New Year, Best You
It’s 2019! With the new year comes new motivation to set and crush your resolutions. One of the most popular resolutions year after year is to get in shape. But did you know almost 80% of people give up on their resolutions by the second week in February? Luckily, Elite’s Wellness Coordinators are here with tools to help keep you on track all throughout 2019!
Goal Setting
The best way to make sure you don’t get lost in the frenzy of the new year is to set realistic goals. Setting smaller goals along your way will help you stay motivated and prevent you from getting burnt out. When setting these goals remember to stay “SMART”!
Specific: Your goal should be well-defined and easy to understand.
- Instead of: “I will be healthy in the New Year”
- Try: “I will lose weight in the New Year”
Here, you go from a vague and all-encompassing goal to one that focuses on a specific aspect of being healthy.
Measurable: Continuing with our example of losing weight, that is still not enough. We must be able to measure and track progress. To make your goals measurable, try assigning numbers to make sure you can track your progress!
- Instead of: “I will be more active in the New Year”
- Try: “I will jog 3 days a week for 30 minutes each”
Attainable: You must have a realistic target goal in mind. It’s great to know how much weight you want to lose overall, but keep in mind that healthy weight loss usually means losing between 1-2 lbs. per week. So be careful here! It’s great to be ambitious, but don’t get extreme. On the other hand, don’t make the goal so easily attainable that you’re not challenging yourself!
- Instead of: “I will lose 25 lbs. this month”
- Try: “I will lose 5 lbs. this month”
Relevant: Align your goals with where you are in life. Make sure you are setting goals that are important to you. For example, don’t set a goal to cut out fast food if you don’t eat it regularly. However, recognizing and eliminating an unhealthy habit, such as drinking multiple caffeinated beverages in a day, is more relevant to your daily life.
- Instead of: “I will cut out fast food”
- Try: “I will cut out Diet Coke”
Time-bound: Set a deadline. Having a known end-point can help motivate you to get started.
- Instead of: “I will lose 20 lbs.”
- Try: “I will lose 20 lbs. by my birthday”
Now that we understand how to properly set goals, let’s talk about how to successfully plan for exercise.
Planning for Exercise
In the fitness and wellness world, when talking about exercise program we refer to FITTE.
Frequency: If you are just starting out or refocusing, then it is important to determine how often you plan to exercise. Buy a calendar solely for your workout schedule and stick to it! Nothing is more satisfying then checking off a completed workout.
Intensity: Check your goals and decide how hard you need to work. If you are just starting out, don’t overdo it. You’ll be able to build intensity over time. If you are already on a regimen, then maybe it’s time to switch it up and challenge yourself with a higher intensity.
Time: How much time each day are you willing to dedicate to exercise? Again, for beginners you should start slow and build tolerance. Knowing your limits and respecting them will help prevent you from burning out and throwing in the towel on your resolution.
Type: Now it’s time to determine what types of exercise you would like to partake in. There is no shortage of types to choose from: weightlifting, bodyweight training, walking, swimming, running, dancing, etc.! Remember to vary your exercises to avoid overuse injuries and keep yourself interested in your fitness journey.
Enjoyable: Most importantly, we come to enjoyable. Make sure to choose exercises that you like. If you enjoy your workout, then you are more likely to stick to the new plan!
Now that you have these goal setting tools in your toolbox you’re on your way to having a great new year and being the best version of yourself! Don’t be afraid to ask for help – we’re here for you! You can always stop by one of our offices and chat with one of our Wellness Coordinators about how to further your goals.
