Fitness Jasper: How to be Successful With Your Fitness Resolutions

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How to be Successful With Your Fitness Resolutions

January 22, 2018

With one week left of the first month of the new year, it is safe to assume you are still going strong with your New Year’s resolutions. You haven’t given up yet, right? To be fair, a ton of people fail at their resolutions. There may be many reasons for this. Perhaps they didn’t make specific goal that are easier to measure. Or maybe they thought of it more as a simple goal rather than a lifestyle change. Whatever the case may be, they failed.

Most people don’t like being a failure, but when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, almost everyone fails making it easier to justify not making it past the three-month mark. It is hard changing your life, especially when it happens as suddenly as it does on New Year’s Eve. You are partying with your friends and family, celebrating the year that has just past and preparing for the year ahead, and the minute the clock strikes midnight, you are supposed to change your ways entirely. We get it, it is tricky making the sudden change. It is even more difficult making that change suddenly and keeping it going for longer than a few weeks.

But there are ways to keep your New Year’s resolutions and end the year with success. One great way is to just think about the bragging right you will get when you are the only person in the family who made it the entire year. But there are more ways to reach your goals and to keep the change going. It will not be easy, but it will sure be worth it.

There are many different resolutions out there, from exercising more to spending more time with your family, and some are easier to achieve than others, but if you do it right you can be successful.

According to FiveThirtyEight, the top two most common resolutions are to lose weight and exercise more, which can really go hand in hand and get you more results, but let’s focus on them as two different goals. When making goals, such as these, you need to make them more specific and think of them as a lifestyle change rather than just a goal that will be over soon enough. Making healthy eating and hitting the gym a regular thing in your life can help you reach these goals easier. They are not longer just goals, they are a new way of living.

SMART Goals

Since the way you make your goal matters to your success, let’s start with that. When you are making your resolutions, you want to make sure you follow the SMART goal guidelines. What is a SMART goal? Well, this is a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Time-bound. What does this mean exactly? Let’s go over each step in SMART goal making!

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Specific

The specific part of the SMART goal tells very clearly how you are going to achieve this goal, why you are going to do it, and what the goal is. If your goal is to lose weight, make it more specific. Rather than stating “I will lose weight” try making your goal this instead: “I will lose 15 pounds by eating healthier, eliminating sweets, and staying active so that I can feel healthier and more confident.” This gives you what the goal is, how you will achieve it, and why you are working toward this goal.

Measureable

Your goal also need to be measurable. You need to be able to see evidence that you actually achieved your goal or are getting closer to it. Being able to see the progress you have made and how close you are to achieving your goal can help you stay focused and working to reach your goal. Again, instead of saying “I will lose weight”, say “I will lose ten pounds by June 1st.” This will allow you to stay focused and is reasonable enough for you to achieve, which brings us to the next part of the SMART goal.

Achievable

Your goal needs to be achievable. Making goals that are ridiculous and unachievable will only make it harder for you to continue working towards the goal. If you haven’t gone on a run since college, don’t make your goal to run a marathon by March. That is (most likely) never going to happen and will only make you quit working toward your goal. Achievable goals will keep you more invested since you believe that you can do it. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t challenge yourself, but just know your limits.

Results-Focused

Making your goal focused on the results rather than the activities, you will be more likely to keep pushing yourself. Focusing on the results rather than each and every activity that must occur to get there can help make you more willing to stay with your goals and continue working. Rather than saying “I will work out everyday,” say “I will lost 15 pounds so I can fit into my favorite pair of pants.” The results are why we make goals in the first place, right? If we focus on the activities that lead up to the goal there is a better chance that you will give up sooner.

Time-Bound

Set a time frame for your goal. A deadline and an endpoint will help you continue to push yourself until you reach that point. Especially if you make the deadline in the middle of the year or a few months away, you will be more likely to keep pushing. A goal that is a full year may be intimidating, so split it into sections. Make your first goal to lose ten pounds by April 1st. If you achieve that then make a goal to not eat any sweets until June 1st, and so on. Breaking your goal up into sections can help to make them seem more achievable, no one wants to cut sugar out for an entire year, but two months is manageable.

Now that you know how to make a SMART goal, we will move on to other steps to take to help you keep your resolution going.

Find a Buddy

While goals are definitely achievable when you work alone, having a friend to join you in your journey can help keep you motivated and focused. Think about going to the gym in the morning and easily it would be to skip without feeling guilty or anyone knowing. But if you roomate, spouse, or sibling is in on it too, you will be more likely to show up. Again, bragging rights are always a great reward for hitting the gym more often and reaching your goal. But you can also use your friend to help keep you motivated and keep each other on track.

Make a Schedule

If your goal was to work out four times a week, make sure you plan out the schedule and make sure you make time to actually go to the gym. If you have an eight-to-five job, there are few times when you probably want to go to the gym. Before work may be too early, especially if you have kiddos that need to be dropped off at work. After work may be a better time, but who wants to go to the gym after a long day in the office? Maybe your lunch break is a great time. You head to the closest gym, do a short routine, shower, and head back to work, feeling accomplished and more awake. Getting the blood pumping in the middle of the day can help you at work as well.

But the point is to make sure you find time and plan to go to the gym four time a week rather than having no plan and skipping because you don’t know when to go. Creating a schedule will help you stick to your goals. Whether this means you have to go to the gym on the weekends or work out a time that you have less going on, make a schedule that you will stick to. BodyPlex Fitness makes it easier for you to find time. At BodyPlex, we are open 24/7 every single day of the year. Now you have no excuse to not head to the gym, you are welcome.

Find Something You Enjoy

When you make a fitness goal, you don’t have to stick to one workout. Being active comes in many different forms, workouts, and classes. Finding an activity you enjoy can help keep you invested in your goal and will make it easier to hit the gym more regularly. Whether you enjoy the elliptical over the treadmill, free weight rather than weight machines, or yoga over anything else, you should find something that you enjoy doing. BodyPlex makes it easy to do this as well. At BodyPlex, you can find a full gym plus a long list of fun and exciting classes. We offer Les Mills classes that change regularly, keeping them exciting and different. We know you will find at least one you will love! These classes are fun, energetic, and will get you breaking a sweat.

Join BodyPlex

We already gave you a few reasons why you should join BodyPlex Fitness. With locations in Jasper and Woodstock, you can find a gym that is closer to you, allowing you to have easy access to a full and fun fitness center. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff will help inspire you and keep you excited about fitness. With our staff, our exciting group classes, and our neverending hours of operation, our gym is the perfect place to work towards your fitness goals. We make it easy and can help you find the perfect workouts for you. Start your free trial today to get started on your fitness goal and contact us with any questions you may have.

Remember, it is never too late to start a fitness goal. Your resolution may not have lasted, but your fitness goal and lifestyle change can. Get started today and start seeing results!

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