So 2019 is here, and if you are planning for the year ahead then here are some tips to help you reach your health and fitness goals this year.
1. Learn from your mistakes
If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always gotten.
Tony Robbins.
I love that quote. Such simple advice yet so many of us keep doing the same thing and expect the results to be different.
If it has not worked for you before then what makes you think it will this time.
Try something new!
If you have never tried weight training, give it a go.
Do you attempt to be very restrictive with your diet and fail? Then learn to use a more inclusive eating approach and you may have more success.
2. Get the help you need
If you want to learn to drive you get driving lessons.
If you want to learn how to train safely and effectively, improve your physique, get stronger, increase your fitness and so on, go to a Personal Trainer.
Its the smart thing to do, a short term investment for long term gains, plus, it will save you a lot of time and frustration. You may only need 1-2 sessions to make a massive improvement to your results.
3. Set smart goals
Setting smart goals is very important to reaching them.
If you have not already read the article about how to set and achieve your goals I recommend doing so, you can find it here.
4. Make small not sweeping changes
You can have all the best intentions in the world but the approach of making drastic changes to your life is unsustainable for 99% of people.
If it is not sustainable in the long-term then it is setting you up to fail.
For example eating healthily is a skill that needs to be developed over time.
The good news is that you can still get results in the short-term by implementing a couple of changes to your diet as you develop this skill.
You DO NOT need to completely change everything you eat to get rid of excess fat.
In fact doing this will increase your chances of failure.
The best way is to implement one small change at a time and when you have mastered it move on to another.
This approach leads to long-term results.
An example of this could look like
week 1 = drink 2 litres of water daily,
week 2 = eat 2 servings of vegetables per day,
week 3 = eat protein at every meal and so on.
The same applies to exercise. I see it every January. People go to the gym fully motivated to smash their new goals, have no idea what they are at, do way to much and end up barely able to move for a week.
This is a dangerous approach that can lead to injury.
If you have not exercised in a while or are completely new to training you need to start on a program suited to you, develop correct technique and advance at a safe but still challenging pace.
Instead of signing up to a year-long gym contract, get a good trainer for 1-3 months who will show you how to train properly and design you a program based on your fitness level and ability.
Believe me, you will achieve and learn a lot in 3 months.
5. Find what works for you
The key to achieving lasting results is to find what works best for you.
There is no one size fits all approach to fitness.
Just because your friend got great results using a certain method is no guarantee you will have the same success.
The trick is to take what works for you and keep using it.
This could be a mix of a few different ideologies but who cares as long as it works for YOU and is enjoyable.
6. Be patient
No one likes to hear this.
There is no magic pill or supplement that will make this quicker or easier.
The truth is it takes time to reach your goals but is worth it in the end. Once you start to see progress after a few weeks it will become easier to stick to the plan.
So get started now!
If you have a new years resolution you need help with, fill out the form below for a free consultation and gym session.
Happy New Year
Shane
