Thinking of Making a New Years Fitness Resolution? Set SMART Goals and Make 2014 The Year You Succeed!

For us fitness enthusiasts and fitness professionals, keeping and maintaining a fit and healthy lifestyle is just as routine as brushing our teeth each morning. Sadly this is not the case for many individuals up and down the country and indeed across the world that start off with the right mindset with a desire to get fit and active, but end up fading and eventually giving up  before they complete their workout plan!

If you haven’t already noticed ‘Getting Fit’ is one of the most, if not thee most popular New Year’s resolutions made every single year. But it’s also one of the hardest to commit to and maintain, and is often broken quickly as a result.

Gym memberships soar at an eye watering level in January as people begin to embark on their regime, but many will start to fade in February and by March motivation and commitment have all but disappeared!

I personally do not have a gym membership for I have free weights at home and partake in Kick-boxing and Martial Arts as my preferred method of keeping fit but I picture the scenario as this (please correct me if I’m wrong)…

In January everyone is probably struggling to find a space to use a particular machine or free weights due to the gym being heavily congested ever nearing its full capacity and by March onwards, people tend have more space to get their workout in for the ‘newbies’ that started this journey with good intentions, decided to throw in the towel early.

This is probably great for regular gym goers but personally I find it really sad and frustrating for those who spent hundreds of pounds on a gym membership they are no longer going to use.

The above is a familiar tale and there are two main reasons why many people fail to keep their fitness resolution for long according to Joe Turner, personal trainer and lead tutor at The Training Room , one of the UK’s most popular personal training academies. Joe quotes:

“People often fail in their fitness attempt because they don’t set a realistic programme and start out doing too much too quickly.  This leads to injury or fatigue and, understandably, they give up on their plan. Another key reason people don’t fulfil their fitness goals is that they lose motivation over time”.

The good news is that with the right guidance and motivation, New Year resolutions (or smart goals backed up with a planned process if you like me don’t set resolutions) to get fit can indeed be achieved!

I was fortunate to be able to briefly address this very matter with Joe and through our communication  he was kind enough to share his top tips with me on what it takes for “fitness resolution success” He had many to give but have broken down his top 6 tips below…

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1)      Ask a personal trainer to devise a realistic programme for you: make sure they have a REPs qualification and ask to speak to some of their clients for a reference

2)     Change your programme every four to six weeks.

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3)     Set precise goals – e.g. ‘I want to lose 10 kilos in four weeks’ NOT ‘I want to lose weight’ or ‘I want to run 5k in four weeks’ not ‘I want to start running’.

4)      Seek advice on the right nutrition – the best exercise routine will fail if your diet is poor

5)     Find a training buddy and commit to get fit together: some personal trainers will train two or more people together at a reduced rate per person

6)     Tell others what you’re doing – in person and on Twitter and Facebook – this makes you accountable!

 Joe’s advice coincides with two articles I wrote a few months back about ‘Setting SMART Goals

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To be empowered further my tips on setting SMART, kindly spare a moment to read the article by clicking here.

Please remember, this journey that we call ‘fitness’ is NOT a short one. Two further words of advise from me…

1)    DO NOT expect results over night for you are painting an unrealistic expectation of your goals and without knowing it at the time, are setting yourself up to fail before you have even begun!

 2)   Be prepared to put in the hard work and determination, once you realise this the results you want WILL start reveal themselves. Another motivating article I wrote that echo’s this subject can also be read by clicking here.

Now you are now equipped with knowledgeable guidance from two fitness professionals, together with the many articles in the word of fitness that also echo our approach on how to make 2014 the year YOU succeed, I encourage you to go forth and ignore that little voice inside your head telling you your goals cannot be achievable. It’s all in the mind… believe and you will achieve!

To conclude, please remember you are not alone in your fitness journey. Rally up as much support from fitness professionals and personal trainers, fitness enthusiasts, friends, family, loved ones and co-workers.

Believe me you will need their words of encouragement when the going gets tough and their support combined is worth more than you could comprehend.

Happy 2014 friends and readers, let’s start as we mean to go on! 🙂