If you stick to one resolution this January, make sure it's to get into tip-top shape. With so many diets, workouts and exercise classes around, LUCY BUDGE asked a range of Nottingham's personal trainers and fitness enthusiasts to find out what they would recommend
Dancing
Amy Topham runs Nottingham dance school Amy CAN Top'Em, which specialises in dance from ballet and tap to street and contemporary.
As well as being a professional dancer and choreographer, Amy, from Gedling, heads her From The Heart fashion label, which sells dance, leisure and gymwear. This is available online and in Amy's own pop-up shop within the Made in Nottingham store in the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre.
Her top tips for getting fit in 2015 are:
A combination of dance and fitness is a great way to keep fit. You are building up a sweat but concentrating on the steps doesn't feel like a chore.
The new year is the perfect time to get fit as it is a fresh start. Set your goals from January and start the new year as you mean to go on.
For more information on Amy CAN Top'Em and From The Heart go to www.facebook.com/FromTheHeartFashion AndPhotography.
Hotpod yoga
Sarah Harrison runs daily classes of a new workout called Hotpod Yoga in locations across Nottinghamshire.
The yoga classes are held in an inflatable, portable yoga studio that can heat up to 37°C, which is said to help make the heart and lungs work harder and create a better cardio workout.
The pod, which comes in a range of shapes and sizes, can be used for both public and private classes and takes ten minutes to inflate electronically and ten more to deflate. It is made up of four permeable inflated walls and a covered roof which helps maintain a constant air flow.
The pods are the brainchild of yoga instructor Nick Higgins and management consultant Max Henderson, who wanted to make hot yoga more accessible and developed the idea around two years ago.
Here's Sarah's advice for people wanting to get fit come January:
Try something new and with all the January offers it is a great time to experiment.
Do something with a friend or partner. Chances are that you will both develop healthy new habits and enjoy quality time together.
Be realistic with your goals - it's much better to do something active just once or twice a week throughout the whole of the new year than go to a class every day in January and burn out by Valentine's Day.
For more information on Hotpod Yoga and for booking go to www.hotpodyoga.com
Healthy eating
Joanne Henson, of Clifton, is a health and wellness coach and the author of healthy eating books What's Your Excuse For Not Eating Healthily? and What's Your Excuse For Not Getting Fit?
Joanne specialises in helping people with a history of failed diets and fitness regimes to change their relationship with food and exercise.
Joanne shows you how you can make sure you're successful with your fresh start:
Set specific targets. Write down the date by which you want to reach your target.
Get organised. Once you've got a deadline you can plan the steps you need to take to get you from where you are now to where you want to be.
Make your plan achievable. Ask yourself is your goal actually possible, with the time and resources you are able and willing to dedicate to it? Give yourself a realistic target and you've got far more chance of achieving it.
Remember that one slip-up does not equal total failure. After a bad day, just make the next day a good one, and you'll be back on track.
For more information, go to www.joannehenson.co.uk.
Fitness classes
As the director of health and fitness at the Roko Health Club, in West Bridgford, Helen Cooke regularly holds a variety of fitness classes for all ages and has vast experience in the world of personal training.
Helen's top tips for getting out of your festive bad habits are:
Feel the love - you have got to love it or you are just going to give up. Try a class you went to once and really enjoyed but for some reason never went back.
Don't squeeze it all in. Life can easily get in the way. Straight from work or the school run or first thing in the morning are good ideas.
Get a chain going. Every day you exercise, mark an X on your calendar and try not to break the chain. If you do break it, start a new one.
Make it a ritual. Your workout routine is best done at the same time of every day. If your workout times are different times and days you will find it harder to expect it.
Get the measuring tape out because weight alone doesn't tell you very much. Increasing muscle can offset the decreases in fat so the scales don't change even if your body does.
Do it for you. Do it because you want to reap the rewards and you want to feel in control.
Roko Health Club can be found in Wilford Lane, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7RN. For more information go to www.roko.co.uk or call 0115 982 7799.
Personal training
Training expert James Lambert is the assistant general manager at PureGym Nottingham, in Nottingham Road, Basford.
James's top tips on how to achieve your goals for 2015:
Have a training buddy. You are more likely to go to the gym if you have a friend to go with. It makes a big difference when you have someone else relying on you going, plus it's more fun!
Make an appointment and book into your class in advance. You will be more likely to attend an appointment you have made.
Fail to plan, plan to fail. That means planning your week out in advance and making sure that you have put your workout kit in your car the night before.
Get a programme or personal trainer. Having a person to answer to makes all the difference and they'll be able to set you targets, tell you what to expect and provide you with the fastest and most effective way to achieve your goals. PureGym Nottingham can be found at 184 Nottingham Road, Nottingham, NG7 7BA. For more information go to www.puregym.com or call 0844 477 0005.
