It's that time of the year again, when you realise just how much you've actually let yourself go over Christmas and how long you're going to have to train to get back to being able to last until quarter time.  Need some ideas about shedding those pounds and getting fitter than Michael Voss?  Then read on...

Firstly stop eating all of the junk food you have been - steak and chips is not a balanced meal.  Get some pasta, chicken (not the KFC variety though) and other forms of carbs into you and try to cut out obvious fats, even if it just means trimming the fat off your bacon sandwich.

Do a little bit of exercise every day.  It's weird how easy it is to slip into a good routine, especially if you do it first thing in the morning before your brain wakes up and realises what your body's doing.  Press-ups are great, as are sit-ups as both can be done in front of the telly, but any similar activity is good for you too.

Get some K's in your legs.  Jog, cycle, swim, pogo, however you do it get them moving.  If you regularly do a bit now you will feel it so much more come the first game, and won't find yourself dying on your feet.  Training sessions are more about skills rather than endurance, so it's up to you to build up your stamina.  You don't need teammates to train...

...but if you do have some handy then have a kick.  Muscle memory needs a bit of a poke sometimes, and if you get used to the feeling of the ball again you'll feel more natural with it come day one.  If you've never played before then why not have a kick for the first time anyway?  Give another player a shout and they're more often than not up for passing on a few of their skills.

If you're really obsessive you could keep a track of what you are doing and try to beat it every week - it's usually good to set weekly rather than daily or monthly targets.  Add five push ups to your routine every week, or knock a few seconds off your running time, anything to get you pushing yourself just that little bit harder.  At the end of a long game, it's that little bit extra that will really make the difference.