How to set some fitness resolutions for the new year – and stick to them!
I’ve been working in the gym for some time now (we don’t need to tally up the years) and I can tell you I’ve seen a lot of people come in that door in January full of enthusiasm for how this year is going to be their year and they’re going to get fit and lose weight and tone up and …..a few months later, they’re just not there any more! So how to avoid falling in to that trap?
Set SMART goals
The acronym SMART has several slightly different variations, but the most common follow here. These work for goal setting in life outside the gym – but they work perfectly well inside the gym too.
S – specific: I could just say I want to get better at running…(and I do want to get better at running) but that’s pretty vague, I’d be better off with, I’m going to run the City2Surf this year
M – measurable: I want to bench press 60kgs this year. I can measure that, I’m at 55kgs now so it’s not so far away and I can definitely measure it one kg at a time. I need to consider ‘A’ and ‘R’ though…
A – achievable: I do weight- training pretty consistently 3 times a week, so it’s not an unreasonable goal to increase what I can lift. It’s not like I’ve decided I want to go in a boxing match, when I know there’s no possible way I have enough time to commit to the kind of training required.
R – realistic: from 55kgs on the bench to 60kg – is realistic, from not running at all to trying for the marathon – not so much.
T – time-based (trackable) – give yourself a bit of a time frame to reach your goal, otherwise you probably won’t get there. It can be an event – like Tough Mudder, a life event, like a wedding or turning 40 (or thirty, or fifty or sixty, depending where you’re at) or maybe you want t gt in shape for a holiday where you’re going to be doing lots of hiking or showing a lot of skin.
3 Tips to help you get there:
1. Get yourself a training partner: It’s a great idea to have a bit of accountability, someone around to spot when you are lifting heavy and not let you cheat on that final set. If you don’t have a training partner maybe you could even consider a bit of group training, or one on one personal training.
2. Get in some good sleep/rest periods: sleep is when our muscles repair and grow and over-training can cause injury and tiredness, so aim for three or four really good sessions with decent rest in between
3. Aim for variety: all dieting and exercise = whiny, skinny bitch – so try to mix it up a bit. Have a night off here and there, don’t worry if you miss a gym session, get active outdoors instead and update your weights program often to stave off boredom and keep you getting the results you want.
