It’s that time of the year when we make resolutions for our fitness goals. Whether it be losing weight, getting stronger, or improving our balance, many people will have started this journey by now. If your resolution is still in the planning stages, however, and you need help figuring out where to begin, don’t worry; there are plenty of tricks to achieving your fitness goal when you’re on the fence about whether or not you should commit. Here are some of them.
1. Do Not View Fitness as an Absolute
Only some people feel that getting in shape is a binary state; either you’re fit or not. The goal for many people who are on the fence about exercise is that they want to get in better shape. And it’s OK to do so with little changes. Many people who have been deemed overweight by the BMI standards set by the medical establishment will tell you those numbers are arbitrary and don’t necessarily signify an unhealthy weight. So why not adjust your goals to be more realistic?
2. Focus on Small Wins
All too often, we set lofty goals that seem almost impossible to achieve. Inevitably this leads to failure, discouraging us from beginning another journey toward our goals. The best way to combat this is to focus on small wins. Small wins build upon themselves and compound into something larger.
3. Make the Commitment to Yourself First
The hardest part of joining a gym or especially starting a fitness routine is frequently the “Why” question. If you don’t want to join the gym, what’s stopping you? If you hate exercising because it just feels like too much work, how can you overcome that? The answer is that the decision to join a gym or begin working out needs to be made before an action plan can be formed. Decide to commit to yourself first, and then the path will open up.
4. Find Something That Interests You
As crazy as it might sound, finding something you enjoy doing is critical to successfully reaching your goals. Rather than forcing yourself through a routine that you hate each day, you will be much more successful if you find something that excites and motivates you. Many options make exercise fun, whether rock climbing or cycling, bowling, or boot camp.
5. Join Gym Classes
Most people need to improve at meeting their exercise goals, so joining a gym class can be an excellent way to get the motivation you need. Not only will it allow you to socialize with other people doing the same thing, but the instructor will motivate you by pointing out little victories and giving you more challenges as the month progresses.
6. Build Up to a Workout in Increments
It’s easy to get discouraged when you can no longer run the mile or climb a hill the way you used to. This can be mitigated by setting yourself up with incremental workouts. Start off walking, and then run, and then jog, and so forth. This builds upon itself, which is why you’ll have an easier time sticking with it because you won’t have to make an extreme change that’s bound to fail.
7. Set Realistic Goals
It’s important to remember that progress comes in all shapes and sizes. If you want to be able to run a marathon, there’s no option but to train for months on end. That’s OK because you won’t get there overnight; instead, you build yourself up gradually until the goal is reached.
8. Eat Healthy and Exercise
This one is self-explanatory, right? No matter how hard you work out, you’re going to be able to succeed if you eat well. Your body has a lot of muscles, and so does your digestive system. Working out is good for your body, and working out correctly requires eating correctly as well.
By planning out your goals and working towards them, you’ll be able to accomplish more than you ever thought possible. No matter your goal, whether it be losing weight, gaining muscle, or just getting healthier, there are many ways to get there from where you are now. Use these tips as a starting point for your resolution, and then expand on them as new ideas emerge.
