In Magazine
Want to be successful with your 2013 fitness Goals? Here are a few ways to get started.
By Leslie Harrison | Photos by Sarah A. Miller
New Year’s resolutions have a certain stigma attached to them. You begin with well laid plans to clean up your diet and hit the gym with renewed fervor — only to find yourself just days into the new year on the couch covered in Cheese-itz and Rolos, staring at your brand new running shoes still in the box.
New year — same story. You would have bet against all odds that this time around you were going to make those healthy changes. So what happened?
The key to maintaining your New Year’s health and fitness resolutions may have as much to do with the actual resolutions you make as it does with the actions you take once they are made.
Sounds pretty simple, but it’s fair to say that most people don’t really consider the full effect of their resolution, especially one that has the potential of impacting their entire lifestyle.
Possessing self-awareness when crafting a resolution, that is knowing what changes you are capable of maintaining and how you will handle a slip-up, is crucial to increasing the likelihood of success. Thoughtfully matching a resolution with your personality can go a long way in helping you reach your goals.
Once you have synced your resolutions to your personality, there are several steps that you can take to keep you on track. The following suggestions demonstrate how your personality comes into play when setting your goals.
Be realistic when making your resolutions. It’s probably not a good idea to pledge to get up early every morning to workout if you aren’t a morning person.
Along the same lines, if you are an “all or nothing” type of person, you shouldn’t commit to going to the gym every day knowing that you will write-off the rest of the week if you miss one day.
Consider triggers. Triggers are anything that causes you to stray from your intended course. If you know that you won’t be able to stop yourself from ordering a calorie laden meal at your favorite restaurant, avoid going there until you feel that you are in control.
Do you promise to have only “one bite” of ice cream and next thing you know you’re licking the remnants of the inside of a gallon container? Don’t allow yourself to have even a taste if it will unravel your willpower.
Get support. Enlist family, friends and co-workers to help either by giving you emotional support, assisting you in avoiding bad habits or preventing you from slacking off. If you need accountability, ask someone if you can check in with them daily and report your progress.
Take it a step further and have a friend or family member join you in making resolutions for a healthier lifestyle. Social media makes it easy to stay connected and share healthy recipes and challenging workouts.
Don’t beat yourself up if you falter. If you have made a good-faith effort to stay on course but find that you have come up short, don’t throw in the towel. Remind yourself why you made your resolution, why it’s important to you and begin again. If necessary, reassess your goals.
Don’t set yourself up for failure. Be honest about changes you can reasonably expect that you will be able to make and stick to. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t set challenging goals, however, but keep your resolutions in perspective. One personality style isn’t necessarily going to be more successful at maintaining a resolution than another style, but armed with the knowledge of your personality type can assist in formulating attainable and maintainable resolutions.
Example workout:
Kettle Bell Exercise
Aim for 3 sets of 15 reps. To boost your
calorie burn, add 15-20 plank jacks
between each exercise.
- Goblet Squat: Standing with feet shoulder width apart, keep your chest high and push your bottom back; keep your knees behind your toes and hold the kettle bell at chest height but do not rest it on your chest.
- Upright Row: Front lunge with kettle bell shoulder press- complete 15 reps with one leg then switch legs (try to keep your arm straight but not completely locked out).
- Plank Tap: Holding a plank position, tap the kettle bell 30 times alternating hands.
- Pivot Floor to Shelf: 15 reps in each direction; standing with feet shoulder width apart and holding kettle bell with both hands, twist down to the left, then pivot on your feet while bringing kettle bell across your body and up above your right shoulder.
Click image to see workout steps.
