Early morning gym workouts, the Saturday morning Park Run or riding your bike to work instead of taking the car - that’s the hard bit!

Many of us, however, will put in huge efforts in our quest to regain our fitness, only for our goals, and our motivation, to coming crashing down when we start feeling constant or worsening aches and pains.

And it can be these niggles which bring an end to our good intentions.

Does it have to be this way? No, not at all.

Here are some of the things you may want to consider which can help you stay on track:

Recovery (or lack of!) – quite often some people either don’t realise or are too over-eager to reach their goals that they don't recover sufficiently. Rest and muscle relaxation are both an important part of improving your fitness – although it’s something which can be easily overlooked.

Pace yourself - too much activity, too quickly, can put you at risk of injury and fatigue, especially if there is repetition in what you do.

And not just that, going hard, far too quickly, especially with weights or any type of activity that places unaccustomed loads on muscle, can cause the dreaded and unpleasant DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness).

Inactive, tight or weak muscles – Sometimes we may be completely unaware of any musculoskeletal issues we may already have. If you’ve not exercised for a number of weeks or months, or even if you have a sedentary job, some of your muscles could become weak, stiff or inactive – and when this happens, it can cause other muscles to compensate.

For example, hamstrings tend to compensate for weak glutes and will often take over as the primary hip extensor. This happens because the glutes and hamstrings are both attached to the ischial tuberosity and Sacro tuberous ligament.

Understanding this can also help you make better choices when planning your fitness drive. So, for the example of weak glutes, you may want to consider some gym work or yoga before reaching for your running shoes!

And tight muscles… well they’re just more likely to experience strains or tears!  So, speak to your sports massage therapist!

Stretch and roll – factor in enough time in your exercise routine to stretch your muscles, and even use a foam roller to help release tension. The foam roller is a great tool, and although it will never be as effective as sports massage therapy, it’s certainly very quick and easy to use.

One way which can really help you succeed is to understand your own body better – your muscle health, posture, mobility and alignment – allowing you to address problems, or potential issues which may make you susceptible to pain or injury.

And so, my final couple of questions for you: what is more important – your car, your gas boiler or yourself?

You may service your car. You may service your gas boiler. Do you ever service yourself?

Before you rush into getting back in shape, be good to yourself, with a posture and mobility assessment – which any decent sports massage therapist can provide. And while you’re at it, book yourself a maintenance massage.

Remember, your muscle health matters!

Sportif54 are available to help with all muscle matters, at The Marjorie Centre in Uttoxeter, The Body Fix Coach studio in Burton-on-Trent, and also with our mobile sports therapy service.