The end of the year is an iconic time to focus on fitness. It’s common to set New Year’s resolutions, sign up for a gym membership, and get new exercise gear.
These are all great ways to get you started. However, if you want your new fitness goals to last, you need to take extra steps to make them more sustainable.
Here are a few additional tips to help you accomplish your fitness goals this year.
1. Get Good Sleep
Sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Without proper rest, it’s difficult to stay focused and energized for your workouts.
Good sleep applies to both the quantity and quality of your slumber. Quantity-wise, it’s recommended that adults get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. If you want to operate at peak efficiency, try to push that number north of 8 hours on a consistent basis.
Along with clocking the hours, look for ways to improve your sleep quality. Keep your room quiet, dark, and cool. Look for helpful sleep paraphernalia, too, like a diffuser or a silk pillowcase to ensure that you’re resting while you’re in bed.
2. Lean on Routines and Schedules
As you explore what your new fitness regimen looks like, try to create a clear order of events.
From packing your gym bag to stretching beforehand to cooling down and cleaning up, try to make your entire exercise time predictable. Having a fitness routine to go along with your actual workout can help you stay focused even when you don’t have the drive to exert yourself.
Schedules are equally important. Work your exercise time into your calendar. Figure out where you can find the time on a regular basis. Then put your fitness commitment right into a recurring time slot.
3. Set Goals and Stay Accountable
It’s tempting to treat your New Year’s resolution as the goal for your fitness. If you want your exercise commitment to last, though, you need to establish more structured, realistic goals, too.
These should be both short- and long-term. What do you want to accomplish in the first week of working out? What about the first month? From there, set quarterly and yearly goals that you can use to keep you focused over the long haul.
Along with goals, look for an individual that can help keep you accountable. Ideally, they should share the same interest in fitness as yourself, but that isn’t a requirement. What’s important is that you find someone who is comfortable enough to call you out with both boldness and encouragement when you aren’t sticking to your fitness plans.
Staying fit is an important part of living a healthy life. But you can’t achieve your fitness goals with a simple New Year’s pledge.
You need to establish a stronger framework to operate within. Consistently get plenty of high-quality sleep. Establish comfortable-yet-challenging routines and schedules. Set clear short- and long-term goals. Find an accountability partner that you can trust.
If you can set the stage with these kinds of activities, you’ll have a much better chance of accomplishing your fitness goals before the next holiday season rolls around.
