With this month seeing a great sporting hero celebrate his birthday it had the Racing Green office talking about new year's resolutions with many being to get fitter and healthier.

However, anyone who has set upon this quest will know it is much harder than expected and is not something you can attempt half heartedly. Even the great birthday boy himself acknowledged this.

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion" (Muhammad Ali).

If you're one of the many guys who suffer from a beer belly but have no idea how it got there, we've got some great advice to help you whip yourself into shape and become a lean fine specimen of a man.

Firstly, put down that bacon and egg sandwich you like to call breakfast! January is the month to get the year off to a good start. It's the perfect month to get into a good healthy routine so you can keep it up for the year ahead. Then when January 2013 comes, your new year's resolution can be to 'Keep up the good work'.

Burning off calories firstly starts in the kitchen. You need to sort your diet out before you start going to the gym and then training will help you to tone yourself into something that looks similar to Ronnie Coleman. So, a mixture of changing your diet, being a lot more active and determination is going to be needed.

If you’re a novice at this whole 'getting into shape' thing, don’t worry just make sure you loosen up and stretch off just like this and you're ready to go!

Here are some tips to get you started:

Set a realistic goal

Take an honest look at where you are now and plan how you're going to get from there to where you want to be. Not just with the gym training, the equipment you might need and your diet. Focus on the satisfaction that will come from achieving something new. Your posture and the way you look in clothes will improve and most importantly you'll feel great, physically and mentally.

Don’t let the weather dampen your spirits

If you like to run outside and it’s looking rather wet and windy you could go for a swim instead. Have a session on the treadmill and rowing machine at the gym. You'll feel a lot better for not putting it off.

Find a gym buddy

Sometimes it's hard to find the motivation and inspiration when training on your own. If you have a friend who will train with you it will give you that extra push and someone to lean on when motivation is lacking.

Inspiration

Music is a great inspiration! The good thing about head phones is no one can hear your guilty pleasures. If 'Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart' gets you going then use it as your power song to keep you running or cycling that little bit longer.

If you're going to make this change in 2012 let us know over on our Facebook page how you get on. All that is left to do now is put down that pain au chocolat because it's no better than the bacon sandwich you were just eating (...and the word 'pain' is in it for a reason) and pick out some of our Racing Green threads below.

 

Words by Craig Landale