LAST MONTH I was banging on about how little activity was necessary to start making a real difference to your health and wellbeing.

I hope at least some of you took it on board and you looked at how you could add that little bit extra.

The research suggested that as little as a 20-minute brisk walk each day would make a difference to life expectancy and reduce the risk of long term debilitating illnesses.

So you’ve done that, added a 20-minute brisk walk or swim or bike ride into your daily life. What next?

Well, fairly soon I’d imagine you’ll start to feel a little bit better. You should have more energy because you’re probably going to sleep a little better.

You’re probably going to start choosing the slightly better options when it comes to food because your body is telling you that’s what it really wants. And then you’re going to think to yourself, “Oh I like this getting fit and healthy lark, maybe I should do a marathon or something?”.

Okay, maybe not a marathon, but I’m hoping that some of you may be inspired to step it up a little and set yourself a challenge.

A couple of weeks ago, over 1,000 people took part in the Keighley 10K, raising much-needed funds for Sue Ryder and a number of other charities.

Many of these people will have been taking part in their first 10k, a massive achievement and a great inspiration. Having spoken to quite a few people who did it, they admitted they never thought they could do something like a 10K.

But it doesn’t have to be a sporting challenge you set yourself. It could be increasing the number of steps you take each day. This is quite easy to monitor as you can get pedometers relatively cheaply.

As most of us have smart phones these days, there are lots of free apps that you can download that will measure the amount of activity.

There are also some rather snazzy watches and wrist bands around that you can buy that can measure all kind of things; heart rate, number of steps, hours of sleep.

Many of my clients use one of these, it allows me to also monitor what they are doing and give them the additional encouragement that we all need at times.

So here’s the message this month: you’ve got yourself more active now take the next step. Keep a diary of your activity, if you’re feeling flush invest in an activity tracker you can wear. And set yourself a target.

In my experience, if you don’t have a target then you’re not likely to achieve. Avoid setting a weight loss target, set a fitness, health or activity target instead because, as the research shows it’s the activity we need to increase.

PS Have a great Easter and remember that I offer a free chocolate disposal scheme for any unwanted eggs.