What is January For?
By the second week of January, the shine is starting to wear off for many people. The gym starts to feel a little quieter. The calendar is beginning to get a little fuller. Some individuals haven’t started. Others already “fell off.”
Good. January shouldn’t necessarily be a time for perfection. But it is a time for orientation.
If you’ve stumbled, you’ve still got 51 weeks. Missing the first deposit doesn't ruin the year; it just means you start now with your eyes open to the challenges and barriers you may be facing.
The Purpose of January
Use it to set a floor and a direction—not to prove you’re superhuman. Floors are boring for a purpose: two strength sessions, one cardio, protein at each meal, a consistent sleep window. Direction is choosing one lever to pull that makes everything else in the process just a little bit easier.
That’s it. January can be done well when considered as a compass, not necessarily as a scoreboard.
Why Resolutions Slip
January has a tendency to hand out motivation like free samples. Every gym, health food supplier, and supplement company has aggressive advertising, and a discount to sweeten the deal even further. That surge is useful—it can get people moving. But most individuals fail at the first dip when motivation fades and your brain’s autopilot wants the old routine back.
However the bridge is remarkably simple:
Motivation (the spark) →
Discipline (show up and execute when it’s not fun) →
Habit (less friction, more default) →
Identity (“I’m someone who exercises Tue/Thurs”).
Your job in January to to start to build the bridge, not to sprint across it. Make it as easy as you can: fixed training days/times, kit and trainers laid out the night before, simple meals that are easily repeated, a set bedtime/wake-time. Whilst you’re still in the motivation moment, let the executive planner part of your brain do its job before the autopilot starts to take over again in the later stages of January.
A “two-week” January that works
If you’re stuck with where to begin, pick one lever and a floor. Run it for 14 days. Review on the final Monday of January.
A few examples:
Lever: In bed by ~9:30pm, lights out by ~10pm.
Floor: Tue/Thurs full-body resistance session (30-40mins), Saturday Z2 (20-30mins), protein at each meal.
Lever: Fixed training slots in the diary.
Floor: Two gym sessions + one long walk; no two off-plan meals in a row.
Lever: Prep one batch meal on Sunday.
Floor: Protein anchors daily; 7-8hrs sleep window; 7-10k steps most days.
These are all small, dull, repeatable. And that’s the point here.
Free 30-min Goal Alignment Call (all January)
To make it easier, the past few years I’ve ran a free 30-minute Zoom chat throughout January for in-person and remote clients. This year is no different. No Assault Bike finishers. Just a chance to have a clear conversation about goals, behaviours, and how the pieces fit together without the distraction of a workout.
What we can align:
Programming + App: The IFT Coaching App has hundreds of recipes, a nutrition tracker, short “how to start” videos, “homework” tabs we can add in, extra workouts, and personalised check-ins/reviews.
Tracking set-up: Assistance in getting started with free MyFitnessPal or Chronometer accounts if helpful.
Body Composition Assessments: TANITA, tape measure, and skin-fold options are all available in the studio.
Education: ~40 articles here on Substack and the IFT website + 10 Quick Guides(Better Sleep, Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Optimise Recovery, Improve Conditioning, etc.).
Custom Tools: e.g., a simple Watt Bike tracker if you don’t want Strava/Training Peaks.
Season Planning: Map events, set phases and review points.
Teamwork: Coordinate/Collaborate with your physio or nutritionist where useful.
Prefer not to chat? There’s also a short Year-End Performance Review Google Form which was already sent to clients—private to you and myself; skip anything that isn’t relevant.
First Steps
Should you choose, book your 30-min Call or complete the review form.
Answer one question: “What do I want my health and fitness to look like in 12 months time?”
Write your January floor and choose one lever to pull.
Run it for two weeks. Review on the final Monday of January. Adjust along the way if you need to, but don’t abandon.
January isn’t a test that you’re looking to pass. It’s a compass that you’re choosing to set. Pick a direction of travel, raise the floor, and then let the remaining weeks of January do their quiet work. That way, when spring arrives in March, you’ll be glad you didn’t wait for an attempt at perfection.
AK.