Achieve Your Fitness Goals in 2021

According to research, most people quit their New Year’s resolutions about the third week of January. For some reason, that fiery inspiration fades fast. We’ve all been there.

Take fitness, for example. The gym is packed at the beginning of January, but not so much by the end. Sound familiar?

Why do people give up on their resolutions so soon? Usually it’s because their goals are either too vague, aren’t sustainable, or they have unrealistic expectations.

Here are three ways to achieve your fitness goals in 2021.

Go Small 

Baby steps. Everybody says it. And you’ve heard it a million times before. Boring!

Listen, I get it. You’ve bought the perfect pair of shoes, several gym outfits, and headphones to go with your shiny new gym membership. You’ve even planned a week’s worth of meals. Good!

For some people, taking massive action is just what the doctor ordered. For others, after a few days, it feels like a wrecking ball is smashing their life into a million pieces.

Making a fitness resolution is a commitment to changing your lifestyle. You won’t stick with any change you can’t live with. Small changes keep you on course.

You don’t have to be in the gym six or seven days a week or eat bland meals and eliminate junk food altogether to see massive changes.

Keep it simple; make it enjoyable. Workout 2-3 times a week, and save your ice cream and brownies for the weekends. Don’t be miserable!

Go Long

Are you looking to transform your body overnight? Want six-pack abs by next Friday? Well, there’s probably an infomercial for that, especially this time of year. Do yourself a favor and don’t buy into the hype.

Unrealistic expectations leave you feeling discouraged and burned out.

The truth is, transforming your body takes time. Sure , you can start losing weight this week, but it takes a couple of months to transform your body, maybe longer depending on the shape you’re in.

Fitness is a long game; it’s a process that takes time and effort. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be enjoyable. The people you see in infomercials or on magazine covers spent a lot of time getting their bodies to look like that.

So what if it takes two, three, or four months to start seeing the results you want? What’s better, that it takes a little bit longer to see results, or never?

Do your best to have a realistic understanding of what you’ll have to do to achieve your health and fitness goals. This approach, going long, makes sticking with your resolutions easier.

Enjoy

Consistency is a secret to success. And enjoyment is a secret to consistency.

If you enjoy your fitness journey, you’ll stick with it. But if your diet and exercise routine are unpleasant, you won’t stick with them.

Don’t choose activities and foods that make you miserable!

Have fun and enjoy life! Someone said it’s about progress not perfection.

Embrace the process of transforming your lifestyle; stay the course with small changes; keep the long game in mind because this sort of thing doesn’t happen overnight – but it DOES happen. Before long, if you stick with it, you’ll have the body and health you’ve been dreaming of year after year.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash