We often like to use the last days of the old and first days of the new year to set ourselves goals and intentions for our sporting challenges – or to get rid of the weight we have put on between Christmas and the new year. We would like to support your endeavours and motivate you to stay on this path for as long as possible.

1. Set yourself concrete goals
   Goals motivate, inspire, and always give you a reason to train. Without a goal, no path is the right one. What’s more: we not only recommend that you define a major goal, but also formulate intermediate goals along the way. By doing so, you can experience the positive feeling of success several times over and benefit for the rest of the year. Just make sure that your goals are concrete and measurable.
2. Think positive
   You can move mountains with positive thoughts. Always be aware of this and start building your strongest “muscle” by recalling positive experiences on a daily basis. Also think positively about what you are doing or trying to achieve during your training. As a result, you will also find that you are able to dismiss any negative thoughts during a race and focus on the positive instead.
3. Plan realistically
   Constant training over a long period of time leads to success. From the outset you should therefore try to plan a realistic number of units in your agenda, so you are able to keep them up over the long term alongside your other activities and obligations.
4. Increase the frequency, then the scope, and then the intensity
   Endurance capabilities are developed over time and not from one day to the next. In your everyday training you should therefore max out the frequency first, then the scope, and then the intensity only at the very end.
5. Create a strong foundation
   Try to do strength gymnastic exercises two times a week for 20 to 30 minutes. Your own body weight is usually completely sufficient for this. A higher level of strength has several advantages: firstly, you run more nimbly, secondly, you are less prone to injury, and thirdly, you recover faster from intensive units.
   You can find a selection of exercises here
6. Look after your muscles
   Stretch your muscles regularly to remain supple and prevent injuries. Pay particular attention to your calves and posterior thigh muscles as well as your upper body.
7. Train diversely
   Do what you enjoy and satisfy your inner needs. Climb on your bike when you feel like it, pull on your swimsuit if you want to swim a couple of lengths, or play a round of squash with a friend if you enjoy it. Those who train diversely remain motivated and always look forward to the next unit in their main sport. Just make sure that most of your units centre around the sport in which you have defined your big goal. This is because no one is really interested in how well you play squash at your half marathon.
8. Take a break
   Sport has the potential to be addictive. For that reason, always make sure that the people in your surroundings still find you bearable. Successful is he who is relaxed and remains composed. You can achieve this through good planning with sufficient time for recovery and regular breaks.
9. Eat healthy
   If you want to perform, you need energy. This should be of the highest quality possible, because you expect the same from yourself and your performance. Always opt for seasonal, regional, and fresh products and only use supplements to enhance your diet in specific situations. Sports nutrition such as sports drinks or gels, however, often make sense for everyday intensive endurance training.
10. Reward yourself
    Those who train regularly should continually do something good for themselves with a clear conscience. This also ensures that you stay motivated while pursuing your goal. A massage, a visit to the spa, or something sweet  are examples that come to mind.

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