Last year, just a few months after launching the Fit Brit Collective blog, I posted five New Year’s Resolutions to help maintain my focus in 2015. A whole year later, I feel pretty happy looking back at my goals and the progress I’ve made.

Through regular yoga practice I’ve pinned down my favourite practice styles to Ashtanga, Rocket and Power Yoga. And since teaching at Heartcore, I now incorporate at least one Reformer Pilates session into my weekly workouts. Within the year I also decided to qualify as a PT and leave my office job as a copywriter to give Fit Brit Collective my full-time attention – I definitely feel more self-certain in my career. Between teaching classes, working with clients and managing a full-on workload, inventive packed lunches have become a must. And none of this would have been possible without a lot of positive thinking and checking in with my family and friends.

With 2015 proving such a strong and exciting year, I’m raising the bar in 2016 with five new resolutions to keep me learning, growing and giving.

Qualify as a post-natal fitness specialist

Starting this month, I’m advancing my fitness qualifications with a YMCA course in ante and post-natal training. I believe we’re all in transition, and that one of life’s greatest transitions for women is becoming a mother. Through smart and effective training, I’m looking forward to helping more new mums tackle their new responsibilities, new priorities and new challenges with unbridled energy and confidence.

Go on a fitness retreat

No more lusting after Instagram photos and videos of sunny getaways dedicated to twice daily workouts and whole, healthy nutrition. This year I’m putting a fitness retreat on my travel calendar – and looking out for opportunities to join or run one for myself!

The year of the headstand

My commitment to yoga is going nowhere, and in 2016 I’m turning my focus upside down with an emphasis on inversions. This January, I’m entrusting in The Power Yoga Company to help me connect with my intentions and lock into headstand with more strength and confidence. See you on the mat!

Give back to my #sweatsquad  

I get so much happiness and motivation from working with my incredible #sweatsquad – the fellow trainers, inspiring clients and unstoppable training partners who continue to settle for nothing but the best. This year, I’m doing more to give back to my #sweatsquad (if you’re reading this, that includes you) with more online workouts, training tips and special fitness events to show my thanks! Pop back to the blog next weekend for a special 2016 workout designed to give you a firm full-body fitness foundation with exactly 2016 reps.

Launch Fit Brit Collective bootcamps

I find nothing more rewarding than helping a client connect with their goals. Through Fit Brit Collective outdoor bootcamps, coming soon to Wimbledon Common, I’ll be further delivering on my mission statement to make meaningful connections through exercise. Think partner exercises, invigorating group training drills and the satisfaction of completing every workout as a team. You may even meet your next training partner in the process. Contact me at brit@fitbritcollective.com to find out more.

I’m ready to take on the new year. Are you? I’d love to hear about your goals and resolutions. If you’re considering personal training to set you on the right track, contact me to arrange a free consultation. Wishing you health, happiness and success in 2016!

If ever there’s a time when community feels important, it’s Christmas time. When a year comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on the highs and lows of the past 12 months, and the highs almost always involve my friends, clients and all those moments that contributed to a sense of community. In 2015, the fitness community particularly impressed me. So much so that, as of yesterday, I left the security of a rewarding full-time job to give more of my time and attention to the inspiring trainers, journalists, clients and friends who I am proud to count among my fitness family.

I’ve been part of a lot of communities during my life so far. There have been office communities, residential neighbourhoods, branches of extended family and my husband’s family, school and university networks, interest-related clubs and societies, online communities… so why did the fitness community make such a big impression on me?

I recently came across an Instagram quote that read: “I’m not interested in competing with anyone. I hope we all make it.” I saved this quote because I think it’s a perfect summary of the fitness industry. Like sport, fitness can certainly give rise to competition, but beneath that sense of friendly rivalry rests an inherent respect for others within our fitness family and a wealth of goodwill to see others do well. Because in fitness, it’s precisely the success of others that inspires us to break down boundaries and be the best we can be.

