It’s January, that time of year when many people make their new year resolutions. Joining the gym, losing weight, dieting, are all very popular. But did you know that according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, only 46% of people who made New Year’s resolutions were successful.
How do you succeed? Firstly, you need to be realistic. If you haven’t been to the gym for six months, don’t suddenly decide you’ll be coming every day. We love people’s enthusiasm when they join but set objectives that you can achieve. For most people, 3-4 gym visit per week is sufficient to meet your goals. Similarly, if you’ve never run before, don’t set yourself the target of running a marathon in 12 weeks’ time. Any changes you introduce should be gradual, you’ll be much more likely to stick with them.
Write down your goals, so you are clear what you are trying to achieve. Everyone preaches SMART goals, and that’s because they are more likely to work. Remember – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Yes, I’ve been on that course too!
Accept that not everything will be perfect, sometimes life gets in the way. Work, children, parents, we all have competing demands on our time. If your goal is to come to the gym four times a week, it’s likely that some weeks it will be less than that. It’s not the end of the world, just aim for four the following week. We always preach that coming to the gym even once a week, is better for you than not at all!
Finally, share your resolutions with other people, it helps to hold you accountable. Speaking from personal experience, the only reason I ran a marathon was because I told everyone I was going to. When I had to train in the rain and cold, knowing everyone expected me to get round those 26 miles focused my mind!
We will do everything we can to support you in meeting your goals in the gym but we can’t do it for you. We are here to help, if you need a new programme because you’re bored or not seeing results just ask. If you want to discuss healthy eating, just speak to one of us. If you want Personal Training to get the most from your time in the gym, we can do that too!
Let 2023 be the year that you keep your new year resolutions.
Comments