Setting new health and wellness goals is pretty popular in January.

All of those “New Year - New You” campaigns can get you pumped up and off the couch.

If you find yourself motivated to start working on getting fit for 2019 here are some things to consider.

• Get a physical from your doctor before starting a new fitness routine.

• Start slowly. Just because you were a stand out athlete back in high school does not mean you should pick up where you left off and perform those same workouts right away.

• Work on stabilization and endurance for at least 8 weeks before trying to build muscle. This will prepare your body for greater work capacity.

• Know the proper form for an exercise it before adding more load. It is never a good idea to add more weight to a poorly executed movement unless your goal is to become injured.

• Consider working with a certified personal trainer to get you started. A good trainer will be well equipped to design an appropriate program for you and teach you how to perform exercises correctly.

• Get adequate sleep, good nutrition and proper recovery time. If any of these components are lacking, your results will suffer.

With these things in mind, get out there and get your body moving! A few months from now, you will be so glad that you did.