Ways to Stick With Your Fitness Resolutions

5 Ways to Stick With Your Fitness Resolutions

Once you’ve chosen which awesome fitness achievements to set as your New Year’s resolutions for 2023, it’s time for the hard part — sticking to them. Many of us have set resolutions and ended up not sticking to them for several reasons. Below are five tips to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions.

1. Make Fitness a Priority

When life becomes busy, the first thing to get bumped off the schedule is often our gym time. To stick with your 2023 fitness goals, you must make your health and wellness a top priority daily. Being unwilling to sacrifice the time you set aside to work out, meditate or meal prep will enhance your overall well-being.

One trick to make sure you’re not quick to cancel your trip to the gym or skip out on an exercise class is to think of it as an equally important commitment as a work meeting or dentist appointment. Your physical and mental health deserves to be a top priority.

2. Pick a Partner

Working out with a friend will make you more excited about exercising and keep you accountable for attending the gym. When you know a workout buddy awaits you at the gym, you’ll be more eager to increase your strength while building your relationships. Having someone to encourage and support you along your fitness journey will motivate you to keep your New Year’s resolutions.

Committing to working out with someone can also motivate you to achieve higher thanks to a little friendly competition. You and your fitness partner can push and encourage one another when things get tough.

3. Track Your Progress

Recording your progress is key to maintaining fitness resolutions. Keeping track of your strides will reassure you of how far you’ve come and adds another layer of accountability by making you feel as if someone else is keeping an eye on you. This feeling will motivate you to stay dedicated and work harder.

Consider getting a fitness journal to write down your daily activity or chart your improvements. Taking time to reflect on each workout for a moment helps you to identify any changes you need to make to your routine to optimize your time at the gym. You can track your progress in several ways, from using a hard-copy journal, a fitness app or even creating a spreadsheet on your computer.

4. Pace Yourself

Although seeing your remarkable progress may energize you to keep pushing yourself harder and harder, it is essential to remember to rest every so often. Many New Year’s fitness resolutions get forgotten because of burnout or injury from biting off more than we can chew. No matter how enthusiastically you start, fatigue and overuse injuries can quickly dampen your spirits and pause your training.

Make resting a regular part of your weekly routine to prevent burnout and injury. Create a realistically sustainable workout schedule and listen to your body when it cries out for a break. You can still get some physical activity in on rest days by going for a relaxed walk or participating in some soothing yoga. By taking some time for your body and mind to recover, you’ll have the stamina to accomplish your goals.

5. Be Realistic and Be Kind to Yourself

Creating realistic fitness goals is key to achieving success. While your first instinct might be to set one massive goal, like running the New York City Marathon in 2023, you need to ensure your goals are achievable, especially if you have little running experience. Instead, set several smaller goals you can achieve in a realistic timeframe based on your schedule and resources.

Be kind to yourself as you work on your fitness goals. These are new habits you’re developing, and they’ll take time. Avoid being negative about yourself when you have a bad day — everyone has them. Remember, it can take up to 66 days for any new behavior to become engrained enough in your routine that it’s automatic. So, be patient with yourself!