New Year’s resolutions are not always easy to keep, especially when they involve fitness and weight loss. However, they can be achieved with a lot of work and dedication. Below are a couple of tips that can help you stay on track with your fitness resolutions this coming new year.
Get A Partner to Help You
The fitness journey is a long journey that requires a lot of dedication, commitment, and discipline. It is not an easy path to go down alone since it inevitably gets hard at times and it is easy to want to give up. A proven way to make the journey a lot easier is by enlisting the help of an accountability partner. Doing this will enable both of you to support and motivate one another to stay committed to the cause and to achieve your objectives.
Write Your Goals Down
Lists are a great way to help organise our thoughts and to identify exactly what it is you want and need to do to reach your goals. Therefore, ensure that you list down all of your fitness goals and place that list somewhere you can see it every day to help you stay on track. For instance, if your main goal is to reduce stomach fat, you might want to list is alongside other goals such as, toning your arms or losing a certain number of kilograms. Goals that are identified and written down are much easier to achieve.
Develop A Schedule And Stick To It
You may decide to do your own personal cardio at home early in the morning before work, for example it could consist of going for a morning jog or run, or simply doing exercises in the comfort of your home. Alternatively, you may decide that you work out best after work or school. Whichever is the case, remember that consistency is key and that you need to stick to your schedule every day in order to get the best results. Working out one day then waiting a week before doing it again isn’t going to be effective and in order to stay disciplined, it is advisable to develop a schedule.
Join A Gym
Working out by yourself at home may prove challenging due to certain temptations that lure us away from our workouts. To resolve this situation, consider signing up to your local gym. This has a number of advantages, the main one being that a gym is likely to have better equipment, which will in turn make your fitness journey easier and you will begin to see results sooner. The gym instructors will also be able to take you through a program that is personally tailored to your requirements.
Make It Interesting
Staying fit does not have to be all hard work and no play. You can come up with fun and interesting ways in which to stay in shape. For instance, you could sign up to fitness dance classes that have been specifically designed to assist people on their fitness journey whilst having fun and meeting like-minded people in in the process. This kind of activity will provide you with the opportunity to meet people like you who are on a similar fitness journey. You will get to meet and make new friends and have fun while achieving the level of body fitness that you have always aspired to.
Keep A Progress Record
Ensure that you check through your list of objectives and goals and keep track of how far you have come. Figures and numbers, such as your weight loss every week, will help to establish whether or not the methods that you are using are working effectively. It will also help you keep track of any slip-ups or any major improvements.
Reward Yourself
Every time you achieve a major milestone that you know took a lot of effort and dedication to achieve, make sure you reward yourself. You may decide to go and relax at the spa for a day or simply decide to laze at the beach with your friends. This will help you to stay motivated and will encourage you to achieve the other goals that you have set for yourself. A day of relaxation will help rejuvenate you and will grant you the energy and strength you need to proceed with the rest of your fitness journey.
Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself
You should always be your biggest cheerleader. Hopefully you will receive lots of support and love from friends and family, but if they are negative about what you or themselves are doing you must not let their negativity rub off on you. Remember not to be too hard on yourself even when slip-ups happen. Always practice self-love before anything else as this will eventually help you achieve anything you wish.
Check Your Diet
To stay on track and to achieve your fitness resolutions, one major thing that you have to keep in check is your diet. Make sure that you cut out any unnecessary refined carbs and sugars and reduce your alcohol and fat intake. Fast foods should be cut down as much as possible since they are one of the major contributors in weight gain. Your diet should instead be loaded with lots of fruit and vegetables in whatever form you choose. Always remember to stay hydrated and increase your water intake if you worry you are not drinking enough. This will not only keep you healthy and fit but it will also greatly improve other aspects of your body, such as your hair, nails and skin.
Don’t Give Up
Staying on track with a fitness journey is not easy. There can be many setbacks, and sometimes cutting out habits that we are accustomed to can prove extremely difficult. There may be times when it feels as if you aren’t making any significant strides. The key thing, however, is to stay focused and to not give up. You need to be patient, as such a journey takes time, but every ounce of energy put into it is worth it. Do not give up, and remember that you are not on this journey alone.
*collaborative post
