Happy holidays y’all! Between the parties, and the food, and the endless trips to the mall, have you managed to stay on track with your fitness goals? Just given up and decided NEXT year’s resolutions will stick? You don’t have to wait for an arbitrary stoke of midnight. You could start…NOW! How to do it and stay on track? Try to make use of the same habits the fittest of the fit use:
SET A GOAL: This is where you start. Now, while “get healthier in 2015” is a goal, it’s not smart! I mean, it’s clearly an intelligent thing to pursue but it’s not: Specific, Measureable, Achieveable, Realistic, Timely. What is a smart goal? How about I will run 5k in under 30 minutes by March 31 or I will lose 1″ from my waist in 4 weeksor I will do my physio exercises as often as prescribed and log my progress for each appointment. Notice that it’s set A goal. Don’t go crazy – baby steps mean you’re more likely to avoid burnout or two-weeks-in-give-up-itis.
WRITE IT DOWN: Doesn’t matter what your goal is, forget about it and it’s not going to happen. Writing it down helps you cement it as a priority, and means you’re taking a little more time to think about it.
WATCH YOUR PORTIONS: If your goals are based on getting fitter, but you’re still eating whatever you want, you’re going to have a bad time. Fitness isn’t just about exercise folks. You still need to eat right. (Not sure how? Give our dietitian Meghan a call – she works out of the Westboro Clinic)
MAKE MOVEMENT MATTER: Don’t have 2 hours to do WODs at the crossfit box everyday? That’s cool, but if you want to get fit, you need to make fitness a priority. It could be a brisk run every morning or yoga in your basement once the kids are asleep. You’ve just got to make the time.
P-L-A-N: Failing to plan? Then you’re planning to fail. You’ve heard it before, and it’ll never stop being true. Want to eat healthy? Then you’ll need to prepare meals instead of just picking something up from the drive through. Planning a morning pump class? Pack your bag the night before. Fit people don’t just end up being fit. They plan it.
MAKE MOVEMENT MATTER (II): You’re fitting workouts in, and that’s awesome, but don’t waste your own time. If you’re not seeing positive results, think about changing the speed, length or intensity of your workouts. In the beginning a 15 minute walk might be a huge accomplishment, but you need to keep challenging your body as it adapts to what you throw at it.
SET A REALISTIC GOAL: Remember, your goals need to be smaRt! Choosing a realistic goal means setting yourself up to achieve it right from the beginning. You might want to lose 20 lbs, but you’re not going to do it in a month. Try breaking that huge goal into little, attainable goals, like 4 lbs. a month, and your successes will help keep you motivated above and beyond your initial goals.
