Goals and Priorities

Take a couple of moments to think of some of the important goals in your life. What are they? Do you feel motivated and energised by them? This is a really common idea now that we talk about how important it is to have goals in our lives that help us get up in the morning and tackle the day with zest and enthusiasm. The extremely successful industrialist Henry Ford said: ¨Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” 

So, you’ve got your goals, but are they really making a difference to your life? Think about your priorities – what are they?

5 Top New Year's Resolutions

Unsurprisingly consumer Magazine Which? has found that the top five new year's resolutions are:

1. Do more exercise

2. Lose weight

3. Eat more healthily

4. Take up or restart a hobby/activity

5. Learn a new skill

New year is, of course, a good time to start thinking about how to be healthier and happier, but it's a continuous process - not something that has a definite goal to achieve. Even weight loss is more about what happens after you achieve your goal, and not just about the goal itself.

My book "500 Plus Health And Happiness Tips" can help you along the way.

But remember to be realistic about what you can achieve. Setting yourself too ambitious targets is a recipe for disaster. But also you need to have confidence in yourself and what you can achieve. Don't get discouraged if you make mistakes or aren't always at your best, as long as the general trend is in the direction you want to go, you'll eventually achieve that new year's resolution in full.

Why Sit Ups Arent The Best Thing For Your Core

Sit-ups once ruled as the way to tighter abs and a slimmer waistline, while “planks” were merely flooring. Now planks — exercises in which you assume a position and hold it — are the gold standard for working your core, while classic sit-ups and crunches have fallen out of favor. Why the shift?

One reason is that sit-ups are hard on your back — by pushing your curved spine against the floor and by working your hip flexors, the muscles that run from the thighs to the lumbar vertebrae in the lower back. When hip flexors are too strong or too tight, they tug on the lower spine which can be a source of lower back discomfort.

Second, planks recruit a better balance of muscles on the front, sides, and back of the body during exercise than sit-ups, which target just a few muscles. Remember, your core goes far beyond your abdominal muscles.

Finally, activities of daily living, as well as sports and recreational activities, call on your muscles to work together, not in isolation. Sit-ups or crunches strengthen just a few muscle groups. Through dynamic patterns of movement, a good core workout helps strengthen the entire set of core muscles — the muscles you rely on for daily activities as well as sports and recreational activities.

For more on the benefits of strengthening your core, purchase Core Exercises from Harvard Medical School.