New year new you? It's a question we ask ourselves every January when we've over-indulged during the holidays and are desperate to lose those extra pounds.

One of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to get in shape and lose weight, yet the enthusiasm we had in January generally wanes by March.

However, professionals like Chris Corcoran have made it their business to help us stay fit and healthy all year round.

Redundancy after nearly 30 years as an industrial research chemist forced Chris to rethink his career, which began in Bradford and ended in Leeds.

Despite spending the best part of his working life in an office, Chris had always been interested in fitness. Watching a job swap programme inspired him to turn it into a career.

"An Army PE instructor was doing a job swap with a personal trainer and I thought I could do that'," says Chris.

He embarked on a personal training course and four years ago, aged 50, launched Changing You, offering personal training and sports therapy massage.

Personal trainers were once seen as a luxury only the rich and famous could afford but Chris says the trend is changing.

He says the advantage of personal trainers is they can work with clients in the comfort of their own homes; particularly beneficial for first-time fitness enthusiasts who can feel intimidated going to gyms.

The fitness routine is tailored to suit the client but generally comprises a warm-up, dynamic stretching and a workout incorporating a mix of weights and aerobic movements.

Working one-to-one enables personal trainers to maintain motivation and encouragement.

"You have an appointment and it is fixed, whereas often you don't feel like going to the gym and something else turns up," says Chris.

Flexibility is another appeal. Clients can slot their fitness regimes around work. "Some see me at 7am before they go to work," he says.

Chris started with a handful of clients but as word of his services spread he now looks after hundreds throughout Bradford, Huddersfield and Leeds, among them sporting organisations, sport and soap stars.

One of his clients is Emmerdale actor Tony Audenshaw, who plays Bob Hope in the popular Yorkshire-based soap.

He and Tony are regularly raising cash for Leukaemia Research by running marathons. Chris began marathon running 25 years ago when a friend encouraged him to take it up.

"I'd been playing five-a-side football a lot at work but found it wasn't enough to keep fit. Someone I knew ran and said I should give it a try," Chris recalls.

He is currently training for his eighth London Marathon and has participated in similar events in Paris, Berlin and New York, raising money for various children's charities in the process.

"The main problem I have is trying to fit in my own training in," adds Chris. "Sometimes I have to book myself in for my own sessions!"

He says he's had several e-mails from people wanting to start the New Year in shape - receiving some even before the Christmas holidays.

But he says we should be looking after ourselves all year round, even more so in a society where technology has taken a lot of the exertion out of life.

"When I was a child life was very different. Not many people had cars, people walked a lot more and a lot of people had manual jobs and did more physical work. Now the work has been taken out of just about everything in our lives. There's also the availability of fast food. People need to look at exercise as well."

He says meeting people and helping them make that change and lead healthier lifestyles is the most satisfying part of his job, alongside the work he does with clients suffering chronic illness.

"It is very rewarding. Getting people fit is obviously very rewarding because you may be starting with someone who hasn't done anything for 20 years; when they can find they can do it, it's fantastic," he adds.

For more information about a career in fitness call Bradford College on (01274) 433333 or go to www.bradfordcollege.ac.uk.