Motivation and commitment count for a lot in achieving your fitness goals with a personal trainer. Dogged determination and an inspirational go-getting attitude are impressive and it is only the naive who believe that personal training requires no input from themselves at all.

Are you the sort of person who dances through life or do you tend to shuffle along at a slow pace? Well dance is a high-energy way of really changing your life. Dance classes can get your body moving to the rhythm of fitness and inspire a more energized approach to life.

It might still be November, just, but the New Year is fast approaching and rather than try and change your lifestyle for the better on the first day of January, why not plan ahead? In the final few weeks leading up to the end of 2013 make it the season to make positive change and get ready to start 2014 with some new, healthy improvements.

Far from being a random exercise approach or loose training style, Pilates is founded on six principles. It is these concepts which dictate the approach to Pilates and ultimately which define it. While not laid out by Joseph Pilates, the founder of the exercise program, most fitness experts broadly agree on what the principles are and how to define them.

Mention the word ‘yoga’ to some people and they wrinkle their nose up at a memory of when they’ve tried a class before and come out either not enjoying it or feeling that they simply can’t do it. While yoga attracts millions of fans around the world, there are many who have experienced an unpleasant yoga class in the past and have been put off ever since.

While millions in the US sit down to a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast, many other countries are counting down to their own season of calorie-rich celebrations. We are entering the most indulgent time of the year. And, with a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner averaging a robust 3,000 calories or more, then the gym might become your best ally in losing holiday love handles and preparing for the fight against festive flab.

You might have heard the expression that someone has ‘good genes’ meaning that they look good, and certainly genetics can play a major part in determining certain health issues. But what about athletic strength being not just to do with the right training but a genetic advantage? According to a new study, how strong you are might be an in-built characteristic of your makeup.

A dark and bitter-sweet sensation; a milky, creamy luxury; divinely soft and velvety melt-in-the-mouth bliss; for chocoholics the world over, chocolate isn’t just a sweet treat but the key to happiness and inner contentment but it’s rarely top of a dieter’s weight loss food plan.

While much of the Western world might be getting fatter, there is definitely societal pressure to keep fit and stay in shape. If you fail then the result is feeling a failure and this can lead to a spiral effect down toward a bad diet and lack of activity.

A strong team is greater than the sum of its parts. It is not just the individual attributes that count but how these combine into a winning formula. This is the case whether you are part of or building up a sports team at work, an amateur club or a pro setup.