Making Your New Year’s Fitness Resolution a Reality – Part 1

How come most resolutions don’t survive past Valentine’s Day?
What gives a few determined people the will to continue, while
so many drop off at the sidelines? How can you make sure that
you will have the “right stuff” to stick to a resolution?

Being from the health / fitness / wellness industry, I have seen
droves of enthusiastic and health minded clients come through
the doors in early January. Within a month, or two, many of them
were gone. When I worked at Ocean State Fitness, some of the
personal trainers would bet on the odds of a client making it to
February.

Below, I have outlined a preliminary game plan for anyone who
wants to succeed at anything. This doesn’t just apply to
fitness, body building, weight loss, Yoga, martial arts, or
quitting smoking. The principles below apply to everything you
can attain in life.

Write your resolution down, and put it somewhere you will see it
every day. If you plan on a New Year’s Resolution, do it as soon
as possible. Plan it out in your mind and understand that you
will be at a few parties between now and then.

Design a realistic short-term goal and a long-range goal. Be
prepared for some set backs, pick yourself up, and move forward.
For example: If you made a resolution to lose weight, do you
think you will eat perfect all year. There’s going to be at
least one kind of junk food you will crave.

The worst thing you can do is get depressed over being human. If
you overate, smoked a cigarette, or drank too much, get back
into your new healthy lifestyle right away. Eventually, you will
be less self-indulgent, but remember, “Rome wasn’t built in a
day.”

The biggest difference between people who persist, and those who
don’t, is consistency. You won’t see any big changes in your
health in a single day, so don’t beat yourself up over skipping
a workout, unless you make it a trend. If you find yourself
having trouble, get professional advice.

Talk to your family physician, consult a personal trainer, Yoga
teacher, or life coach, and adjust your plans to fit within your
lifestyle. Talk is cheap, so make a plan, and take action based
upon what you learn. Maximize your potential by using the
knowledge that you pay for.

© Copyright 2005 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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2. Next:Making Your New Year’s Fitness Resolution a Reality – Part 2