It is that time of year when we are all getting a bit fed up with the cold weather and we are desperate for spring to come along to recharge our batteries and make us feel energised and happy again. Until then, here are a few things that you can do now to make you feel rejuvenated and ready for anything!

Start Your Mondays As You Mean To Go On 
I truly believe that by starting your Monday as you mean to go on sends the right message to  you and your body and you’re more likely to see your healthy regime through till Friday! I try and hit the gym before work, or kick off the day with a green juice (sometimes both when I’m feeling really angelic). You might prefer doing a yoga session or spending ten minutes meditating. Whatever you decide you want to do to give your week a proper Hip and Healthy kick, set the intention on the Sunday night and prepare for it. Lay out your clothes for the gym/yoga or organise the green juice ingredients as we all know that Monday mornings are busy at the best of times and if you can make it just that little bit easier the night before you are more likely to follow through with your healthy intention.

Stretch
Taking as little as ten minutes out of your day to stretch can reap amazing results. We suggest dividing this up to five minutes in the morning and five minutes before bed.
Morning Suggestion: Kneel with one knee on the floor (make sure your knee is supported by some form of padding such as a cushion). When steady in this position, tuck your pelvis under so you are creating a ‘C’ shape. Keep your back straight. You should feel this in your hip flexers and groin. Another major area it helps to stretch is the hamstring on your back leg.
Evening Suggestion: Backs get truly tight during the week so lie on your back and bring your knees to your chest and rock from side to side. This will help to loosen the shoulders and massage the lower back.

Don’t Skip Meals (and think carefully about snacks)
Many people skip meals as they feel they have over done it the day before and they want to cancel this out, but in fact this will just send the wrong sort of messages to your brain and you’ll end up feeling low in energy and depressed and then probably overeating on snacks later. Instead, eat properly and healthily each meal time and think about what snacks you would like to introduce. Have fruit before lunch (your body can digest it better), so an apple at 11am is a great way to starve off hunger for a bit longer. And then in the afternoon – if you feel you need something else – have a vegetable juice, a couple of gluten-free oat cakes or a Nakd bar (they are our fave!). Try not to snack on packets of nuts because if you are anything like me portion control can be a problem and before you know it the entire bag is gone!

Set Yourself a Bedtime
If you are going to work exhausted then this could be one for you! Tiredness can lead to over-eating (it makes your body constantly hungry by emitting the hunger hormone ghrelin), lack of exercise, poor decision making, grumpiness (no one likes grumpiness!), loss of sex drive, aged skin and a whole host of other really boring feelings! It has been reported that as much as 50% of Britons don’t feel like they get enough sleep. And women are three times more likely to have insomnia than men and another recent study performed in Tokyo revealed that those who don’t get a good night’s sleep are twice as likely to suffer from depression. Don’t be one of these people! Set yourself a bedtime and start properly winding down an hour and a half before then.

Also, check out our article on the joys of Personal Training. Click here.