2011 Fitness Resolutions

Have you written down and begun acting on your New Year Resolutions? Becoming more fit is always one of the top New Year’s Resolutions and a recent online survey rated fitness as number two this year right behind spending more time with family and friends. It makes sense that this choice is a high priority for people as the benefits of exercise and fitness are heavily supported by research. The Mayo Clinic lists seven benefits of regular physical exercise as;

1) Improves mood.
2) Combats chronic disease.
3) Helps manage weight.
4) Boosts energy level.
5) Promotes better sleep.
6) Can put the spark back into your sex life.
7) A way to have fun.

Many people who wrote “better fitness” as a resolution for the New Year are probably already aware of the benefits of fitness and exercise. Heading into the second week of January there are a group of people hot in their pursuit of their commitment to succeed in becoming more fit. Another group may have already slipped back into their pre-resolution habits and routines, meaning they thought about beginning a fitness routine but haven’t begun. Another group may have begun and is now starting to feel the pull of life distractions that can hijack their efforts to integrate fitness into their daily lives.

Here are six ideas for supporting your New Years fitness resolutions.

1) Create variety in your routines. Frequently people join a gym and within a few weeks become bored with the routine. When you join a gym find one that compliments your schedule and interests. Most gyms offer a large array of fitness equipment and free classes ranging from, aerobic and step classes, cycling, kick boxing,Zumba, water exercises and more. A gym or work-out facility that offers both, variety in fitness programs and provide peer camaraderie is a good way to stay physically and mentally committed to your fitness routine.

2) Engage your friends. Find friends who will join you for a day of kayaking, hiking,bicycling, jogging or even dance lessons. A base cardio work out routine
is useful but unless you are training for a specific race or event in which you need
specific weight, speed or agility training, there is no need to go to the gym
for all your fitness work-outs. In the bay area there are ample opportunities to join social/recreational league teams. These league teams typically offer a selection of several skill level categories, beginner, intermediate, advanced. There are basketball leagues, tennis leagues, ultimate frisbee leagues, soccer leagues and
many other sports. If you prefer to keep your exercise noncompetitive there are social bicycling, hiking, walking and running clubs.

3) Join or begin a healthy cooking class or group. People often begin an exercise program and neglect to alter their diets. Fitness and diet are best in combination. Taking a health conscious cooking class can enlighten and empower your nutritional choices and creativity. If taking a class doesn’t fit your schedule think about starting a group with friends. One format could be each month pick whose home will host and what the recipe theme will be for that meeting.

4) Know your distractions. Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the center of the page. On the left side of the page write down a list of past distractions that have drawn you away from your previous resolutions to become more fit. On the same side of the page continue your list of additional distractions that could emerge during the days, weeks ahead. Examples of this could be, couldn’t get to the gym because of work, family commitments, too tired etc. On the right side of the page write down solutions to the distractions that you wrote from the left side of the page. If you can’t think of a solution, ask friends or family for solutions to help you think of new ways to keep to your goals. The answers needn’t be perfect. The idea is to help you think of these problems in new ways.

5) There will be bumps in the road. Avoid minimizing your progress or giving up your goals on the days and weeks you fall short. For example if the plan is to exercise three times a week and for whatever reason you only exercise two times that week, move onto the next week with the same goal. Trying to make up for the lost day by adding an extra exercise day the following week may become a recipe for failure. If it works out great do it. But avoid the mentality of trying to catch up on lost days. Let it go and move on. When people begin to fall behind and the list of things they need to catch up keeps growing the goal becomes unobtainable and typically they quit.

6) Have fun! There is no reason a fitness program needs to be drudgery.

Understand that change occurs gradually and it is easy to become discouraged particularly in the early stages of beginning a new behavior. To improve your odds of succeeding stay proactive in combating the discouraging stages. Create variety in your routines, participate in activities that are fun, be flexible, engage in new activities, know your distractions, and build a support group of people to participate along with you as you to continue taking action towards achieving your New Year resolution of fitness.