12 tactics for keeping your New Year’s Health & Fitness Resolutions

 

Are New Year’s Resolutions worth making any more?

Perhaps not according to a 2007 University of Bristol study by psychologist, professor and author Richard Wiseman.

He found that a full 88% of the 3,000 study subjects failed to keep their resolutions. This, despite that at the beginning of the study 52% of the participants said they were confident of success.

Only about one in ten people!

It’s no wonder that some people say emphatically that making New Year’s Resolutions is a waste of time.

New Year goals or resolutions

 

 

 

 

 

But don’t throw in the towel just yet. Because any time you commit to making improvements in your life, it’s a positive thing.

A much better question is…how do you improve your odds of following through on your New Year’s Resolutions?

The good news is that as someone who has demonstrated initiative by reading this Merlin Fitness Blog Post, I’d say your odds of success are better than average.

And to make your odds even greater I’ve put together 12 tactics (broken down in three categories: Strategy, Accountability and Motivation) to help make sure this is the year you achieve your New Year’s Health and Fitness Resolution:

Strategy

• Don’t make too many resolutions. Attempt too much at once and it could overwhelm you. Make a list, prioritize it and then shoot for the top one or two.

• Be realistic – Your goals have to be achievable. Don’t be too aggressive with your goals. Shoot for goals you are confident you can achieve.

• Put a plan together – You need a plan. Spend a few minutes and document the exact steps you are going to take to achieve your resolutions. And be specific. Don’t just say “I’m going to exercise more” say “I’m going to do an hour workout four times a week and will workout on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday” etc.

• Get professional assistance – Tapping into an expert’s knowledge will give you a tried and true path to success. Plus it will make you more accountable. This is where being a member of a highly successful programme like you will find at our Plymouth Personal Training and Group Fitness Studio will really help you out. Too many people fail because they have unclear goals, limited understanding of how to put an effective weight-loss programme together and a poor support structure (see the suggestion below).

Accountability

• Turn it into a family affair or social activity with friends – You don’t have to go it alone. Partner up with a family member or friend who has the same goals. If you don’t know the right person, join a gym or group and build that network.

• Keep a journal – Document your journey. It will make you more aware of what you should be doing and help you stay focused on your goals. It is interesting to note that my most successful Merlin Fitness clients are the ones who always keep their workout and nutrition ‘accountability journal’ up to date.

• Start a blog – Services such as blogger.com and wordpress.com offer free blogging services. Don’t worry if anyone reads it. The real reward is in the act of writing it.

• Focus on actions – The results will take care of themselves.

Motivation

• Apply a sense of purpose to your goals – A sense of purpose applies a greater meaning to your resolution. For example, if your goal is to get in shape, your sense of purpose might be too live as long as you can so you’ll be able to spend the maximum amount of time with your children and grandchildren.

• Reward yourself – Once you reach certain milestones reward yourself. It could be something as simple as buying a music album you’ve always wanted or treating yourself to a meal in a nice restaurant.

• Picture yourself as the person you’d like to be – And then remind yourself that if you stick to your schedule you will become that person. Some people find it useful to post a picture of themselves at their ideal weight or hang a bathing suit, “skinny jeans” or other clothing they want to fit into to help them with that picture.

• If you take a misstep, get “back on the horse” – It’s not the end of the world. But don’t give up. Continue on with renewed vigour.

Remember, permanent change only happens if you change your behaviour.

We’ve all known someone who changed their behaviour temporarily with a diet, and successfully lost weight only to gain it back when they eased back into their old bad habits. This is another great reason for not succumbing to crazy calorie-cutting diets, which virtually guarantee you rebound weight gain.

Start out on a sustainable and healthy programme like our Merlin Fitness Kickstart, a nutrition and exercise strategy which you can follow for the rest of your life.

The key is to make these lifestyle changes your new way of doing things.

And aside from that, perhaps the most important tip is to be positive. Attitude is everything when it comes to everything you do in life. Believe you will succeed and you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

Before we know it, it will be January 2015. Make this the year when you finally get control of your health and fitness.

Your coach,

Beth

PS – We are currently accepting applications to join our very successful 28-day Kickstart Programme. We only have a limited number of spaces, and when they are gone it will likely be several months before we can open up the opportunity again (we like to keep our classes small so everyone gets individual attention).

To discuss the benefits of the programme and see the results which our clients experience, be sure to follow this link or call me in the studio on 01752721062.

For those of you on Facebook, we are also running a promotion to win one of the Kickstart places. Be sure to enter and also let your friends know so they can have an opportunity. Simply visit our Merlin Fitness Facebook page and follow the link in the post or the green ‘click here’ tab at the top.

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