Making New Year’s Fitness Resolutions
At the beginning of every year, countless people make resolutions in order to better themselves. Most of these resolutions are aimed at the improvement of their health. Some say they will lose the weight that they packed on over the years from inactivity and poor eating habits. Some people vow to kick their smoking habits. Others swear they won’t drink another drop of alcohol, sometimes ever again. As a longtime Austin personal trainer and gym owner, I can assure you that many people join gyms as well at the start of the new year. There are millions of people who make millions of new year’s fitness resolutions, but will they stick with it, or will the promise to themselves be cast off when it it becomes difficult and success isn’t immediate?
How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
Anytime we undertake a fitness goal, we have to be realistic about several things. Firstly, is this goal actually achievable? For example, Are you really going to drop 40 pounds in 2 months while adding muscle? Of course you’re not, even with drugs and a clean diet, so that is an example of an unrealistic goal that will do nothing more than frustrate you if you try to achieve it. Any goal you set has to be achievable. If, for example, you said you wanted to lose 10 pounds per month and begin to gain some muscle, you have set an achievable goal. The second thing to do when setting fitness goals, is to map out what you’re going to need to do in order to achieve them. This means mapping out your nutrition, as well as how much time you’ll be spending with your personal trainer, if applicable, and in the gym as well.
Plan For Your New Fitness and Dietary Regimen
New Year’s fitness resolutions are sometimes well thought through, and other times, they are whimsical, off the cuff ideas. In either case, they come from a place of good intent and meaning. However, wanting something isn’t nearly the same as working for something and this is often where people give up their new year’s fitness resolutions. If you are trying to lose weight, for example, you may have to politely decline the office happy hour or pass on that big greasy cheeseburger you adore so much. You will also have to change your schedule to accommodate a fitness regimen. This could mean waking up earlier than normal in order to go for a walk or go to the gym for a workout. No matter how you slice it, sacrifices will have to be made as any fitness goal requires consistent work and nutrition.
Should You Hire a Personal Trainer For Your New year’s Fitness Resolutions?
As an Austin personal trainer for almost 22 years, I have seen a lot of new year’s fitness resolutions dissolve rather quickly. Sometimes in a matter of weeks, or even days. Some folks believe that hiring a personal trainer will motivate them to succeed with whatever their fitness goals are. I disagree, however. While there is a small component of accountability inherently in place when you have a personal trainer, there is no penalty for not eating properly, or doing you prescribed homework from the trainer. You ultimately have to answer only to yourself, whether you enlist a professional trainer, or embark on your fitness journey by yourself. As I’ve written elsewhere on my site, personal trainers aren’t cheerleaders. If yours is, you are wasting your money. Personal trainers work with those who are sincerely motivated from within, and the job of the trainer is to devise the ways and means for the client to circumnavigate plateaus, overcome weaknesses and imbalances, as well as guide the client through a solid nutrition plan for whatever goal they are trying to accomplish. This will yield success for the client. You can have a personal trainer who seemingly knows everything there is to know, but if you don’t feel like putting the effort in, other than to pay their fees, you are wasting you time and money.
What If I Fail?
Many times, I have heard people expressing anxiety that their new year’s fitness resolutions are too hard. Sometimes people complain that it’s all a waste of time as it requires too much work. A great number of people claim to be too busy to put the effort in. Whatever the reason for you not achieving your new year’s fitness resolutions, it’s not the end of the world, by any means. It simply is indicative that you weren’t ready to do it. Anything that requires a great sacrifice and effort, such as quitting smoking, for example, doesn’t usually happen on the first try. You have to be fully committed to whatever it is you’re trying to achieve. When you are, and you put the consistently put forth the required effort, you will achieve whatever fitness goals you set out to achieve, be they new year’s fitness resolutions, or not. Remember, everyday marks the beginning of not just a new day, but a new year as well. When you’re truly ready, your new year’s fitness resolutions will be successful.
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