Death is coming to 99 percent of the New Year’s resolutions to get fit in 2016. Why? To put it simply, change is hard and staying put is super easy.
It’s no problem to remain on the couch watching football for 12 straight hours each weekend. I’ve done it. Not proud of it.
It takes an effort to get off that couch and go for a quick walk, jog a couple of miles, or simply do 20 push ups during commercial breaks.
Momentum is funny that way. It keeps us in either a rut of the common sedentary lifestyle, or it can keep you in shape after you get in a rhythm of exercise and eating better foods.
We are about three days past the first day of 2016. How many comments on TV, radio, or in daily conversations have you heard about resolutions already dying?
Successful New Year’s resolutions are the exceptions, not the rule.
I hope to help some of you who have committed yourself to being healthier in 2016. I don’t care if you have already failed by eating a tub of ice cream last night. I don’t even mind if you made no resolution at all since you figured you were wasting your time even trying for a day.
I am not a roided up personal trainer who can tell you how to increase your bench press by 88 percent. I have not run any ultra marathons or even a half marathon.
I am a regular guy that just knows what it takes to get healthier.
Two years ago I lost 40 pounds after deciding I didn’t care for the “pregnant look” I was sporting in a vacation photo.
I didn’t order the latest diet book on Amazon or start an MMA class taught by a hot female fighter that could choke the life out of me. I wasn’t looking to shame the guys on the beach with my Adrian Peterson-like abs.
I simply wanted to look and feel better. So I first started paying attention to what I ate and joined a local gym. Groundbreaking I know. Who would have thought of that?
About four months later I had went from my heaviest body weight ever at 195 pounds down to 155. I also went from breathing like a Newports addict walking up a flight of stairs as I ran just one mile on the treadmill to being able to run up to eight miles.
I have maintained a good weight (157 pounds) for my height ever since that time. I now run at least ten miles every single week but shoot for 12-14 miles.
Maintaining a healthier lifestyle is much easier than reversing the less than healthy one that I was living.
Your New Year’s health can’t really be broken down into a top ten list. But it is a good road map for those just taking the first step toward weight loss or training for some sort of competition down the line.
I’m even going to let you off the hook by allowing you to skip the first nine tips if you want. They are worthy of reading, but number one is so crucial to getting in better shape that it is truly all you need to know.
10. Nothing wrong with hiring a personal trainer, but after one or two months you should be able to do it on your own and save that cash. Just make notes of their training along the way.
9. Winter time makes it hard to get out and be active, so you have to have a gym option or some exercise equipment at home.
8. Writing down your fitness goals for the new year makes them much more likely to happen. Post the goals where you can see them every day.
7. If you hate exercise, then find a sport that will automatically keep you fit. It is more fun to play basketball than run all alone on a treadmill for most sane folks.
6. Don’t put any pressure on yourself to match the regular gym rats. You are just starting up while the lady with a perfect body that runs until the treadmill starts smoking may have been running for a decade.
5. A routine certainly helps keep you on track. If you are a super organized person then the “same time same channel” will work. If you are a bit disorganized, it’s best to shoot for a certain amount of trips to the gym or a set amount of steps per week instead of certain days being mandatory to exercise.
4. Do not hurt yourself on week one of your new exercise program. Some people get amped up on January one and hit the weights or cardio machines full blast only to walk out of the gym with their heads hanging after beating themselves up from the jump.
3. If you refuse to change out the junk food for healthier items, then I would question whether it’s worth your time to hit the gym. It can be done, but you are making it much harder on yourself. I made major changes in my diet before I ever paid my first month’s gym fee.
2. Ask yourself why you want to get fit. If it’s for someone else then you’re headed for disappointment. Whomever you are trying to please will not be on that treadmill. It will be you alone so you need to be sweating your ass off as a result of your own personal motivations.
1. Now for the only tip you need to stick with your New Year’s resolution to become healthier. It’s not a magic pill of fitness. It is simply using each day to your advantage. The number one tip is to just do something each and every day to improve your fitness. Not most days, not 88 percent of days, not days that you feel like it. Every freaking day that you wake up on the right side of the dirt you must do something that inches you closer to being a healthier version of yourself.
Little wins on a daily basis are wins that will accumulate, creating the momentum to make your fitness goals much easier to achieve.
Avoiding sugar on a single day is a win. A brisk walk when you can’t jog is a win. No meals after 7 pm can be considered a win on a specific day. 100 push ups over the course of a full day with just ten at a time while watching TV is a win. Drinking three beers instead of six is a win.
All these little wins will add up in the long run as you create positive habits along with the fact that you do not let one single day pass in which improving your body is not part of your daily routine.
Day by day you will become a healthier person.
Good luck with your New Year’s resolution. Just try to forget the “year” part and focus on each day….you get a new one of those every time your alarm clock goes off.