5 Things To Kickstart Your Fitness Goals in the New Year!
With this past year's pandemic upending everyone's plans for an epic 2020, the turn of a New Year couldn't come soon enough. Embarking on a New Year provides an opportunity to start fresh and persevere towards bettering ourselves. I'm not a believer in 'New Years resolutions' - I think you can set goals and ambitions on any given day - but I do like the idea that a new year provides a clean slate approach. You may have been thinking of getting your ass into gear after months of quarantine, so put down the remote and plan how you're going to put your ambitions into action. I'll help. Here are 5 ways to kick start your goals.
1. Take some time to reflect
Give yourself 10 minutes of meditation or simply clearing your head, and then jot down (without being too harsh on yourself) an assessment on how you think your last year went, whether there are things you could do better, what you'd like to do better, and how much all of that really means to you (I like to label these goals on a 1-10 scale, 10 being what you consider the most achievable/realistic).
2. Write down some things you'd like to achieve this year in your health and fitness?
Keep it brief but detailed. Simply saying you want to get 'fit' isn't clear enough. Be a bit more specific, like 'I want to drop some pounds and fit into my old jeans because it'll make me feel better', or 'I want to get fitter so I'm not exhausted from walking around the city'.
3. Write down when you plan to make time for yourself to train.
How often have you told yourself "I don't have time to train today"? Simply put, you do. Everyone does, and I don't care how busy you think you are. If you look at every highly successful person, one comment element is their weekly routines; they all make time to exercise. The reason is simple: the more you exercise, the more energy and mental sharpness you generate to do the job that makes you so busy, better. The key is simply organizing your days better. Be realistic and consider the following:
- When is a realistic time for you to exercise (pre-breakfast, lunchtimes, after work etc.)
- Do you train more efficiently and productively in the mornings or the evenings?
- When is the least likely time you'll cancel on yourself?
After you've considered these points, schedule your training times in your calendar like any other important meeting you'd have. You are the most important thing in your schedule.
4. How are you going to plan your training?
This is a question you really need to think about if you're serious about getting long lasting results. Don't just 'do workouts' whenever you want to train, but give yourself a structured training plan that can help you get stronger, leaner, and fitter, with a clear & defined strategy, so that you're getting better month by month. Don't just wing it. If you're not comfortable with organizing a training plan, or feel either intimidated or too 'beginner' when it comes to the gym/exercise, enlist the help of a professional who can help.
5. How do you plan on organizing your nutrition?
Remember to start with small changes. Jumping straight into the deep end is unrealistic and unsustainable; consider small additions and subtractions (e.g. more fiber, fruits, and vegetables per day & less refined sugar or packaged foods). Adopting the "all in" technique will likely lead to dropping back into old habits. Start small and increase every week. If you're a little lost when it comes to nutrition, you should do some research or find someone to help give you guidance in what is healthy for you, and what your macronutrient and calorie targets should be. Knowledge is half the battle, execution is the other half.
Never underestimate the power of writing your goals down on paper. Be kind to yourself this year and give yourself the body you deserve this year.