Create New Year Fitness Resolutions
Jan 02, 2024
The beginning of a new year is filled with possibilities, and so many of us make ambitious resolutions and goals for ourselves in the hopeful glow of the future. But then, when it comes time to make those goals a reality, we fall short more often than not. So how can you make resolutions that you’ll actually stick to? Be realistic about what you’re willing to do. Read on to learn how to create realistic fitness goals for the coming year, and how to actually achieve them.
How to Make a Lasting Fitness Resolution This Year
A lot of people are inspired to change their fitness habits in the new year. In fact, a recent survey conducted by Forbes Health found that overall, 48% of people intend to make improving their fitness a goal for 2024. This survey also found that women are more likely to focus on fitness than men, with 52% of women citing improved fitness as a priority resolution for the coming year.
There are numerous reasons for focusing on improved fitness, from the desire to improve overall health, to societal pressures to look a certain way in hot female gym outfits, to simply wanting to be more active. But the survey above found that only 20% of people hold themselves accountable for sticking to their resolutions. Why? Most often, it’s because people’s goals aren’t realistic enough to maintain. For example, if you’ve never run before, but you make a resolution to start running five times per week, you’re unlikely to be able to maintain that goal. You’re asking a lot of yourself right out of the gate, and when you’re overly ambitious, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up.
The survey also indicated only 8% of people stick with their goals within the first month of the year, 22% hold steady for two months, and 22% continue for three months. That means, by the time April 1st rolls around, 52% of people have already given up on their New Year’s fitness resolutions. So how can you make resolutions you’re sure you can follow through on? Easy. Make sure you believe you can actually achieve them.
What Makes a Realistic New Year’s Resolution for You?
You’ll need to customize your resolution to reflect your life, your temperament, and your access. Each person will need to create a different version of their resolution, even if the ultimate goal is the same across the board. For example, even if five people have the same goal of running three miles five times per week, those goals will need to be achieved differently for each person. If any of those five people has kids, they’ll need to consider childcare or running when a partner is home. If any of those five people has never run before, they’ll need to start slowly. If any of those people live in a cold climate, they may need to find an indoor gym or treadmill to run on.
There are a lot of variables to consider when making a New Year’s resolution, which is why it’s important to be realistic about how much time and space you can devote, your body’s abilities, and your level of motivation. Each of those five people above with the same resolution will begin to work toward their goal of running three miles five times per week at a different pace. Taking your particular variables into consideration ensures you’re more likely to stick to your resolution. Just be real about what you can actually do!
What to Prioritize When Making Realistic Resolutions
When it comes to fitness goals (and most goals, if we’re honest), you’re not going to be able to stay perfectly on track all the time. Life gets in the way, your body gets in the way, and sometimes you just need to rest. It’s important to prioritize certain aspects of your resolution so that there’s a little wiggle room, allowing you to still make progress even when things get complicated. Here’s what to prioritize.
- Choose a fitness activity you want to participate in
- Take small steps, increasing in difficulty over time
- Don’t overdo it - be smart about taking care of your body
- Ask for help from experts or people you know
- Be real about what you’re willing and able to do
- Be action-oriented, rather than restrictive
How to Stay Motivated to Make Your Resolutions a Reality
Your success is heavily reliant on your motivation. And motivation can be hard to maintain without some steps in place to help keep you going. Here’s what to focus on so you can keep working on meeting your goals.
Integrate healthy habits
There are a lot of small things that can impact your ability to stay motivated. Fitness resolutions require that your body feels up to the task at hand. Focus on healthy habits like drinking enough water each day, eating three balanced meals per day, and stretching after exercising to keep your body feeling healthy. Your body also needs rest and sleep in order to keep moving, so make sure you make room for both. Plan on rest days so your body can recover from exercise days, and get at least eight hours of sleep each night so you have the energy to continue to exercise throughout the week.
Dress for success
Ever noticed that wearing a sexy workout outfit can make you feel more excited to get moving? Sometimes, the outfit matters. Keep yourself motivated by choosing stylish and sexy workout clothing that helps you feel great about yourself. Workout lingerie can positively impact your self-esteem, and the better your self-esteem, the more likely you are to keep showing up for workouts. But don’t let a lack of sexy fitness clothes keep you from moving either. The sexiest workout clothing is the clothing you work out in.
Focus on what you’re doing well
It’s not uncommon to pay more attention to what you’re not doing than what you are. If you’re struggling to put on that sexy workout outfit and keep up with your resolution, focus on your successes. Maybe you haven’t kept up with your running schedule each week, but you have been putting on your sexy activewear and going for a walk with friends. That’s still something to celebrate! Perhaps you’ve been struggling to run the entire three miles, but you’re still going the full three miles each workout day. Success! Let’s say you do your warm-up before running out of time to do anything else. You moved your body!
Every step is a step forward, even when it’s a small one. Setting realistic New Year’s fitness resolutions requires making space for the unpredictable and giving yourself some grace if you don’t meet a goal exactly when or how you wanted. The important part is that you’re working toward a goal, taking the steps necessary to get there, and doing your best. Be proud of the work you put in, and you’ll be able to stay motivated to keep going.
About the Author
Jaclinne Cheng, Director of Sales and Marketing for Spicy Lingerie; an online retailer of lingerie, costumes, swimwear, and clothing.