Meet Jo – she’s a hockey playing mum who’s discovered the perfect way to keep in shape during the close season.  It turns out that regular rides at your favourite cycling studio are a great way of keeping toned and ready for the season ahead.

Jo’s big thing is hockey.  She captains her side Cheshunt HC, and spends every Saturday from September to April pounding the astroturf with her girls.  But since having a son 4 years ago, Jo has found it harder to stay in shape, especially when the hockey season is over.

“I was moaning to a friend how unfit I felt in the hockey close season and she mentioned the 20 days intro offer that Cyclebeat had introduced. She egged me on until I booked my first session.”

Jo has found Cyclebeat to be transformational.  After completing her intro offer, she took out a monthly membership and now rides at least 3 lunchtimes a week.  She’s a particular fan of Paddy’s hill rides, and says,

“I love the fact that I can leave work, do a 35 minute intense work out (that works) and be back in the office within an hour. I have never been more enthusiastic about a gym. I always try to get a bike at the front so that I can see the determination in the instructors face and draw on it when I find myself flagging.”

Jo’s first target was to drop two dress sizes for a family wedding.  Having succeeded, and feeling amazing for it, she is now concentrating on reducing body fat, improving muscle definition, and maintaining her fitness.

Jo is an inspiring example of somebody who has set herself a goal, and Cyclebeaten it.  Nice work Jo, and good luck in the season ahead – you’ll be fighting fit, that’s for sure.

We are big on setting goals at Cyclebeat.  This is the first in a series of regular articles about setting, and achieving, goals - in fitness, and in life.  Many of you will have wisdom and experience in this area.  We aim for this to be a collaborative exercise, and would love to hear your thoughts.

“Don't go changing...” sang Billy Joel many years ago. And I must stress, fellow riders, that we do indeed love you just the way you are.  But you may well want to change something for your own benefit – everyone wants to change something. Maybe you want to get fitter and healthier. Possibly you want to take part in your first 10k charity run.  Or perhaps you feel that now is the time to get down to writing that novel which has been jumping around in your head for most of your life.

But how to start?  The problem with most big challenges is that while we very much want to have achieved them, the prospect, in advance, seems so immense that we simply don't know where to begin. And so, overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, we put it off until another day.  And that day never comes.

There is a way of making it happen though.  I can't offer you an easy solution – no significant change in our life habits is ever easy.  But what I can promise is that it is simple.

Just make one tiny change, and do it for the next week.  That's all – no huge ordeal, no sweeping changes to the way you run your life.  Just that one little thing.

So skip the packet of crisps which you normally have with your lunch.  To get yourself on the road to that 10k, just jog and walk for 10 minutes.  And hey you, budding novelist, write 50 words. That's right, just 50 words!

Do it every day for a week, and see how you feel at the end.  It's a rewarding feeling, hitting your targets, however modest they are, so at the end of that week, up the target a little.  And make a deal with yourself that you will keep it going for 30 days.

Trying to make huge changes overnight leads to inevitable failure and giving up.  Change comes slowly, the key is to form new habits.  Gradually integrate the desired activity into your life and before you know it, it's simply what you do.

Start small, and start today.  

So what do you think?