3 New Year’s Resolution Tips For Reaching Your Fitness Goals
With the year drawing to a close, many people are already beginning to think of resolutions or goals that they can strive for in the New Year. Every year at this time, gyms, fitness centers, and personal training studios see a spike in new memberships. Unfortunately, the majority of individuals who desire to get in better shape will break those commitments within a few months or less. This is the norm, and not the exception. No one sets goals with the intention of not meeting them, but with so many people failing to meet their fitness goals, some good tips are in order to help ensure that success is more likely. Let’s take a look at some surefire methods so that you do not become another statistic of failed New Year’s Resolutions.
- Make Yourself Accountable To Someone
If working out and eating right is not something that comes naturally to you, than having someone to whom you’re accountable to is imperative. Telling someone your fitness related goals increases your likelihood of reaching your goals because that other person is going to hold you to it. When you make yourself accountable to someone, it’s important to allow that person to call you out if you are not living up to the commitment you made to yourself. The person you are accountable to can also be a great source of encouragement, as they can help celebrate with you as you meet the various fitness related goals you have set for yourself. You can make yourself accountable to a friend, spouse, co-worker, relative, health/nutrition/fitness professional, or virtually anyone that you trust to hold you to your goals to improve your physical fitness.
2. Create A System Of Rewards
Positive reinforcement or implementing a series of rewards can be an absolutely huge motivator for helping you stick to your goals. There are many different means by which you can set up a system of rewards to further increase your likelihood of success with respect to your fitness goals. For many of my clients I have worked with who have weight loss goals, I will often tell them to consider going out and purchasing an item of clothing that they would love to wear, but in the size that they would like to be, not in the size they are currently at. This helps increase the likelihood of success for two reasons. First, since the person has already spent the money on the item, there is a certain sense of guilt if the goal is not accomplished and the article of clothing goes unused. If you pay with cash and get rid of the receipt, you are further obligated to reach your goal, or you simply wasted your money. Secondly, if you hang the item of clothing in a place where you will see it daily, it will be a constant reminder of your goals and intentions, and one of the reasons why you are moving toward that goal.
Rewards don’t have to be in the form of clothing. It can be getting in shape for a great vacation or cruise, looking your best for a reunion, upgrading to a new phone, or any other reward that will get you excited. The main thing with rewards geared toward helping you reach your New Year’s resolutions is to steer clear of ideas such as allowing yourself a “cheat meal”, taking time off from your workouts, or doing things that would not be consistent with your goals. Developing new habits can be difficult and take time, and going back to old habits even a little bit can set you up for disaster, so try to avoid such things as a system of rewards for your hard earned success.
3. Write It Down
There are multiple benefits to writing down your fitness goals. First, when you write something down, you are naturally making it more of a commitment. You can’t come back later and simply say, “Well I wasn’t really serious about it anyway”. Secondly, you can place your written goals somewhere that you will see them every day such as the refrigerator or in your bathroom. This will help keep your new year’s fitness resolutions at the forefront of your thoughts and actions, avoiding an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. Thirdly, you can give a copy of your written goals to the person you are holding yourself accountable to. Since you will have to give an account to someone else if you don’t meet your goals, you will be more likely to pursue them with greater vigor. Finally, writing your goals down can help you to be more specific in your pursuit of fitness. Instead of saying you would like to lose weight, you can write down a specific amount of weight to be lost by a specific time. Again, writing it down and putting your goals somewhere you will see them every day will make you much more likely to reach those specific, rather than ambiguous goals.
There’s a saying in the fitness industry with respect to people who sign up for new gym memberships in January. The saying is, “They keep the lights on”. You can probably deduce what that means. Try implementing the tips mentioned in this article to help you reach your goals so you don’t become one of those millions of people around New Years with good intentions but poor execution.
Paul Owens is a personal trainer in the Cleveland area. He is a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the National Council on Strength and Fitness. He is also a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He can be reached at http://www.clevelandpersonaltraining.com.
