and my confidence wasn’t what it used to be. I was so underweight that a lot of people got very concerned about my health. I decided that was when I needed to get back into exercise and found tennis. Tennis was my stress release and soon become the sport I would coach as my main sport. I wanted to get fit again because while at university I lost any fitness I had, I had signed up for the Great North Run in 2015 and started running and strength training at the gym. Now I’m slowly putting on weight and my fitness is definitely better.

Some people find the hardest part of getting involved in exercise is the starting point. I’ve run 2 beginners running programs for the past 6 months with over 20 people starting each one. Every one of them starts wanting to make to make it through the 10 weeks but for some that doesn’t happen but it doesn’t stop them trying again just like Shivani and Laura who I’ll talk about that later.

Most people have to try more than one type of exercise to find the one that’s best for them; Helen from Nelly's Cupcakes told me she wanted to get fit so she could keep up with her toddler and be a good/healthy role model for her which is a perfect reason to get fit. She first tried out Zumba which she did enjoy but because of class politics, she started to not enjoy it anymore and decided to try running. She started running and she started alone doing the Couch to 5K and a year later she is still going. If you’re like Helen and find that you’re not enjoying what you’re doing mix it up and try something new you never know you might fall in love with it.

Helen wasn’t the only person I spoke to that wanted to get fit because of their kids Pixie from Fashion Voyeur wanted to get fit because she has a severely autistic son and wanted to get fit so she could give him the best life but also so that she could handle anything that he threw at her. She first started with Barre but now does a large range of exercises including boxing and roller derby. Pixie went on to tell me that exercise has become a coping mechanism for her as for her ‘its pure escapism.’ Pixie has become to love exercise so much she became an This Girl Can ambassador in 2015 along with 100’s of other women across the country.

From talking to a people I work with a lot of them get involved in exercise because they want to lose weight. Shivani Malhorta from Cloud in a Teacup told me how she had always been an overweight adult and after trying to get fit on a number of occasions decided that last year was the year to get serious and started the gym in June. At first, she hated it but she kept going, she started off cycling, walking on a treadmill and doing a few minutes on a cross trainer, she started off really slow but she’s kept going and now she is doing HIIT workouts and weights. For her, it’s not about being skinny it about feeling healthy and strong. Shivani has lost 4.5 stone (give her a round applause because that’s amazing) in weight but she has seen a huge change in her body shape because of the exercise she is doing and that has given her a lot more confidence. 

Laura Dawson from Elle Blonde was another amazing lady that started off being a big lady and decided she wanted to change that, she took herself to the gym and for her, that was when it clicked. She lost 4 stones in a matter of months (I’ve seen her in person and she looks amazing) and that was where her healthy obsession began. Laura had horrendous depression two years ago and refused to go on medication and one night after a few too many drinks signed up to do the biggest half marathon in the North East. After training and running further, she discovered that her depression got better.

After I left university I really got into research about how exercise could have a good effect on people’s mental health. I know myself that when I feel low that going out and doing some sort of exercise I feel always feel good after.

So when Kayleigh Lindstedt from I Dream of Coco told me how she suffered from mild anxiety and she started running as a way to clear her head as well as keep herself fit. She has even signed up to do the Great North Run which is a half marathon (Good Luck Kayleigh). Holly Olivia Stephenson from Bisous, Holly Olivia (http://bisoushollyolivia.blogspot.co.uk/) was another lady that started exercising to help reduce anxiety and depression. Holly decided that she wanted to work on her upper body which now she doesn’t have to cover up in warmer weather and has helped to improve her confidence. Like many other people, she tried swimming, running and cycling but fell in love with body weight exercises and hula hooping.

When Andy Hooper from Here Come the Hoopers told me how he got involved in exercise because he wanted to use it as a way of socialising. Alan recruited the dads from his estate after his wife Catherine had decided to recruit the mams from the estate to do a couch to 5K together. After running for a few weeks Alan decided to do the Disneyland Half Marathon in September.

I’ve used these stories with a hope that these might inspire someone to want to exercise or keep some people already exercising motivated. Writing this post is making me want to go out and go for a run and I hope it has inspired you.

I hope you like this post I have. I have loved writing this and can’t thank the bloggers in this post enough for telling me their stories. If you like these types of post please leave me a comment below.

Why not tell me your reasons for getting involved in exercise?