Small Steps Mean Big Successes- Making Your Fitness Resolutions Stick
Happy Holidays! If you are like me, you are feeling a little overfull and under-exercised. Naturally, this period of heavy eating and celebrating sets us up for thinking about our New Year’s Resolutions, many of which will center around exercising and losing weight. Unfortunately, statistics show that by April, most of us will have discarded our resolutions and sunk back into old unhealthy habits.
Through years of working in fitness, a big lesson I have learned is to make your fitness resolutions simple and doable. Many people make the mistake of trying to resolve to do too much too soon and hence burnout quickly. Instead of a resolution such as I am going to eat right, give up sweets, exercise every day and lose weight, try shooting for just one of those promises, and START SMALL.
If you are a non-exerciser, I suggest that you start here first. Exercise has so many positive effects on the physical, mental and emotional body, that it can be a tremendous jumpstart to other improvements in your life. Commit to beginning a simple exercise program three times a week. Shoot for 20 minutes of cardio such as walking, biking, jogging or using a cardio machine, depending on your likes and baseline fitness level. Three times a week is doable and will create feelings of success and self-efficacy, and thus you will want to move ahead eventually. Or, if you are currently just doing cardio workouts, add twice weekly strength training workouts. Choose 8-10 exercises that target ALL major muscle groups (not just the parts you don’t like!) and begin with 1 or two sets only, depending on your baseline fitness. You do not have to commit to daily weight training, or hours in the gym. Weight training can produce great results with just two sessions a week of 30-45 minutes- as long as you are working hard and targeting the correct muscle groups. Small steps such as these can last a life time, and isn’t this what it is all about?
Tags: exercise regimen, fitness tips
