January might be the usual time to start a new fitness regime, but gyms in September are, perhaps surprisingly, probably just as busy. Parents are looking to shape up as their children return to school after letting their exercise routines lapse and overdoing it over the summer. Some may even want to get a headstart on getting trim for Christmas or a beach holiday in the new year.

There is never a bad time to start working out, but there are lots of reasons why autumn is an especially good time to lay the foundations for a year-round regime. Your body has a natural tendency to store fat during the winter months, so keeping it at bay now gives you a fighting chance of keeping it off later.

The great outdoors

Make the most of the light, relatively mild days and evenings and focus on longer endurance work that will really open your lungs and burn some energy. Go for long cycle rides, walks or runs to build stamina or do long interval training such as hill jogging or walking. Take 3-4 minutes for each interval rather than sprinting, with a fairly short rest period of no more than about 60 seconds. Be careful not to do too much high-intensity work unless you have a specific, short-term goal. Save yourself for spring.

Deal with aches and pains

Work on freeing yourself of injuries and any areas of tension or stiffness so they don't drag you down during the winter. Take a circuit training approach to weight training and keep your body moving and working for long periods on each exercise. So rather than just doing the usual 10-12 reps, push yourself by doing 25-30 reps instead. The idea behind this is to iron out any weaknesses before beginning more demanding work in the spring. You could try Bikram Yoga, a form of yoga practised in a heated room, or outdoor bootcamp training to build your muscular endurance.

Don't delay, start today

The colder and darker it gets, the less likely you are to prise yourself off the sofa and get going. So by starting a new programme now and seeing it as the basis for your future success, you will feel more inspired to persevere when the going gets tough.

Christmas pudding alert

By getting a headstart, you are less likely to have your routine sabotaged by the festive season.

Although it may feel like a long way off, Christmas has a nasty habit of sneaking up on us. Before you know it, you will be swept along in a whirl of shopping, eating, drinking and late nights that will inevitably throw your regime off course until the spring. And, suddenly, before you know it, summer is approaching with the need to expose flesh again.

To find out more about Matt go to www.mattroberts.co.uk