Putting the ‘Resolve’ in Your Fitness Resolutions

Now is the time to harness your motivation, set a goal and make a plan.

Written By Gayle Pinn, C.P.T.

What’s the most common New Year’s resolution? Start an exercise program. Unless you have the motivation to start now, procrastination will soon set in and your well-intended resolution becomes a thing of the past—at least until this time next year.

What is motivation? It’s that ‘something’ that drives us to exercise and get healthy. So where does it come from? For some people, like athletes, it could be the incentive to compete and to win. For others, it may come from the incentive to live a longer, healthier life. For most, imagining ourselves a few clothing sizes smaller is the source of our motivation.

The problem is that when it comes time to follow through with our weight-loss resolutions, the motivation has suddenly fizzled out. If this sounds familiar, then maybe it’s time to re-focus your attention. Setting fitness goals is important, but it’s the follow-through that matters most—and that requires a solid, realistic plan.

If you find that you repeatedly fail to fulfill your goals, this could mean that either your goal is unrealistic or that you haven’t quite figured out how to reach it. Success requires having a clear idea of what you want and what it will take to achieve it.

Keep in mind that goals can overlap. For instance, if your goal is to run a 5K, it could also coincide with your goals for losing weight and fitting into your skinny jeans. You can also set milestones by the day (“I’ll walk for 20 minutes today.”), the week (“I’ll get a minimum of three workouts in.”), or even the hour (“I’ll get up every hour and walk around the building.”).

Whatever your goals are, start slowly. When you’re excited and anxious to get going, you put yourself at risk for overdoing it. Don’t make the mistake of trying to run a 5K before you’ve even accomplished a mile jog, or to do a strenuous boot camp class on the first day of your new fitness program. Take it one day, one goal and one accomplishment at a time.

You may want to consider recruiting a coach or mentor such as a personal trainer or nutritionist. Or, you can seek guidance from a book or online exercise program.

Gayle Pinn is the owner of Results Personal Training Studio. She’s a certified personal trainer and spinning instructor who specializes in one-on-one personal training for all fitness levels.