There is something about September that can bring a bit of a new-term feeling.
Even when we’re long past buying new school shoes, labelling PE kits or getting everyone organised for the start of term, September can still feel like a natural point in the year to take stock.
Summer begins to wind down and routines change again. Holidays are mostly over – although they may be starting if you go when the kids are back at school!. There can be a sense of getting back to things, becoming a little more organised and thinking about what we’d like the next few months to look like.
And I quite like that feeling.
But we don’t actually need a new term.
We don’t need September, January, the beginning of a month or even a Monday to decide we’d like to change something.
And we certainly don’t need to assume that every new chapter means starting again.
Perhaps we just need to take stock
Rather than asking, “What should I be doing?”, perhaps a more useful question is:
What do I need more of at the moment?
The answer might be strength.
It might be more movement generally, particularly if the summer has taken you out of your usual routine.
It could be mobility or balance. More time outside. Better meals. More water. A little more structure.
Or perhaps what you actually need is less.
Less rushing. Less pressure to fit everything in. Less sitting. Less scrolling. Fewer commitments. More opportunities to stop and allow your body and mind to settle.
There isn’t one correct answer because we’re not all starting from the same place.
And, importantly, you aren’t starting from scratch either.
Start with what is already there
It’s very easy to overlook the things we’re already doing.
Perhaps you walk regularly but would benefit from adding some strength training.
Maybe you exercise several times a week but know that your mobility could do with some attention.
You might already be strong and active but rarely give yourself enough recovery time.
Perhaps you’ve been through an illness, treatment or a particularly demanding period of life and what you need now looks completely different from what you needed six months ago.
That’s why taking stock can be far more useful than automatically setting ourselves another goal.
We’re looking at the foundations that are already there and asking what would make them stronger.
Building capacity for life
This is something I’m going to be talking about throughout September: capacity.
When we think about fitness, it’s easy to focus on workouts, weights, steps, distances or what we can achieve in a class.
But ultimately, we’re building our capacity for life.
Strength to lift, carry, push and pull.
Balance and reactions to help us move confidently.
Mobility that allows our bodies to move through the ranges we need.
Cardiovascular fitness to walk, climb stairs and keep going.
And recovery that allows us to adapt to what we’re asking our bodies to do.
None of those things exist simply so that we can become better at exercising.
They help us continue doing the things we enjoy and manage the things life asks of us.
And those needs can change throughout midlife and beyond.
So, what do you need more of?
Before deciding that September needs to be a fresh start, spend a few minutes thinking about where you are now.
What is already working well?
What haven’t you been doing that you miss?
What feels harder than it used to?
What would you like to feel more confident doing?
And what would make everyday life feel a little easier?
You might discover that you don’t need a complete reset at all.
Perhaps you simply need to build on something you’re already doing.
Or add one thing that’s been missing.
And if the urge to make a change happens on 17th September, a wet Wednesday in November or halfway through an ordinary Tuesday, that’s fine too.
We don’t need a new term to begin. We just need to recognise what we need next.
That’s a much more useful place to start.
If you’d like a discovery call to discuss further, you can book one in here
Caroline