Cleanse your life

Hard to believe but you made your new year’s resolutions months ago. If you were in the midst of a summer holiday as 2015 clicked over, chances are the changes you planned to make for the fresh year barely got off the ground.

Now that life and routines are back in full swing, your goals may have a better chance of happening. Professional life coach Gill Skeer shares her goal-setting and success tips:

Goals are to help you be a better version of yourself, so expect to feel stretched beyond your comfort zone. Positive emotions are powerful motivators and are integral to goal setting. Get excited about what you plan to achieve.

The mind is a powerful thing. Feed it well. Don’t focus on what you don’t want — focus on what you do. Make specific goals. Exactly what do you want to achieve? When? The more concise, the greater the chance of success.

Five exercises you can do everyday from Healthy Body Healthy Mind personal trainer Shannon MacLachlan. You will need a fit ball and a kettle bell (available at sports stores) for some of these exercises.

FOR BODY SCULPTING

What: Hanging knee raises

How: With your arms, hang from an overhead bar. Keep shoulders and back engaged. Using your core, raise your knees to your elbows.

This is a challenging abdominal exercise for the whole body.

FOR THE TUMMY

What: Fit ball sit-ups

How: Position the fit ball as close to the wall as possible without touching it. Using an area you can safely do it in, hook your feet into ball height, lower your body to the decline position and crunch upward. Great for sculpting the upper abs.

FOR GREAT ARMS

What: Kettle bell side bends

How: Hold the kettle bell at your side with the other hand behind your head. Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, bend to the side holding the kettle bell then return to the start position and change sides.

FOR CALORIE BURNING

What: Incidental exercise

How: Incorporate as much exercise as you can. Walk to the shop instead of driving, tread water while the kids are in the pool or at swimming lessons; every bit counts.

MAKE THE MOST OF SUMMER

Get to the beach for an invigorating workout.

Walk, run and then enjoy a refreshing swim while the weather is at its best.

PLAN TO SUCCEED

So you've firmed up your 2015 goals and are moving more?

Now its time to get serious about any excess kilos that you put on over summer.

Naturopathic nutritionist Jan Purser suggests these ideas:

1. Heading out for a meal? Have two smaller meals rather than entree and main and you don’t necessarily need to do dessert every time.

2. Make the most of the range of beautiful healthy summer vegetables and try to limit yourself to two pieces of fruit a day.

3. Minimise alcohol and stick to protein and vegetables six days a week.

4. Preparation and planning help prevent failure. Plan your meals and when heading out make sure you know the ones you should avoid.

5. Team up with a friend trying to shed excess kilos to keep you on track and encourage each other along the way.

APPS TO REACH YOUR GOALS

Download these gems to give you a kickstart and keep you on track:

Easy Diet Diary

A free app to see what’s in the food you’re eating. easydietdiary.com. (Pictured right.)

My Fitness Pal

This free app provides easy to use calorie counting and food-tracking methods. myfitnesspal.com.

Tabata Trainer App

An easy-to-use interval-training app based on the Tabata high-intensity training method. tabatatimer.com.

Gym Boss

Timed interval training for a variety of workouts. gymboss.com.