Why Fitness New Year's Resolutions Fail

It’s that time of year again, where we celebrate the New Year and by doing so, try to greet it with an improved outlook on life. One of the biggest resolutions is a commitment to exercise. If you are one of those people, congratulations, that’s great! However, this is also one of the biggest disappointments for most people. People blame everything for their failure from their body type, time commitment, lack of interest, support, etc. But if a person commits to smarter living to reach their goal, it makes exercise more enjoyable and rewarding. Here are my top reasons why New Year’s Resolutions fail:

1) Exercise is just a cog in the machine: What I mean by this is results are not solely based on exercise alone. In truth, it’s a much smaller piece than most people think. There is 24 hours in the day, think about how much time you exercise in a day. There’s 168 hours in a week, how much do you spend exercising in a week? If you focus on these other things: nutrition, rest and recovery, time management, managing stress, proper breathing, you’ll notice a drastic improvement in your quality of life. Don’t stop just at exercise, make a commitment to the entire lifestyle.

2) It’s YOU Time: Blocking out time just for you should be sacred thing. Time is a precious commodity, so looking at your daily and weekly schedule to plan your workout ahead is a step in the right direction. When the day and time comes, make NO excuses. Any excuse you try to justify goes to show you are not ready to make a commitment to your health or your goals. Being mentally prepared goes along way to a productive exercise session.

3) Rome wasn’t built in a day: Be realistic about your goals. Remember, your bad health and fitness habits developed over time.  So it stands to reason that it’ll take time to develop healthier habits. I am going to break this into two categories: A) fitness goals and B) strength goals.

A) Weight loss or gain vs. body composition. If you are a daily scale scrutinizer, (unless you are trying to make weight for an upcoming event) you just don’t get it. I am typically less interested in most weight goals (there are some exceptions, especially if health is an issue or movement is limited). This is not to say I don’t support weight loss or weight gain, just the amount. I have never heard anyone complain about their weight when they look good and feel good. Most people are confused and believe losing more weight will make them look good.  However, a person can actually be less healthy if the weight loss is largely at the expense of muscle tissue. When in doubt, you can never go wrong with losing fat and gaining lean muscle.

B) Put in the Reps: I’m borrowing this philosophy from James Clear about quantity and quality and how it affects the outcome of a strength goal. We ALL NEED to focus on getting stronger. A stronger body is a more resilient body. By putting in the reps, the more you do it, the better you get. If you play a sport, you practice specific skills to get better, then why is exercise any different? Strength is a skill much like any sport. Check out Clear’s blog, http://jamesclear.com/repetitions

4) Have a healthy workout Marriage: Just because you exercise, doesn’t mean you are entitled to results. Exercise, like marriage, has a honeymoon stage. If you lead a sedentary life, any form of movement is an improvement and will provide some beginner results. What happens after the exercise honeymoon has ended? Your body is smart and adapts to what you are doing to it. As your body evolves, you need to evolve with it. If you want a long, happy successful workout marriage, work hard to do the things you need to do, not just want to do. Don’t let lack of results lead to frustration and a workout divorce.

5) Training smarter: Smart training is following a safe program that takes into account your current skill-set. If there are asymmetries in the left or right side of the body in mobility or stability, these should be addressed first. A smart program means:

A) Doing the right exercises based on your current skill-set

B) Using weight that is representative of the repetition range for the goal

C) Challenged during the session but not over doing it or feeling pain before, during or after the session

D) Mind and body is satisfied with the training session and has a sense of accomplishment

E) Allowing the body to rest and recover for the next, “You Day!”

Exercise is not a one size fits all model. If a pattern doesn’t feel right, it probably means the body isn’t ready for it. Regardless of whether your goal is to get stronger, lose weight, tighten and tone-up or add more size and muscle mass, understand the right program is not only more efficient but safer as well. Train smarter, not longer.

In the end, succeeding in a New Year’s resolution requires a lot of planning. So before you run off to your local gym for a membership, start thinking about how to improve other aspects of your lifestyle to make your resolution a success. If you need help, find a qualified fitness professional that can help guide you on your fitness journey. If you are unsure who is qualified, please read my blog to finding the right fitness professional, http://getfittodaywithjay.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-right-personal-trainer-is-also.html. Have a happy New Year and best of luck in your fitness goals and resolution!