By March, half of all people who commit to New Year’s fitness resolutions quit. The main reason is they set the bar too high. The key to sustaining a fitness program is realistic goal setting.
When moving forward with your health and fitness goals, there are three things you should do to ensure success.
First, write down your goals. Get out a clean sheet of paper, or even send an email to yourself. The very act of putting your thoughts to print makes the goal tangible. From there, write down anything you need help in to achieve this goal. It could be guidance and instruction, schedule adjustment, etc.
Second, take a short, medium and long-term outlook on your goals. Losing 20 or more pounds is an example of a medium or long-term goal. Losing two pounds is a short-term goal. Imagine a few weeks of achieving such a short-term goal- they quickly add up and become an achieved medium term goal. Other examples include increased hamstring flexibilty after three or four workout/stretch sessions, improved balance within a couple weeks, or numbers met and exceeded on a weight training exercise or sprint.
Third, reassess. This is important. You shouldn’t change too much at first in order to guage progress. However, many people get comfortable or wedded to the same exact workout time and again, and end up looking the same- or even backsliding as a result. The reason for this is the body is very adaptable. You can burn many calories maintaining an elevated heart rate during a run or elliptical bout, but over time the body will learn how to conserve energy. The same movement patterns also lean to muscular imbalances and tightness in certain muscles and joints.
Within a month, you can add volume and a few new exercises. You should also see some improvement in muscle tone, stamina, movement, and possibly some weight loss. The next six months is your medium-term. This is a critical time that will determine the achievement of your goals. If you can stay with your program, changing things when they need to be changed and staying consistent with what’s working, you will be much more likely to make your original thoughts and aspirations into reality.