Alternative New Year’s resolutions

Image & Style Magazine

Bored of the traditional gym and looking for another way to keep fit and healthy in 2018? We offer up some alternative New Year’s Resolutions to keep active in the year ahead…

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Eric Lagerstrom makes his final accent up Maryhill Loops Road for Solstice Sessions, in the Columbia River Gorge, OR, USA on 20 June, 2017. // Aaron Rogosin/Red Bull

Cycling
It’s as easy as riding a bike, so goes the expression, but the world’s your oyster on what two-wheel format you want to tackle. There’s the extreme from Red Bull Last Stand in which a rider is eliminated after each lap to the ridiculous with Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme, where riders travel gargantuan distances. Or if mountain biking’s more your thing, why not let the likes of Rachel and Gee Atherton hunt you down in the Red Bull Foxhunt.

Running
All you need are a pair of trainers and off you go. Wings for Life World Run takes place all over the globe, your entry fee going towards the non-for-profit foundation Wings for Life. It occurs at the same time all over the world come May until one runner is left standing and declared the winner. If that’s not ambitious enough, what about running up the steepest ski jumps in the world for Red Bull 400?

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Leire Fernandez performs in the Pyrenees, Spain on August 22, 2016. // Aitor Matauco / Red Bull

Trail and mountain running
If you’re done with running on the roads, you could turn your attention to the trails and climbs, testing out how level your footing is on tougher terrains. For one, there’s Red Bull Steeplechase in the UK which starts with 500 runners of varying ability and ending with just 20 for the final part of the 23-mile route. Or else you can run 3,000 metres vertically in the Italian Alps for Red Bull K3.

Climbing
We probably wouldn’t suggest you immediately follow the pros on outdoor rock faces; probably best to start indoors to get to grips of the discipline. Indoors, earlier in 2017, climbers were given the chance to climb with Briton Shauna Coxsey with your best dyno, or dynamic move, on the climbing wall. Meanwhile, other competitions on the horizon include the Tokyo-based Red Bull Asura.

Surfing
If water’s your thing, there’s no shortage of options. Why not pick up a board, and test yourself on the waves – even as a first timer? It might take a lifetime of work on the water to get up to the speed of the pros tackling Red Bull Night Riders or else Red Bull Queen of the Bay. Or alternatively, just sit back and watch reruns of Mick Fanning dancing on his board under the Northern Lights.

SUP
Casper Steinfath was the winner of this year’s Red Bull Heavy Water. Ok, you might not quite be up to the speed to tackle an event described as the “most intense stand-up paddling event in the world” but it might be one to aspire to in the future.

Dancing
It’s not necessarily traditional sport but dancers are some of the fittest athletes in the world from the more traditional moves to the breakdancing of the B-boys. The two worlds collide with Red Bull Flying Bach. Or if that all seems to much, you could strut your stuff at a music festival be it Primavera or Roskilde.

Parkour
Again, not a traditional sporting playground but Jason Paul is proof you can start from scratch and become among the world’s best in parkour or freerunning. Paul only got into the sport by default in 2005 when he and a friend started watching YouTube clips. From Gaza to Santorini, there’s no shortage of people bitten by the parkour bug.

Mind Gamers
If your preference is to keep an active mind rather than body, tackling the Mind Gamers route might be the way to go. One of the fastest growing genres, there’s a myriad of options, including the Escape Room World Championships.