15 Foolproof Strategies to Stick to Your Fitness Resolutions

By Nick English

January is always the busiest time of the year for gyms—some even call it the industry’s Black Friday. After a holiday season of eating, drinking, and being merry (often in excess), many gyms see 25 percent more members join in January than at any other time of the year. Regardless of all that enthusiasm, gym attendance is usually back to its normal, pre-New Year level by mid-February.

Perhaps that’s because, for many of us, New Year’s resolutions are a bit of a joke: Most people will break them before the year is out (a third won’t even make it to the end of January). But you don’t need superpowers or an iron will to commit to getting fit and fabulous this year. Whether your goal is to do 10 push-ups, run a marathon, or to just take the stairs more often, you can accomplish it, no sweat (OK, maybe a little sweat). Check out these tips to have the fittest year yet.

YOUR ACTION PLAN

1. Write It and Measure It

Resolutions should be both specific and measurable—a recent study found that setting broad, vague (and thus tough to achieve) goals can make people depressed Reduced specificity of personal goals and explanations for goal attainment in major depression. Dickson JM, Moberly NJ. Public Library Of Science One, 2013 May 15;8(5):e64512.. Writing down goals is one of the best ways to accomplish them, and so is figuring out the exact steps needed to get there.

“I want to get stronger” is a pretty common New Year’s resolution, but how exactly do you go from point A to point B? Choosing a more specific result, like “I want to add 15 pounds to my biceps curl,” breaking down the goal’s components (like specific exercises and stretches), and keeping a regular checklist will help solidify the task and keep you on track. Try to make resolutions that follow the SMART model: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Time-bound.

2. Make Resolutions Manageable

A resolution shouldn’t be a fantasy. If you’ve never lifted weights before, attempting to hit the weight bench seven days per week is probably setting yourself up for disappointment. For most people, upending a lifetime of habits can’t happen overnight—even if that night is December 31. The reason is partly physiological; the brain just likes comfortable old habits over new, different ones Overcoming status quo bias in the human brain. Fleming SM, Thomas CL, Dolan RJ. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.2010 Mar 30;107(13):6005-9.. The key to sustainable resolutions is to make changes smaller and more gradual. So if your goal is to go from never running at all to …read more

Source:: Greatist