It’s the first day of winter today (in case you hadn’t noticed – brrrr!) and in years gone by, I’ve seen our numbers at training start to dwindle slightly as the mornings get a little colder… And a little darker… and the call of the doona becomes stronger.

But this June feels different. I’m pumped and the Goddess girls are excited too: we had 13 girls at training this morning on the first day of winter – talk about commitment! So why the change? I put it down to our 12-week Winter Wellness Challenge, which more than 50 of our girls have signed up for already (there’s still time – we don’t officially kick off till Monday!).

At a time of year when it’s easy to hibernate and promise yourself you’ll start your health kick in another few months, when it’s warmer and lighter (and you can’t hide under so many layers!), we are ramping things up NOW.

Because the fact is, by Spring most people are usually kicking themselves that they didn’t put in the effort earlier – to feel leaner and stronger and more energetic.

I read a few alarming stats yesterday: one-third of Australians are concerned about putting on weight in winter; and nearly 40% of women expect to gain 2-5kg. Two in five Australians say their weight gain will be caused by exercising less and eating more takeaways and snack food (now there’s a shocker!).

I can only assume that these expectations are based on previous experiences. So for many people, winter weight gain is almost a foregone conclusion. But it doesn’t have to be. Let’s face it – most of us know what we should be doing to lose weight (or at least not GAIN weight).

But the main difference between people who do what they “should” do, and those who don’t is this: accountability. If you’re accountable to someone else, how much more likely are you to turn up to training? Or make the best food choices? Or push yourself to do one more set or go a little faster or lift a bit heavier?

Without someone who has your back, whose job it is to keep you accountable, 99% of people are going to take the path of least resistance, which means you might never achieve what you know you’re capable of.

When I’m doing my own training, I guarantee I will do more and go harder if I have a coach there pushing me (yes even trainers need a trainer!!). And I’ll push harder still if I have a team of people encouraging me, supporting me and relying on me to boost them up.

Moral of the story: motivating yourself by yourself is hard. It’s even harder when the conditions aren’t perfect. You want to succeed and achieve your goals? Find someone who’ll keep you accountable: a friend/ team/ coach/ trainer – or better still a whole tribe of supporters or teammates! Because they’ll have your back and get you moving even on days when you’d rather stay in bed.

Our 12-week Winter Wellness Challenge starts on Monday! I only have a few more spots available (face-to-face or online) – so if you want someone (or a whole tribe of someones!) to keep you accountable over winter so you can look and feel amazing by Spring, then just hit reply and I’ll send you more information ?

Hope to see you all at training!

Amy xx

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