Surrey Homes | SH63 | January 2020 | Travel & Wellbeing supplement inside

Be Kind
& Unwind
It isn’t necessary to punish yourself to be fit and
healthy this January, as Sarah Maxwell proves
Christmas is over for another
year, New Years resolutions
firmly in place and every
magazine and advert is telling you to
lose weight and get ready for summer.
If you are starting to feel that maybe
you’ve overdone it a little and don’t
know where to start, don’t despair
as fitness trends this year have taken
on a whole new track and 2020 is
all about nurturing yourself both
physically and mentally. Bring it on!
So, there is no need to get into
a blind panic and sign up to every
fitness class and a drastic detox;
I’m going to suggest a different
approach that will help you remain
consistent with your health and
fitness over the coming months.
Start with a positive mindset and
instead of saying, ‘I must lose weight
and get fit,’ try saying, ‘This year,
I’m going to take care of myself, feel
stronger and happier by gradually
getting fitter and eating well.’ There,
doesn’t that feel better? Ease into
this and listen to your body. Move
away from the, #couldntwalkfordays
mentality! If that is what you live for,
then go for it and stop reading now.
The rest of you will be delighted to
know that it isn’t necessary to punish
yourself to be fit and healthy; January
doesn’t have to be miserable and
the most effective way to sustain a
healthy body and mind is balance.
Let’s take a look at some of the
fitness and lifestyle trends predicted
for 2020 to inspire us through
January and give us something to get
excited about in the coming year.
Mindful Fitness
With the increasing levels of stress
and pressure we are facing, people
are looking for a mindful approach
to their health and fitness.
Mindful training enables you to put
all of your worries to the back of your
mind, disconnect from everything
that is making you feel overwhelmed,
and allow yourself some ‘me-time’.
Being mindful also encourages
you to pay attention to your training
and learn how to be more presentfocused.
Outdoors or indoors, looking
after your body, mind and soul will
bring many rewards this year.
Cardio Barre
With the popularity of ballet barre
workouts continuing, many barre
classes are now adding a cardio
element to take you to another level.
A combination of traditional ballet
moves, high intensity training alongside
Pilates and yoga all in one class. Expect
to see a lot more classes in 2020.
Home Fitness and Wellbeing
Many people don’t want to have to
leave the house to workout. There
could be many reasons for this from
saving time to because they’d rather
not exercise in front of others.
Thankfully, with the increase of
online fitness classes and courses,
personal trainers on line, Peleton cycle
training and wearable technology,
to name a few, we now have access
to a wide range of fitness activities
wherever you are in the world.
Mind, Body and Spirit
Over the years we have seen, goat yoga
(yes, seriously, it’s a thing), hot yoga and
naked yoga. This year is all about yoga
fusion. Yoga high intensity training is
predicted to be a big success this year.
It involves traditional yoga
moves combined with bursts
of high intensity training.
Wild Swimming
All around the South East, we are
blessed with miles and miles of
meandering, murky rivers and there are
a growing group of hard core swimmers
who use this beautiful, natural backdrop
as their place of exercise, swimming in
the open water all year round. I’m told
it does wonders for the circulation.
Staying warm and dry has a far stronger
pull than my curiosity, so I’m afraid
I’m going to have to leave it to you
to report back to me on that one!
Exercise of
the month:
Take a few moments to think how
you want to feel this year. Write
it down and start with baby steps.
You owe it to yourself to nurture
and love the person you are.
I bet you never thought you’d
hear a Personal Trainer say that!
✣
Happy New Year x
Sarah Maxwell is a multiple awardwinning
Fitness and Lifestyle coach
and mum of two who juggles a lot
of balls. Find out more about Sarah
and her work at sarahmaxwell.com
Sarah shares her Fitness and
Lifestyle tips on Instagram
@sarahmaxwelllifestyle
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