New Year, New You - but for how long....? 5 Things to Keep the Motivation.

Hi All

Well it's that time of year, after 3 weeks (or years) of overindulgence everyone's thoughts start turning towards their New Year's resolutions, and I can bet the vast majority of those resolutions will have some sort of self-improvement through fitness, health or nutrition element to them.  For me, as a fitness instructor, it's a great time of year - full classes, lots of enquiries, enthusiastic clients - how long does it last for in the vast majority of people?

Well research has shown that for most people, the resolve starts to wear off after....wait for it... 9 days!?! With 60% of people saying that they made the same resolutions last year.  Why do we make promises to ourselves that we cannot keep? 

As a fitness instructor with busy classes (most of the year around), I am well versed in the excuses that people come up with as to why they cannot attend today;

* Bad weather
* Not feeling well
* Too tired
* No babysitter

When you think about it a one hour training session is only 4% of our day - why then, do people feel that they cannot fit this into their lives  - we still find time to play Candy Crush or watch that hour long episode of 'Coronation Street'!  Exercise is so important - we are becoming a nation of couch potatoes and this is now affecting our children with obesity levels rising, we need to get off our butts!!

4% of a day - is that so hard?  Here are 5 things that are proven to prolong that New Year's resolve;

1.  Train with a friend - you're less likely to miss a session if you know that you've got someone relying on you for a lift or they are coming to pick you up.

2. Set clear goals - whether these are weight loss, inch loss, specific event (i.e. marathon, 5km run, swim 5 lengths etc), when you've got a clear plan you're more likely to stick with it.

3. Small Steps make big improvements - when you are setting your goals, make sure that they are attainable.  If you find it hard to walk to the end of the street, it's unlikely that you'll be running a marathon in 3 months time!

4. Measure your performance against your goals - ensure that you have a set time each week, month, whatever, to measure how you're doing against your targets and keep a record of them.  This will enable you to see what you've acheived and make adjustments in your program.

5.  HAVE FUN - this is, in my opinion, the most important element to long term sustainable exercise.  If you find the gym boring but love the outdoors - then don't join a gym...but get outside and climb some hills, or ride a bike!  It seems simple but you'd be surprised how common this is!

So what are you waiting for? 

Those beach butts don't get made by sitting on them!!  :)

Jill x

PS - If you're serious about getting fit - then I would recommend a good coach and have a few 1-2-1 sessions.  This will get you on track and ensure that your progress is correctly monitored.