How to Achieve Your New Year’s Fitness Goals

The New Year is upon us and with that comes a world of health and fitness resolutions waiting to be broken.

Unfortunately, failing to keep New Year’s resolutions is all too common. Research shows that only about 8% of people actually achieve their resolutions. And out of the top New Year’s resolutions, getting fit, losing weight, eating healthier and making self-improvements are high on the list.

Whether your New Year’s resolution is to lose those that pesky five kilos or simply get fit and live a healthier lifestyle, you can increase your chances of achieving your goals with a few smart strategies.  

Change is difficult to sustain. After all, we’re usually fighting against a lifetime of ingrained behaviours. If your fitness goals are specific, measurable, realistic and attainable, you’re more likely to achieve them. New Year’s resolutions aren’t impossible. Here are a few tips to help you succeed this year.

Set Up Your Own Exercise Area at Home

No costly memberships and no sweaty strangers – it’s no surprise that people with home gyms are 73% more likely to get active than those without one. Building your own home gym set-up comes with some big advantages. Setting up an easy-access exercise area in the comfort of your own home means you can commit to your workout routines whenever you like.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to set up an efficient home gym either. Depending on your health and fitness goals, you can make your home gym as basic or as hardcore as you desire. Some key pieces of home exercise equipment to invest in can include an ab power wheel with dumbbells, medicine balls, pilates resistance band and a yoga mat. On the higher end of the budget scale power towers are fantastic for workout variety, tone leg muscle with an exercise bike or treadmill, or up those weights with a weight training bench.

Create Realistic Mini-Goals to Hit Each Month

Impractical and overly broad fitness goals are much harder to achieve. Instead, set realistic goals and commit to a regular fitness activity or workout that you enjoy.

At the start of each month, set yourself small and attainable goals to stay on track. These will act as benchmarks to help maintain motivation. For example, if you want to lose 15 kilos over the next 12 months break that up into a couple of kilos each month. By creating more manageable ‘bites’, it helps you to enjoy the process more and not make your fitness goal feel impossible to achieve.

Hold Yourself Accountable with a Training Buddy

A workout partner isn’t just a powerful support to keep you motivated throughout the year, but can also hold you accountable for achieving your goals. Some people work out better with a friend or trainer by their side.

Research shows that accountability can accelerate your performance with a 65% chance of completing a goal if you commit to someone. Even better, if you’ve specifically set up an appointment with a training buddy, you can increase your chance of success by up to 95%.

Get in the Groove with the Ultimate Workout Playlist

Music is a great source of motivation to get you into the groove for your daily workouts. Once you’ve defined your fitness goals, start the New Year off with a few workout playlists designed to make exercising more exciting. There are no rules when it comes to what music propels you, but the right songs can help you set the pace and make you feel fantastic during your workout. 

Take Advantage of Technology

Technology is everywhere these days so if you’re not using it to drive your resolutions, you’re probably missing out. From wearables like smartwatches and Fitbits to apps you can download to your phone, there’s something for every fitness resolution and budget. Fitness trackers that can record your heart rate, the number of calories burnt, steps climbed and more gives you the opportunity to closely monitor your progress and set new personal bests.

Apps like 8fit, where you can log exercises, watch workout videos and get your diet in check are great for tracking your fitness goals. Other good ones to check out include MyFitnessPal, PEAR Personal Coach, Runtastic Pro, Couch to 5k, Lose It and Fooducate.

Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone

Be prepared to step outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself! After you’ve settled into your regular fitness regime, spice things up with new challenges. Not only will this keep your workouts interesting, but it may help you reach your goals faster.

Don’t Forget to Treat Yourself

Achieving your fitness goals should be more than training and working hard. It’s important to celebrate your wins, so don’t forget to treat yourself. For each mini-goal you write down for the month, put next to it the reward you’ll get once that goal is attained. For the overall goal, make sure you reward is something big (aside from looking and feeling great, of course!).

Orbit Fitness has more than 30 years’ experience in supplying home fitness equipment and helping our customers achieve their fitness goals. If you need help with the right equipment to achieve your New Year’s fitness challenge, speak to one of our team today.