5 Tips to Stick to Your Fitness Goals

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to be healthier this year? Check out these tips to keep that going well past January.

It makes sense that January is a popular time to start a new workout routine and try to lose weight or try to get healthier. Exercise has many benefits that go well beyond the scale, but it can be intimidating to start or keep the motivation up. The good news is it doesn’t have to be hard to reach your health and fitness goals, and even if you didn’t start on January 1st there’s still plenty of time make 2019 your healthiest year yet!

Try New Things

Many of us stop working out simply because we don’t like it. It’s not fun, so it’s easy to make excuses and stay home instead of walking down to the gym. Especially when you’re starting out, one of the best things to do is find something you enjoy doing. Do you mentally curse at any treadmill you walk by? Running probably isn’t for you, then. Try out weight lifting, rowing, or even Pilates. There are tons of ways to work up a sweat, so keep trying new exercises until you find something that won’t take as much mental preparation.

Find your routine

Once you find something you enjoy, or even as you’re still searching, figure out a routine that works best for you. If you’re a morning person, or if you’re always busy of an evening, it’s probably best for you to schedule your workouts before your day fully starts. If you have a hard time getting out of bed of a morning it might be better for you to get your sweat in after you get home from work so you don’t have to fight the snooze button. Also find out what days typically work best for your schedule. For example, if you always have tons of meetings on Mondays and come home completely drained, give yourself permission to not workout that day.

Don’t Diet

It may seem counterproductive, but research shows that traditional diets don’t work. There’s a reason so many people experience “yo-yo dieting”, losing weight then gaining it all back again, so often. Instead of thinking of focusing on what food you can and can’t have, or even spending a ton of time counting calories, start off with simply thinking about your relationship with food as a whole. Lifestyle changes and intuitive eating tend to show much more long-term results, and are easier to stick with. For example, start by becoming more in-tuned to your body. Whenever you get up to eat ask yourself if you’re actually hungry, or maybe you’re just bored or possibly thirsty.

Find a Workout Buddy

It’s easy to make excuses and rationalize to ourselves, but it’s harder to do that when someone else is involved. Find a friend who’s also wanting to work on their health and fitness and help each other out. If you enjoy working out with other people schedule a time when both of you are free and meet up at the gym. Another idea is to join a class together and hold each other accountable to go to each class. If you’re competitive consider a friendly wager, like whoever loses the most amount of weight in a certain period of time gets a prize, or the first person to miss a workout owes the other dinner. Whatever you do, make sure it’s fun and doable that helps all parties involved.

Buy New Workout Gear

It’s true that when you look good you feel good, so take that and apply it to the gym! Spend some of your holiday gift cards on some nice workout clothes, new gym shoes, or a nice set of Bluetooth headphones to make your time in the gym more enjoyable. If you look forward to getting ready for your workout chances are good you’ll make fewer excuses to avoid it. 

This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have before starting a fitness or diet plan.

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