Fitness: Your New Year’s Resolution

The Christmas and New Year holiday period is always a time of celebration, relaxation, happiness, family and indulgence. All very good things … except, of course, when you take the indulgence bit a little too far. And let’s face it, who hasn’t had one serving too many of Christmas turkey or enjoyed a few too many calorie-laden desserts or celebratory concoctions? But, luckily, with the New Year comes the New Year’s Resolution. And while the idea of a “new start in the New Year” is something of a cliché, it’s also a real psychological opportunity to kickstart a return to the fitter you, the mental shove you need to work off the Silly Decisions you made during the Silly Season and eat a little better and/or exercise a little more. Here are a few hints on how to start – and stick to – a regime that will keep you on the right track, and the results coming.

 

Plan carefully, do determinedly

A New Year’s Resolution is essentially a promise to yourself of reaching a goal. Now, think of all the other goals in your life – education, career, family, personal. Chances are, all your most meaningful achievements were always the result of careful planning and determined execution. Well, a New Year’s Resolution is nothing different. If you don’t plan out the steps, you’re almost certain to fail. So write down what you want. Write down why you want it. Write down how you’re going to do it. Write down when you’re going to do it. And then, when you’ve done all that, prepare. What do you need? Who do you need to help? When do you need to do it? Plan it all! And once you have your plan, stick to it – determinedly.

 

Set achievable goals

The worst thing to do – and the best way to sabotage yourself – is to set unrealistic goals. If your resolution is to, “Look like Arnie in 1 month!” or “Get to size 2 in 2 weeks!” you’re almost certainly going to fail. It probably won’t be because you lack motivation – it’s simply because it’s impossible. Set yourself a challenging goal, but don’t make it so difficult that it’s daunting or downright impossible. You’re going to give up before you’ve really even started.

 

Join a Fitness Challenge

Your gym is a good place for motivation – not least because they’ll often be running fitness challenges around the beginning of the year to help their members get back into shape. A challenge is a good way stay motivated because it sets a clear, achievable goal and there is a competitive element to stir even the most reluctant soul. Most often, there’ll be a prize too, and the lure of winning – even if it seems slim – may be just the thing to keep you powering through the sweat and tears.

 

Don’t do it alone

Find a friend, family member, partner or colleague to get fit with you. A whole lot of camaraderie mixed with a little friendly competition: it’s just the thing to keep you going when the going gets tough. The social element will help alleviate the dread – or plain boredom – you might feel about getting into your workout gear. And the thought of letting the other person down creates an inescapable motivation to keep on keeping on.

 

Two birds, one stone

Another way to stick to your resolution is to marry your fitness goal up with another. For example, if lockdowns have made you want to try to see friends more often, or make new ones, you could turn fitness into the basis of a social routine: hiking with friends on the weekends, team sports in the evenings and so on. Or maybe it’s a family member or friend’s birthday or wedding in a few months’ time? Harness that as extra motivation to get fit and look your best. By stacking a few goals together, you’re far more likely to find the little extra mental push you need to stick to your fitness resolution.

 

Beyond the short-term

Often, the best motivation for fitness is seeing the changes in the mirror. The sight of a flatter tummy, slimmer thighs or more clearly defined muscles is progress that soothes sore eyes and makes you forget your sore body. To look good is, more often than not, to feel good. But a week or two isn’t going to make much of a visible difference, even if you feel like all the effort you’ve put in should have gotten you to your goal already. The truth is, you’ll probably need at least a month before you’re going to really see the sort of changes that count. Give yourself at least six to eight weeks before saying, “This isn’t working.” Chances are it is – it just hasn’t had time to work enough.

 

Change your habits

Inextricably linked to the idea that fitness takes time is the reality that fitness isn’t a one and done thing. Fitness is a habit. And habits take time to form. The trick here is that research has shown it’s easier to change existing habits than to introduce new ones. So, how can you take advantage of this quirk of human nature to find the fitter you? Well, if you’re prone to snacking, try a piece of fruit or some raw vegetables instead of a packet of chips or some chocolate biscuits. Instead of a soft drink, try plain old water. When you’re out and about, take the stairs instead of a lift, or walk up the escalator instead of standing stationary on it. If you walk your dog for fifteen minutes every day, walk for twenty instead. The possibilities are endless. Look at everything you do every day – your habits! – and find the less calorific, more energetic way of doing it.

 

Track your progress

Quite often, people give up because they feel like they’re not making progress. And when it comes to fitness, some people’s idea of tracking progress may be nothing more than looking in the mirror in the morning or getting on the scales every day. But visible changes take time and you’re likely to forget where you started and fail to appreciate how far you’ve come if you don’t have a record of your progress. Make sure to keep a diary or log so you can see, for example, changes in your weight or body composition, how much more weight you’re able to lift, how your endurance has improved, etc. Seeing it all in black and white is likely to give you a sense of achievement and satisfaction you’re probably not going to find just going off some vague series of recollections of how things were when you started. And if you’re a visual person, regular photos can help you see the differences – big and small – that your hard work has brought about. Memories are unreliable things. If you’re going to hold yourself accountable, do it against an indisputable point of reference.

 

Accept slip-ups but don’t tolerate them

If you slip-up – miss a workout or lapse in your diet – accept your mistake, but don’t let it be a reason to let it happen again. You might be tempted to say, “It’s all over!” but one slip isn’t going to undo all the work you’ve already done. But giving up will. Accept your failure and forgive yourself. But try not to let it happen again. And if it does? Rinse and repeat. Keep getting back on that horse. Stick to your resolution like your health and well-being depends on it – which is probably your best motivation of all!