How to Keep your New Year’s Fitness Resolution
It’s the New Year! Time to take a look back at the last 365 days, reevaluate our approach on life, and make a promise to ourselves to improve things for the better in the coming year. If your New Year’s resolution is to get fit, lose weight, be healthy, and stay that way, here are a few tips to follow to help you keep that promise to yourself going all year long.
Goals: Set measurable goals that you can work towards and find a way to track your progress. In personal training, we use the acronym S.M.A.R.T. for goal setting. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Tracking your goals motivates you to keep working when you can see and measure the results. Although don’t be discouraged if you are not getting there as quickly as you had hoped. Congratulate yourself on what you have been able to achieve and then reevaluate your timeframe. Goals, especially short term ones, need to be constantly reset once they are reached.
Fitness Apps: There are so many great fitness Apps out there right now to help you with tracking and measuring your progress. The one I use the most is My Fitness Pal, which you can input food and have your calories counted for you, daily exercise, water intake, and more. Find an app or way to keep track of your daily progress that works for you. Give someone your login info or make it publicly viewable and be honest about logging what you eat. This might seem terrifying, but if you know that someone might see your information, you’ll think twice about eating that donut, trust me! It might seem timely at first, but once you develop a habit it will become quicker and quicker and chances are you will need it less and less.
Groups: Find a friend or group of friends that has similar goals as you do and help motivate each other to get after it! Make an email list or facebook group and send out daily reminders of what time and where you are meeting to workout. When you know there are other people expecting you to show up, it’s less likely you will skip out on a training session. Also, working out in a group helps you to push harder than you would on your own and therefore make improvements even faster. This is why organizations like CrossFit have become so popular and have great results.
Invest in Yourself: Don’t think you have what it takes to stay motivated to show up? Or don’t know what to do once you arrive at the gym? Hire a personal trainer to be your get-fit guide. Get customized workouts designed with your specific goals in mind and have 1 on 1 instruction to perform them safely. Don’t think you can afford it? Try splitting the cost between friends or meeting fewer times a week.
Support: Tell the people that matter most about your goals and how you are working toward them. Especially that one friend who you know will tell you like it is, call you out on not showing up at the gym, or give you “the look” when you pick up that cupcake. It’s okay to ask people to help you stay motivated, just try not to respond defensively when they do.
Compete: Even if you are not interested in competitive sports, participating in one can help you get in to shape. The most popular choice being running for example. Most of the participants at the start of a running race are not there to compete or to win the race. They are just there to complete the distance in the best time that they are capable of and hopefully improve their time at the next event. Choosing a sport with an event date in the next 2-6 months can give you a timeframe to work back from and a set goal and date that you are held accountable for. Sign up for that event NOW and don’t let it out of your sight until it’s complete. Don’t like running? How about Standup Paddleboarding, (yes, we race them) or Swimming, or Tennis, or Crossfit, or even Kickball.
Schedule: One of the most common and over-used excuses is “I just don’t have the time.” Everyone has the time in their life for the things that they prioritize. If you want to get fit, make it a priority. Yes, that might mean waking up at 5am, but if that’s the only time you have to work out, then you better wake up at 5am and make it happen. Schedule in the time for training, put it on your calendar, and set reminders and alarms on your phone. You don’t necessarily have to go anywhere, there are plenty of at-home work-outs to be done while the little ones are still asleep. Most of us do best with a routine, so write yourself a routine, and stick with it as best as you can.
Most of all remember to have fun with whatever it is you choose to do. Celebrate every success along the way. Get hooked on those endorphins and you will keep coming back for more. I recently became a personal trainer and I welcome your questions and feedback. Good Luck with your New Year’s Fitness Resolution. And Happy New Year from your team at Islamorada Times!
Feature written by Seychelle-Ocean Child, Professional Standup Paddleboarder, SUP Yogi, Adventurer
I was born and raised in the Florida Keys and have always had a deep connection to the water. I am an internationally competitive SUP racer and current long distance World Record holder in SUP. I began teaching Yoga on standup paddleboards in 2013. With my extensive knowledge of the sport of SUP and 13 years studying Yoga, I have developed a unique curriculum for teaching safe and FUN yoga classes on the water. I also lead SUP Fitness and Private SUP coaching lessons for beginner to advanced paddlers, as well as lead SUP Yoga teacher trainings. My classes on and off the board are a blend of the diverse styles I have practiced and a journey to cultivate strength, energy, balance, and bliss within our bodies.
I am passionate about life, fitness, nutrition, love, and being happy. I believe that anything is possible. My mantra is “Breathe and Smile”
It is my life’s dream to share this adventure with you.
Blessings and Gratitude,
Seychelle
http://www.seychellesup.com/
