It's easy to set your fitness targets, but it's not as easy to start implementing them, and can be even harder to see them through! I was delighted, therefore, to sit down with one of our incredible brand ambassadors, Chris Tang, and hear his fabulous tips on how to kickstart and smash your health and fitness goals. Whether you're looking to get fitter, stronger, make lifestyle changes, manage your weight, or just improve your overall sense of well being, you'll find Chris's nuggets of wisdom invaluable.

Read on to find out more about Chris's fitness journey and his advice for success.

Chris Tang's Fitness Journey

Chris Tang is best known for being a fitness content creator and influencer, with almost 50k followers on Instagram and 36.5k subscribers on YouTube. He really understands how difficult it can be to stick to your goals because he also has a 'proper job', working full time during the day as a junior software engineer. Chris has always been a sports fanatic ever since childhood, trying everything from rugby to swimming and cricket, before he finally settled on hockey which he played all the way through university. Chris then found that a full-time job can really make a dent in your spare time so he moved towards individual sports.

Alongside his sporting interests, Chris has always been a consistent gym-goer. He first hit the gym when he was a skinny 15 year old, hoping to bulk up and deter bullies who targeted him because he was from a different ethnic background. Looking back, he feels that those tough times helped to fuel his determination and shape who he is today.

He started his first proper bulk in 2016 at the age of 20, going from 63kg to 72kg. Inspired by old-school YouTubers like Steve Cook, Christian Guzman and Jeff Seid, Chris wanted to start documenting his bulking routine and sharing the content on social media, but didn't have the confidence to do so as he was worried about being judged. It wasn't until 2022 that he decided it was 'now or never', and that he wasn't going to let other people's opinions stop him from pursuing his dreams and living his life the way he wanted to. Now he is a major influencer with thousands of followers. Being an influencer has also provided Chris with a creative outlet that adds flavour to his career, and it's something that he's become really passionate about.

"What used to be about pleasing others has become a crucial part of my daily routine. The gym and sports are just part of my life now, shaping not just my body but also my identity." said Chris.

What are your 5 Top Tips to kickstart and smash your personal goals?

Chris knows a thing or two about how to staying on track while battling personal challenges. During his brief time in track and field, he sustained a serious sporting injury and spent months in rehab. Instead of giving up, he used this period to develop his  mental strength and resilience while his body repaired, as well as reviewing his training programme to see how it could be improved upon when he returned to full physical health.

His personal fitness goals are currently to do more hybrid training, which consists of endurance training combined with building muscle and a better aesthetic look. He also wants to focus on getting better quality sleep and recovery time.

Use his tips to keep you motivated and on track with your own health and fitness targets:

• 1. Figure out a few top priorities and stick to them. When it comes to the new year, we optimistically set too many goals! This can be quite overwhelming and then none of those things get achieved. Decide on one or two goals which feel most important to you, then just focus on these - you're much more likely to smash them!
• 2. Try to be more process-orientated rather than goal-orientated. It's great to set goals such as running a marathon in sub 3:30 or to deadlift 220kg, however if you don't reach those goals in the desired timeframe you could become demotivated and more likely to quit. Try to focus more on the journey, what can you improve upon each day or training session, and always be willing to learn and adapt as you go.
• 3. Make sacrifices and learn to say no. This one is so tricky, but it's so necessary for your own sanity. There isn't time to do everything so you need to focus on your priorities: your day job, if you have one, your training sessions, your diet, and your rest/recovery periods. This means you may have to decline social outings, quit drinking and fast food; stop binge-watching Netflix, and adjust your sleep schedule to maximise your productive hours. If you're serious about your fitness and personal goals, there will have to be some element of sacrifice. It all comes down to how much you want it.
• 4. Create a good support system around you. Surround yourself with people who have similar interests to you, or who are also striving to improve on their personal and fitness goals. This way, you can hold each other accountable and motivate each other. They'll also understand how, and when, you need support.
• 5. Look for life hacks! Create processes and systems in your life to make things easier. For me, cooking was a huge burden in my life as it just took too much time out of my day, time that could be better spent on work and creating content. I suggest finding some really easy recipes that don't require a lot of preparation or washing up, or just meal prep in bulk for the week. The easiest option though, is to subscribe to a healthy meal prep company like Prep Kitchen. Their meals are delicious, heat up in 3 minutes, and there's no washing up - this has made my life so much easier!

Create a good support system around you

We're so grateful to Chris for sharing his story and his insights, and hope you find them as interesting and useful as we have. His tenacity and determination in the face of adversity and judgement is truly inspirational, and we hope his experiences motivate you to follow your own dreams.

"Many people have a dream but never try and go for it because of the fear of judgement, or they may feel that it's too late to start, and end up living the rest of their lives with the question of "what if?" he told me.

One of his favourite quotes is "the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is today"." We say, listen to Chris and, whatever your goal is, just go ahead and do it!

If you enjoyed this article, read these other articles on our website:

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How to stay fit if you sit 9 to 5