The New Year is finally here…you’ve made promises to yourself and others to finally make your health and well-being the priority. We may have overindulged over the festive period or delayed buying that gym membership but now the New Year is here, we need to do something about it and the fresh start of a brand-new year feels the best time to do this.
But how many times have you tried to keep these resolutions year after year and slipped up in the first few weeks? I have been there, I know how you feel, and it is hard to stay motivated in January when the days are shorter, money is tight and all you want to do is hibernate.
To help you navigate through the new year I have four tips that will support you when deciding your resolutions.
My four top tips
- Think SMART! You most likely set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound) goals in a professional setting, why not set them for your New Year’s resolution?
- Specific – decide what you want to achieve, picture it, write it down and imagine yourself there
- Measurable – take body measurements and photos of yourself to see how far you’ve come, use this data in a month’s time to see your progress
- Achievable – set yourself little milestones to reach so you feel a sense of accomplishment, maybe the first step is opting to walk rather than drive to work
- Realistic – be honest with yourself, focus on small wins before you set your goals too high, actually stepping into a gym is a win in itself
- Timebound – allow yourself plenty of time to reach your goal, slow and steady so we don’t burn out
- Follow the plan! If you have a plan, don’t divert from it, a plan is there for a reason. If you are unsure on where to start, hire a coach, that’s what we are here to do! We write a plan, keep you accountable and on track for you to reach that goal.
- Don’t go too hard too soon! If you go from 0 to 100 you will most likely burnout before the end of January, gradually work towards your goal. For example, if my resolution was to run 5K but had no previous running experience, I wouldn’t run a 5K straightaway, I would build to it, each week adding a few meters to the distance.
- Be kind to yourself! Keep reflecting to see how much you’ve achieved in the time set. Once you’ve set your SMART goal, focus on that and ignore what others are doing around you. Keep your eyes on that goal!
The list could go on, but we need to be realistic in what we can achieve. Take your time, you are in no rush, do what’s best for you!
Millie is a strength and fitness coach and founder of MJM FITNESS COACHING, based online and in Milton Keynes. Millie specialises in resistance and functional fitness training and suports professional people to lead a healthy balanced lifestyle so they can excel in every part of their lives. Outside of her business Millie competes as a bodybuilder and completed her first ever Hyrox last year. You can find Millie on her Linktree.