October is a smart time to take action.

This a longer piece than normal! Sometimes I have more to say than the limited word count beneath an instagram caption…thank you if you stick with me to the end.

I’m feeling it already! The busy-ness in the build up to Christmas and it’s only the first weekend in October.

I had a Whatsapp group poll today asking “when are we free for a Christmas get together?” and with everyone already having busy diaries for the next few months, we are looking at the first weekend in November to go out. That’s not Christmas!

The school diary, work diary, social diary, club diaries. It’s a lot.

As chief life co-ordinators, the run up to Christmas is the hardest time to put ourselves first.

I don’t want you to be at the bottom of the pile this Christmas. I want you at the forefront. Prioritising your needs.

I don’t want you thinking, I’ll focus on myself in January when life calms down.

January doesn’t bring more time. We might be spurred into taking better care of ourselves, because the “January Shame” has crept in. But I don’t want you to find that oomph because of guilt, or self-loathing because of over indulgence, thinking you’ve fallen off the wagon or because you haven’t been able to stick to a plan.

October is a powerful time to take action and I’m writing to you about this today, because today is the last day to join me in my Smart Move membership until the 1st January. It is moving from a monthly intake to a 90 day intake.

I know you might not feel like this is the time to get stuck into a new exercise membership! But I truly believe that if we can learn to be more consistent with our workouts over the next three months, it will lead to lasting change. And this is something we have to learn to do and I know I can help you do it.

I want this to be the season that you put yourself first. Where I teach you how to incorporate workouts into your life, that are going to support our health and wellbeing for the long haul (and we should expect that we need to be taught how to do this too btw. In the ferocious noise that surrounds women’s exercise - I don’t expect you to be able to work out how best to meet your needs and neither should you). As your coach, that’s my job.

We have been conditioned to think that if we start exercising, then we must be aiming for something. A six week goal, 12 week goal, a summer body. We must shake this off and take a longer term view. This is for life and I am going to teach you how this is doable, despite you being so busy.

Of course, it is handy to think about breaking each year into chunks. So now, for instance, I am thinking, what could we achieve by January? How much more energised and better could I help you feel this winter? How good would it feel to break those past cycles we have formed about January and exercise…and give it the ?

I don’t know if you saw my post on instagram this week about my Smart Move member, Sarah who was suffering from golfer’s elbow amongst other things?

Have a look here.

She was wearing an elbow support everyday. It was impacting life at work, she couldn’t lift her children. Her physio had her using 1Kg weights to resolve it and banded tea cups.

She had an umbilical hernia that was causing her pain and discomfort (which the GP said they couldn’t do anything for).

She had pain in her leg when she was swimming and she carried on and pushed through anyway.

In six months, that had all resolved following a Smart Move training programme.

The 1st January is 14 weeks away. In 14 weeks, that pain you keep pushing through could be resolved, your pelvic health symptoms could be resolved, your prolapse could be so much better. Did you know that the pelvic floor typically takes 12 weeks to improve symptoms, providing you stick to your exercises! How good would that be?! You could be well into forming a new, life-lasting act of self care, enjoying the benefits of a training programme that you are able to stick to.

And if you do not have any obvious symptoms like Sarah had - what about all those amazing benefits we reap from exercising that we can’t necessarily see, but so desperately need now and as we get older. Stronger muscles, bones, athleticism, improved heart health, improved mood, cognition and sleep.

Whether you choose to join the membership today or not -

The most important thing I want to say is, and I say this with love, like I’m talking to my mum, our health isn’t conveniently waiting for us to take action, when life calms down or we finally feel like we have more time. I don’t want us to look back and think, why did I put that off, what would have been different if I hadn’t. Every small act of care and support you can give it now, counts.

Keep yourself at the forefront.

Thank you if you have made it to the end.

Love, Emma xx