The end of one year and the beginning of a new year gives us the chance to clear the slate and start over. The old year and the crap that we did in the previous year is behind us and we look forward to achieving new goals and achievements in the new year. This is why so many of us set up New Year’s resolutions for the new year at the end of December.
Out with the old and in with the new.
End the bad habits and start the good habits.
New Years Resolutions Doomed To Fail
Yet, for most of us and seemingly as an unwritten rule, New Year’s resolutions are notoriously prone to failure. Every year, so many of us set goals for ourselves with great intention, only to find them unfulfilled when the end of December rolls around. For whatever reason, the fiery motivation and enthusiasm felt in January begins to wane and we fall off the wagon.
Many resolutions have something to do with fitness, health and physical improvement in general. This is abundantly evident by the wave of new people flooding the gym each January and the endless television commercials pushing the latest piece of fitness equipment promising that with their product, your body transformation will be a piece of cake (no pun intended).
The problem with many New Year’s resolutions, especially pertaining to fitness, is that people set goals that are either not specific enough, just not sustainable or based on wildly unrealistic expectations.
Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert told Business Insider three of the biggest reasons why our New Year’s resolutions fail:
Jonathan Alpert, Psychotherapist
- People often don’t make their resolutions specific enough
- They’re worded too negatively
- They’re not relevant to the individual
Link To The Business Insider Article
In this BAM! article, we are going to breakdown some of the more common fallacies regarding fitness goals that will hopefully set you on the right path to sticking to your fitness resolution this year!
Baby Steps Are Okay
So, you are all geared up to charge headfirst into a year full of quality workouts, clean eating and endless workout selfies on social media. You have purchased a shiny new pair of trainers, armed yourself with flashy gym outfits and maybe even acquired some sleek new headphones.
There is nothing wrong with any of these things but let’s hit pause for a second and talk about your plan for structuring your new workout and diet routine. Often times, the enormous amount of motivation felt when starting a fitness routine leads to attempting drastic changes to an individual’s lifestyle.
People try things like being determined to go the gym seven days per week or immediately cut out every bite of junk food from their diet. The problem with this mentality is that it is not sustainable. With most peoples fitness goals being so extreme they are setting themselves up for failure.
Any kind of change is hard; therefore, it is important that you ease into the process. Start small with your plan and go from there. For instance, make it a point to workout 2-3 times per week, and only give in to that bowl of ice cream on the weekends, etc.
If your goal is to run start with putting on your shoes, heading outside and walking to the corner. See how you feel and go a little farther each time until you reach thirty minutes of activity. Then add a run to part of your route. Each session try to add a little more time running. You can run for some minutes and then walk for some minutes. Get to running five minutes then walking for ten. As you get stronger increase the running time and lower the walking time. But be sure not to overexert yourself. Eventually you will build up your stamina to be able to run the full thirty minutes.
Keep a journal to log and track your progress. Make notes about how you felt after each session. Over time you should see the improvements that you are making and note that you are feeling better and better after each session.
Whatever you choose to do as a fitness routine, while you are doing it and even in the time that you are not, imagine how good you will feel when you are finally able to actually do a full thirty minute workout session. Whenever you have doubts about working out, or thinking about skipping a session, play that movie in your mind of the sense of accomplishment that you will have when you are finally able to get in a full thirty minute session. Visualize yourself succeeding.
Your Health And Fitness Requires Playing The Long Game
The media makes it seem like physical transformations should be an expedited process and that noticeable results can be an overnight process. This notion is far from the truth. Buying into these ideas will only leave you discouraged and burnt out in a short amount of time. It is crucial that you understand that transforming your body can certainly be an enjoyable, fulfilling process, but it takes a lot of time and effort!
The people that you see on magazine covers and infomercials didn’t get their physique by knocking out a few sets on whatever product they are pushing “15 minutes per day, twice a week.”
Having a sound understanding of the investment required to achieve your fitness goals is a must if you plan on sticking with your resolution and avoiding the disappointment of not seeing the results you are looking for overnight. Success will come but it will take time and effort.
Enjoyment Promotes Consistency
The biggest determining factor of your success in any goal you set for yourself, especially regarding fitness, is consistency. Without it, the workout routine you choose, and diet plan you follow don’t mean a thing.
That being said, your fitness journey needs to be one that you enjoy. Human nature is inherently prone to avoiding unpleasant experiences and seeking enjoyment whenever possible.
Going to the gym and eating healthy can’t be a miserable endeavor, or you will not be consistent. Having fun while being disciplined and working hard can undoubtedly happen simultaneously!
Conclusion
You should definitely have a fitness goal and a plan and you should definitely resolve to stick with it in the New Year. Just make sure that you set small attainable goals and measure your success. You do not have to count the pounds that you lose as much as count the times that you have completed your workouts. Shoot for three thirty minute sessions per week to start. If thirty minutes is too much time to start with then start with ten or fifteen minutes.
Continue to log your sessions in your journal in order to track your progress. Even when you have reached your goals, continue to log and set some new goals for yourself.
Within a few weeks you should be well on your way and have locked in your fitness routine as a good habit that will lead to a better healthier you. You will be taking care of yourself.
BAM! Be A Man. Do The Right Thing. Take Care Of Yourself And Your
BAM! Be A Man. Do The Right Thing.
Be The DtRTy Guy!
