As we enter the second week of January, a lot of people would have seen their health and fitness based new years resolutions fall by the wayside.
You may even be reading this thinking… ‘yup, mine too!’
Well the good news is that all is not lost. At the time of writing, we’re less than 2.5% of the way through the year, so you’ve got plenty of time to get things back on track! We’ve barely even started thing yet, so listen up… you haven’t failed!
Why do resolutions go wrong?
There’s plenty of reasons why new years resolutions go wrong - not all of them are because we’re lazy, or failures, or whatever other negative adjective you want to use to describe yourself. The reality is a lot of them are simply ill-informed.
In our experience, fitness based new years resolutions fail for one of these reasons…
They’re too ambitious
If you’ve never been a regular exerciser, and you’e never been one to cook much at home, changing this is a big step.
To go from no exercise and barely cooking at home to ‘I’m going to the gym 5 days per week and I’m going to eat only healthy food every day, and give up drinking’ is a HUGE leap. It’s too big a change in too short a period of time. In order to make a resolution easier to stick to, dial things back a little bit.
The point is you’re trying to creat lasting behaviour change, not a short-term fix that you’re going to fail at.
Think smaller, but think ambitiously. Here’s an example of how to change that resolution into something more likely…
I’m going to get to the gym twice per per week
I’m going to walk 10k steps at least twice per week
I’m going to take a healthy lunch to work 4 days per week
See how this is different?
Two gym sessions per week is doable for most people. There’s only a couple of days per week when you’ve got to bend your plans, or make arrangements to get there.
The walking is easy for anyone. You don’t have a cost barrier, you don’t need any equipment, you can use it as a commute to work etc. Unless there’s particularly exceptional circumstances, managing to walk 10k steps twice per week is VERY doable.
Taking a healthy lunch to work doesn’t take much in the way of prep time - it’s lunch for one person, not a whole family. It’ll also likely save you money.
Once you’ve got this nailed, you might add in an extra gym session per week. An extra walk etc. Start with something you can achieve though.
There’s no plan
There’s a saying you might of heard… ‘a goal without a plan is a dream’.
This is never more true than with a new years resolution. If you don’t think about what that looks like in reality, and make a plan for it to happen, you’re going to fail.
Say you’ve made a resolution to go to 4 group exercises classes per week, but you’ve only got 1 set of gym clothes… you’ve either got to get VERY efficient with your laundry, or buy more gym clothes.
Otherwise, after the first class you’ll end up thinking… ‘I can’t got to the class tomorrow, because I’ve got no clean gym clothes’.
When you’ve set a resolution, you have to set a plan to make it happen. You have to look at your weekly schedule, think about what you can do to make sure you hit your goals. If it means planning ahead with clothing, with social plans, work plans etc, do so. Just make sure you’re allowing time to complete your resolutions.
You’ve got no guidance
Behaviour change isn’t easy - it’s far from it in fact. It’s even harder when you go it alone.
There’s a couple of main reasons why guidance can help you to achieve your new years resolutions…
#1 You’ve got a support network
By hiring a personal trainer, you’ve got someone to help support you through the process. They’ll help to guide you through the minefield that is a new set of lifestyle factors and behaviours. You’ll have someone you can talk to for advice, for opinions or for another set of eyes. Someone with experience and insight on the topic.
#2 You’ve got accountability
This one is a huge point. Being accountable to someone is massive when it comes to goal accomplishment. If you’re not accountable to another person, your chances of failing your resolution are so much higher.
By hiring a personal trainer, your goal turns into a shared goal. You ease the burden of responsibility on yourself, and you have a sounding board. Someone to steer you away from bad practice, and towards good habits. Someone who can help keep you accountable is a huge asset when it comes to goals.
Rescuing the situation
Now we know why new years resolutions go wrong, let’s look at ways we can prevent this, and get them back on track You’ve still got 97.5% of the year to course-correct!
Follow these tips to make it happen…
Be realistic
Look at your life, and then think about what plans you’d need to put in place to make your resolutions happen. Do you need to find a gym closer to home or work? Do you need to carve out a time to get there? If you work in the afternoons and evenings, clear time in your morning etc.
Outsource your motivation
If you struggle to motivate yourself to train, outsource it. Hire a personal trainer. Join a class. Join a sports club. Train with a friend. Just do anything you can to help spark and maintain a level of motivation to keep going with it.
Make life easier
If you’ve made a promise to eat healthy food, but you lack the time/skills to prepare it, make life easier for yourself. Maybe use a food prep company. Buy healthy ready meals. Make soups or smoothies instead. Throw a salad together. All of these make life easier.
Look to alternative forms of calorie burn
If you don’t always have time to for the gym, look instead at your other training options. Maybe walk or cycle to work. Take your calls on a walking break. Suggest walking meetings if it’s a possibility. Walk with friends. Don’t just assume all calorie burning needs to be done at the gym!
Ask AdMac Fitness for help!
With personal training studios in South Woodford and Bow, let the best personal trainers in East London help you to save those new years resolutions!
For more information on who we are, what we do and how we can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, contact us on… 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Our locations are…
AdMac Fitness Bow: Arch 457 Robeson St, London E3 4JA
AdMac Fitness South Woodford: Unit 4 Marlborough Business Centre, 96 George Lane, South Woodford, London, E18 1AD.