Practical Tips for Sticking To Your New Year’s Fitness Goals

Sticking To Your New Year’s Fitness Goals

It’s that time of year again to reflect on what we want to accomplish this upcoming year as well as put a sustainable and realistic plan in place. Sustainability and being realistic are key when thinking about our fitness goals and resolutions.

How to achieve your fitness goals

With so many of us currently facing so much uncertainty, I found it essential to write a piece to give folks hope about the New Year.

Furthermore, in the midst of uncertainty, it’s so important to focus on what we can control. One of these being health/wellness.

With all this being said, below are some helpful tips to aid in holding yourself accountable / sticking to your New Year’s fitness goals.

Write It Down

I’m a big believer in writing things down. It helps me store the things I want to accomplish in my brain.

It also makes things seem more real and important to me. Plus, it feels amazing to cross off an item on a to-do list.

I also find it helpful to write goals on a whiteboard where you can see them every day. This can help create more accountability for yourself and remind yourself daily of what you’re working towards.

Be Specific

The more specific you can be when formulating your goals, the more attainable they are.

If one says, “I want to become more athletic,” what does that really mean? This is a very subjective, vague goal that is hard to measure.

Now, if one makes a resolution that states “I want to lose five pounds, be able to run for a mile, have one cheat meal a week for six months, etc.,” these are very measurable goals that make it easy to know whether or not they have been accomplished.

Practical Tips for Sticking To Your New Year's Fitness GoalsIn short, you want objective goals that are measurable.

Less Is More

I would stick to no more than 1-4 goals at a time. If you commit to more than the above amount, you might risk overwhelming yourself.

However, you can have “sub-goals” that relate to an overall goal. For example, if your goal was to improve strength, then your sub-goals could be to implement one upper body workout a week and a lower body workout a week.

Again, it’s important to be specific and have a plan that effectively irons out how you are going to achieve your goal(s).

Check-in With Yourself

As you are doing the work, I highly recommend checking in with yourself throughout your journey.

A fitness journal or log (this can be digital or paper) is a great tool to track progress and see how you’re coming along.

Furthermore, when logging, I think it’s important to not only record your fitness progress but also how you’re feeling. Are you getting enough sleep? How’s your mood? Your energy? Your work/life balance?

All of this is important info that might lead you to need to modify or redirect your fitness journey. In short, the more information you have, the more likely you are to achieve said goal.

Celebrate Progress

When it comes to health and wellness (and really anything for that matter), it’s important to celebrate progress – not just the end result.

We need to take pride in our baby steps! This is beneficial for the body, mind, and spirit.

This will also help increase self-esteem, mood, and encourage one to keep fighting for what they want.

Learn When To Rest, Not To Quit

Some resolutions are challenging, and there might be roadblocks along the way that you originally didn’t foresee such as injuries, ailments, pain, unanticipated workload, etc.

When the unforeseen occurs, it’s paramount to know when we need to take it easy.

However, this does not mean you give up on your desires. It simply means, rest, regroup, and then come back working stronger than ever.

Please note, if you do need to take a break from your fitness routine, it’s important to have a plan in place on when you’re going to come back to it. This helps to ensure that you won’t lose momentum.

Have A Workout Partner/Support System

Things are more likely to get done when we involve other people. That’s why so many people hire trainers, attend group classes, go to a gym, work out with friends, etc.

I highly recommend having someone you trust to hold you accountable.

This could mean a friendly daily or weekly reminder, someone who has similar goals that want to go on this journey with you, hiring a trainer, having regular check-ins with a loved one, going on a specific nutrition plan with a partner, etc.

There are so many that we can help each other stay accountable. Once you find what works best for you and for those in your support system, go with it!

Wrap-Up

I hope this article has been helpful regarding your fitness goals and resolutions.

I want to leave you with this quote to ponder, “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.”

I have this quote hanging in my home gym, and I look at it every time I work out or train someone.

In short, you got this! Think of where you want to be in a month, six months, a year, five years, etc., and do what is going to be best to achieve that.

Now, sometimes we do have to cater to the short-term. However, if you find that you’re consistently catering to the short-term and that this clashes with your long-term goals, I encourage you to re-read this article, or at the very least look at the above quote.

Lastly, if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out here.

As always, thanks for reading, and stay tuned!