6 Tips to Achieve Your New Year's Fitness Goals

So it seems to be that time again when we are feeling the result of both eating and drinking way too much over the festive period. Each year we promise not to do it again. However, when it rolls back around again, we can’t resist, can we?

Ok, now for those New Year’s resolutions. What did you promise yourself this year? Let me guess, was getting fit and losing weight? Please don’t feel embarrassed or even ashamed. This is pretty much top of this list of everyone with a heartbeat after the festive season.

So how can we smash through our goals and actually become fitter in 2020?

Determine Your Readiness

Before you start any type of fitness regime you really do need to ensure that you are ready both mentally and physically for the task at hand. 

Depending on how seriously you want to take this, we recommend you book a visit to visit your family doctor first. 

They will then be able to do a full examination and advise you on the best course of action based on your current fitness level and weight. 

Once you have been cleared, next, consider your mental health. Will exercising affect your health in any way and are you mentally prepared for what is needed to lose weight and get fitter? Will you stick with the program once you get started?

You are more likely to succeed if you:

What Are Your Goals?

This is a really important question to ask yourself and will determine which road you choose to go down really.

Is the goal to feel great and look good naked, get healthy or simply be happy? The answer may be all three.

Whatever the reason is, you need to be crystal clear in your “why.” It’s only when you come to terms with this question can you move onto the next step. 

To be honest, having a collection of reasons is ideal. If the goal is to simply lose weight, then this isn’t a strong enough reason and not specific enough. 

The more specific the better. The deeper you go with your emotions the easier it will be for you to push through when you feel you are struggling. It also means you are dedicated to putting both the time and effort to make it work.

Part 1 - Identify and focus on that goal

Part 2 - Write down what you feel you would accomplish

Part 3 - Be realistic - How often can you train?

Create a Plan

Once you have your goals figured out. It’s now time to start your exercise program. You need to think about the days and times you will be exercising. 

You’ve done the hard but (making the decision to start exercising) you now need to implement a plan based on your goals and timetable.

One of the most important things to consider is what works for you. 

Are you going to train in the morning before work or in the evening after work? 

Are you going to train at home or in your local gym?

To start with, identify three days that are convenient for you and your lifestyle and then the times you will exercise. 

If you decided to exercise at your local gym, it is recommended (will probably happen anyway) that you go through a gym initiation with the resident personal trainer. 

If you have decided to exercise at home, then you need to work out the sort of exercise you are going to do and then purchase the correct equipment. Obviously, we can help you with the home equipment side of things :)

What sort of exercises are you going to do? Swimming, running, cycling, skating, weightlifting? Whatever exercise you choose to start with, just remember to take it easy initially starting slow, few reps and low minutes spent exercising. We encourage you to do this so you don’t injure yourself.

Exercise With A Friend 

If you know someone that has similar resolutions and goals as you. Why not train together? 

Did you know that if train with someone else, your level of success increases? 

This is because you are now accountable to each other. When one of you is feeling down or not motivated to do any exercise today. The other person can gee you up with plenty of encouragement. This is powerful and recommended. 

For this arrangement to work, you need to choose exercises that you both enjoy. Now, this is not going to be easy. Choosing exercises that you will both be comfortable with doing week in and week out won’t be easy.

Take It Easy 

Even though the is a new year’s resolution, don’t look at it as a BIG challenge that must be accomplished right here, right now. Instead, consider it a new lifestyle choice. The larger goal here is to make it a lifelong goal, that way you won’t feel the pressure in getting fit as soon as humanly possible. For that reason, take it easy and pace yourself.

Be Realistic 

One of the main reasons why people fail to live up to their new year’s resolutions is setting their goals and targets far too high. Now, we all want to overachieve and in some instances, setting your goals high can actually pay off. However, when we talk about losing weight or getting fit, this can sometimes backfire dramatically. 

You are far better off setting yourself realistic goals from the start. Once you reach those goals, then start slowly adjust them based on how much progress you are making. 

The last thing you want is to set a goal, not achieve it and then feel really bad that you didn’t achieve it. Not only is this demotivating. It actually does more harm than good for most people.

Start from a solid foundation first and then look to increase your reps, weights, distance slowly. That way, you can celebrate those smaller milestones.