Gone are the days when fitness fans considered strength training to be all about lifting weights and adding bulk. Not only can strength training actually help you look and feel trimmer, it is an important foundation to building a fit physique. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to look at your strength and how to create a good core from which the rest of your fitness success will follow in 2014.

You don’t need to be a fitness expert to understand that if you lack core strength then you may struggle with other elements of physical fitness and performance.

2014 is going to be the year when you slim down and shape up. If this sounds like a familiar sentiment then you’re not alone. January has to be the ultimate month when men and women realize that they could do with shedding a few pounds and get ready for the year ahead.

It’s up to you to work out what beat you’re moving to as we move into January, and how to feel the right rhythm for life in the year ahead. You may just find that dancing and dance fitness helps you find your feet in 2014, getting you fit and leading you in the right direction to a more focused you in the process.

It’s that time of year when people start to look at what changes they want to make in the year ahead. So, what are your plans for 2014? You no doubt have some resolutions ready that relate to your health, diet and perhaps your lifestyle in general. It’s positive to have a sense of a new chapter and New Year is a good time to really take stock.

You don’t need to have had the biggest party of the festive season to end 2013 feeling a bit frazzled and in need of some R & R. Work and family life demands tend to ratchet up a notch or two as well, leaving most people feeling as if they are on the final leg of a rather exhausting end to a pretty eventful year.

Fitness fads come and go, but some are well worth pursuing as there are many training styles that change the way you get fit and stay in shape. Scientific studies and research, as well as inspirational fitness experts, are changing and challenging the way we exercise.

The strength of a team, and indeed individual team players, is not solely based on how skilled and talented you are, although it certainly helps. The building blocks of a team are strengthened if the attitude, approach and dynamics fit together too. Every sportsperson will vouch for the importance of psychology in playing a role in the victory of any winning team.

Do you want to move forward with your fitness in 2014? It might be a case of carrying on from a positive 2013, or perhaps you want to put the excesses and fitness failings of the past year behind you? To get ready for the next chapter, look at where you’ve gone right as well as where you’ve gone wrong.

Does a sound mind really relate to you having a sound body? Does a flexible body equal a flexible mind? According to a recent study there may be some real truth in this, with findings suggesting that exercise may enhance your creative thought processes.

If you think fitness then do you immediately think of the gym or traditional exercise classes? It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to coming up with ideas to keep fit, so why not let your imagination run beyond dry land and into the water.