When I was first thinking about training for my PT qualifications, I was astounded by how much encouragement I received from others in the fitness industry. There was no sense of unwanted competition, or fear of others’ success. There was only a desire to join together and spread the benefits of wellbeing, safe in the knowledge that each of us brings something unique to the table. Eager for the opportunity to reach more people and help them find that unsurpassable sense of empowerment that comes from surmounting the physical and mental challenges of exercise.

Fitness professionals and enthusiasts make up one of the biggest communities in social media for this very reason. We love to see others succeed, whether it’s through new PBs, trying new workouts, creating something delicious in the kitchen or making a complete physical and lifestyle transformation. On more practical terms, social media also plays a huge role in introducing us to new exercises or classes, meeting people who share similar goals or workout preferences, and keeping engaged through the advice and motivation always just one scroll away.

While I love social media, one of my favourite benefits of the fitness community is the way it fosters offline connections. Last week, after teaching TRX in Heartcore Fulham, I sat down on the tube beside a girl with an adorable dog nestled in her handbag. Her canine companion rightly sensed the dog-lover in me (and the golden retriever hairs on my coat after cuddling one of Heartcore’s many studio dogs) and jumped onto my lap. After mentioning I teach at Heartcore, the girl told me she is a regular at the nearby Power Yoga Company and we immediately bonded over our favourite yoga instructors and classes. Making conversation on the London Tube is a rarity, so I put this new addition to my growing fit fam down to the welcoming, supportive and inspiring community of people who strive for the best in wellbeing.

As we say goodbye to 2015 and usher in 2016 with more love, energy and determination than ever, I just want to say thank you to everyone who continues to teach, inspire and motivate me. And that includes YOU. Even more than fellow trainers, I am constantly learning from my clients. YOU are the reason I happily set my alarm for 5am and feel continually inspired to be the best version of myself. Your success is my success, and there’s no motivation bigger than that. Happy Christmas team! Let’s make 2016 epic!

Love Brit x

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my new fitness services, available from January!

There are times when, for one reason or another, you need to take a break from your training regime. It is only over the last few years that I’ve given myself permission to take time out, and it is in learning to pause that I’ve understood how best to move forward. December is always a month of irregularities for me. As a result of my birthday earlier this week, I was reminded of the immense pleasure of dessert – and have face planted perhaps one too many brownies since.

In just over two weeks I’ll be returning home for the holidays, and between now and then I’ll be enjoying  several champagne-fuelled parties. When I am back in Canada for Christmas, I’ll replace my intense gym workouts and studio classes with sledging up and down a snowy hill and clipping into my skis. There will be big dinners, with chocolates for afters. In search of quiet time away from the Christmas hustle, there will be Starbucks Toffee Nut Lattes. And there will be snacking while Christmas films play on the television – white chocolate popcorn and my Grandma’s homemade trail mix smothered in the sweet and spicy seasoning no one else can get just right.

The point I’m trying to make is that it’s OK to take a break. In fact, it’s advisable to give your body a rest every once in a while, to mix up your routine and allow yourself to experiment with new foods, new hobbies. As long as you get a healthy amount of activity into your day, and look forward to your next big challenge – be it improving your barre technique, finally nailing that headstand in yoga or running a half marathon – your body will thank you for it.

As an added bonus, you’ll probably notice bigger and faster changes when you do get back into training. The latest science tells us that you’ll plateau by doing too much of the same exercise, so shocking your body back into action can supercharge the benefits of your workouts.

Yes, the countdown to Christmas is here (take a quick scan through the newly decorated trees on Facebook if you don’t believe me). So go on and enjoy it. Just make me one promise – spend some quality time off the sofa every day. Just last night I had the opportunity to watch in angst as Eddie Redmayne played Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, motor neuron disease swiftly stripping him of the physical capabilities he’d enjoyed across the first two decades of his life. It made me cry. It left me feeling inspired by the infinite possibility of humankind. It made me want to use my body for good and shovel someone’s walkway – then build a snowman out of the fluffy white mounds. (It’s out in the UK on New Year’s Day. Watch it if you need extra motivation to transform your New Year’s resolutions into a reality). Don’t take those small yet beautiful actions for granted.