5 Ways To Keep Your Resolution
Everyone knows what the New Year means, and to be brutally blunt … it means failed dreams. Everyone hopes to change something about themselves, or make their lives a little better in some way, shape, or form with their resolution. Myself, personally, this year I just hope to do better than I did last. That’s all I ever make for a resolution, because I know I can stick to it.
Many people set unrealistic, and unachievable goals. Corporations, small-town gyms, health food stores, supplement stores, and most everyone else loves New Years for the reason that thousands of people are going to be buying new products, gym memberships, more “whole” or “organic” foods, and all this spins into people buying exercise equipment, clothing, shoes – everything that goes along with their resolutions.
Now, what happens to each and every one of these cardio-bunnies and wanna-be gym rats that show up for the first few weeks of the New Year? Well, besides the fact they take up space in the gym? … after the 15th or 20th of January rolls around, you never see these people again
And why is that?
They wanted to get “fit” or “sexy” in the New Year! I am going to share some ideas that everyone can follow to make sure that in 2008, they exceed their goals and prepare themselves for a even better 2009!
- Set an attainable goal!
I hate to be rude, and blunt, but if someone 150lbs overweight they probably won’t have a bikini-body for June. Instead, why not look better in current swimwear/clothing? Shedding 20, 30, or even 50lbs between now and then will make a HUGE difference to outward appearance. - Stay simple, get back to the basics.
As I repeatedly say in my articles, the simplest answer is usually the right one. Don’t make things more complicated than they need to be, if all a person does this year is cut their calorie intake by 1/3rd, do some easy cardio (walk an hour a day), and get the right amount of sleep – change will happen. These are easy goals, that hour walk might be 30 minute walk to work and back home? The hardest part is usually putting down the Cola and getting off the couch. - Find a partner!
No, this isn’t saying sign up at a new dating site … finding a workout partner is a great way to motivate yourself, because when my workout partner is too lazy to get up it does not only affect them, but my own workouts as well. I need a strong, dependable, and most of all – a workout partner I can trust. I put my life into their hands, imagine getting stuck under a 315lb bench press or quadruple digits on a leg press machine, very unsafe if I can’t squeeze out that last rep and get caught at the bottom, or half way. - Track progress
Many, many, many websites out there offer some form of logging or tracking of workouts. There are a few reasons I do this – for one, it keeps me honest. It’s also very inspiring, when you have a group of people following your workouts and they leave comments or suggestions. My personal motto is to better myself everytime I step into the gym, if I did not do more reps or more weight than the last time I did that exercise … I failed myself. The only way I know this is if I keep a log, I use the bodybuilding forums at IronMass, which is a very supportive community for beginners, with veteran fitness enthusiasts and beginners all helping each other. - Use a mirror, not a scale!
When someone says they lost some fat, or weight, people immediately ask “How much?” – well, that’s not always correct. What if you lost 15lbs of fat, but gained 5lbs of muscle? You really only lost 10lbs, but the muscle you put on will help incinerate even more fat. I generally step on the scale twice a month, the 1st and 15th. I keep track of this, and always weigh in at the same time of day (ie: right after I wake up, use the bathroom, and hop onto the scale before I get into the shower — naked, no extra weight just me). This gets rid of any fluids, or solids, you may have in your body that can affect the weight +/- a pound or two. That’s enough to not see a change between weeks, and make some people want to quit. That’s not the case, weight fluctuates depending on dozens of factors and may go up and down from Breakfast to Noon. Watch the trend — if I’m losing weight for 6 straight weigh-ins I figure I’m doing something right, but if I jump up a pound on my next weigh in – I won’t freak out, and wait 2 weeks and see where I am the next time. If I’m up more than a pound or two, then it’s probably time to change things up.
So with that all said; apply these very, very basic principles to your 2008 Resolutions (and comment with what yours is!) and I’ll see you at the beach!
I don’t believe in new year’s resolutions; I think that for those of us in the northern hemisphere it is a mistake to make fitness goals on January 1st. The Spring or early Summer is a much better time, since January goals encourage procrastination and the weather can be demotivating or even downright dangerous.
I do set some annual goals around this time, but that is mostly because I am in between seasons and have the time to look ahead for what I want to be doing for the next year.
If you are going to be creating resolutions, break it down into bite size pieces and figure out what you need to do each month so that your goals will be attainable and won’t fall by the wayside. I think that all 5 of your tips are great steps towards doing that.
I agree with you blaine! I’ve seen it year in and year out. Why does it take a date to get off your ass and make it happen? Having goals is different than resolutions. There is some great info on this blog, so people should read it and apply it.
Great post man! I’m going to try this.
Hi Israel,
I’d add to #5 re: using the mirror to take your measurements….the scale can say that you haven’t dropped any weight but your measurements (and how your pants fit!) can tell a different story. I weigh and measure once a week.
Re: resolutions – I didn’t make any, however I do have some goals. It might sound like a resolution however I think that many make a resolution but aren’t 100% committed to making the changes, so they don’t follow through and persist when the going gets tough.
As far as my goals go, I’m eating clean and off of the processed food, or what I call dead food. Off of the refined sugar, white flour, additives, preservatives, added salt, unhealthy fats, and dairy. This really isn’t a resolution for me because I need to live this way if I want to keep off the weight that I lose….dead, processed food won’t help me feel great or lose weight, and when I eat it I gain weight because a little is never enough.
Great post and I am taking down the advice as one of my resolutions is to get fitter and shed the spare tyre (or two) across the course of the year.
Lots of good advice in your post, Israel. Instead of resolutions, I’m looking to cultivate some new habits to replace some of my bad habits now that I’ve gotten the weight taken care off.
Great post. I started reading your journal yesterday, after I made my resolution (I am aware of your post, Blaine) and I thought both this and the last entry were really good. I am going to continue reading. Thanks for the great tips!
As for Blaine’s comment: I agree with your post completely, but I guess I’m doing my resolution a little differently, hopefully it works out!
I try it too. I think that The most important is a motivation
Yeah you are right….. the word “motivation”…this is the main thing… motivation is required for doing any kind of work…and hey..its …the regularity required for doing a proper weight loss is the thing which makes people get away from it….so we should try all these motivation tips..and even I am going to try them…..lets see how they work…
will get back and let all of you know what results came 🙂
I totally agree with the “user a mirror” not a scale one. Great post.
My motivation to weight loss is to get that beach body. I want to wear sexy swimsuits and this keep me going forward and fight my food addictions and continuous exercise.
What sorts of exercise do you perform?
There is nothing worse than showing up at the beach and NOT wanting to get into your suit. That’s all the motivation I need, the thought of the sexy swimwear that I’ll be around. You never want to be out of shape for that.
I agree about not using the scale. Looking in the mirror is better.
Its time to stick to new resolutions again. Im going with Shaun T Insanity