The New Year is still the perfect time to set some goals and finally get in shape, a personal trainer has said. 

For some, New Year’s resolutions have become such a cliché that they almost never take theirs seriously. 

But for personal trainer and wellness coach John Belton, the start of the New Year will always be a time to sit down and evaluate what he wants from life.  

“I love it and I’ll explain why - momentum,” he told Late Breakfast. 

“You get so much momentum in the New Year by closing off an old chapter and starting a new chapter. 

“Lean into that excitement, lean into that positive energy and you can have more opportunities, more classes, more peers in it. 

“I think you should grab it and go.” 

Women in a yoga workout exercise together in a gym. Image: Ammentorp Photography / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Belton suggested that people should “sow some seeds in January” that your future self will be proud of next Christmas. 

“I think a scary goal is really important to have but make sure it’s set in a timely manner,” he said. 

“Whether that’s running your first 5k or running across a desert, pick that target, set it and then work back from it.” 

Mr Belton said a negative attitude can be a self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to achieving things and that developing a positive mindset is “key”. 

“We change the narrative by changing the small little conversations that we have on a daily basis,” he said. 

“If you listen to the language we use when we communicate with ourselves, if it’s a negative language, that translates into lots of other areas in our lives.

“If you start believing in yourself, there’s a great quote, ‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe and achieve’ and that is so true. 

“Let this be the year of that self belief and that changing of the narrative.” 

Picture of people running on treadmill in gym. Picture  by: Alamy.com 

Mr Belton said your New Year’s goal does not have to be about fitness and can apply to anything you want to achieve or change. 

“When any client starts with me or anybody that wants to change anything in their life, the first thing is that you have to want to change,” he said. 

“You can have this thought or this idea that it might be a nice thing to do… and it’s easy to train someone who wants something. 

“Truly wanting something means that it’s occupying a lot of your thoughts… If you want something, then the world is your oyster.”

According to a survey by FruitySlots.com, getting fit is still Ireland’s most common New Year’s resolution with 49% saying they plan to exercise more.

Main image: A spinning class using exercise bikes at a gym. Picture by: MBI / Alamy Stock Photo