Why Putting Fitness on your New Year's Resolution is Holding you Back…The Secret to Getting and STAYING on Track.
It's that time of year again and we're FINALLY planning to start getting our bodies right on the 1st. We're going to wake up super early in the morning and hit the gym for two hours 5 days a week and we're going to have the most awesome bodies with shredded 6-pack abs and by February…maybe March…we've burnt out. Sound familiar? If it does comment down below. As a trainer, I've seen the gyms swell their numbers with new faces every January only to never see many of those faces again. So why is this so common? I've come up with 4 reasons why this might be the case and with that, how you can avoid shooting yourself in the foot and actually be on your fitness journey long term.
You don't actually have a plan
If you've ever been new to the gym you know how overwhelming it can be to start with no clue on where to begin. For some people this can be incredibly intimidating and might send you packing til next January. The easiest way to get over this hump would be to hire a personal trainer (cough) but shitty sales pitch aside, hiring a trainer takes all of the pressure of planning your next move off of you so all you have to do is show up and do the workout! You can think of them/us as a safety net so to speak. A good trainer will listen to your goals, your likes and dislikes and other and will give you a roadmap to get to where you want to be. And before you say the dreaded, “I don't need a personal trainer, I've worked out before” or something like that, remember, elite athletes who are the epitome of what we would consider fit all have coaches. Read that again. But if you're adamant about doing things on your own. I would recommend really taking the time to think about what you want and why. After that figure out what's the least you can do in the beginning instead of the most and then commit to it. This will help you to build consistency which will help you stay on track.
“I don't feel like I belong”
I can't tell you how many times I've heard these words verbatim. People who are new to the gym…”gym newbs” let's call them, will often say this when they feel intimidated looking at the guys and girls who've been there for a while. If you're a gym newb, have you thought this before? DON’T! The fact is, the gym is a place for people to improve themselves, not only for the super big and beefy. The irony is that those very same people that intimidate you may in fact have been in your shoes once upon a time. They may even have great tips for you to follow in your journey! Of course this isn't the case for every single person in the gym but it's been my experience at least that most people in the gym are actually friendly people. And an added benefit to going to the gym besides getting fit is a healthy community.
The Gyms Are Too Packed
Yeah this can be a problem, especially in the early months of the year…unfortunately this is kind of the nature of the beast. There's always going to be a new years crowd and there will always be people who fall by the wayside during this time. If you want to avoid being weeded out this way, you have to stay flexible. Yes you pay for a gym membership but so do everyone else so if you're looking for a specific machine or free weight and it's taken, you have options.
You can ask to work in- most people won't mind alternating between sets so that both of you can get your exercise in.
You can do something else- no one likes to hear this one but unless you're doing a specific movement for a specific reason, (ex. You're a powerlifter and you need to specifically do bench, squat, or deadlift.) don't be married to a specific exercise, rather identify the movement pattern and do an exercise that falls in that category. Ex. Working chest and can't get to a bench? Try a dumbbell press instead? Or can't do a pull up because all the bars are taken? Perhaps a lat pulldown. The point is you can still make progress in a variety of ways, don't get stuck on one exercise.
You keep waiting for Jan 1st.
My friends, there is nothing special about New Year's Day. Its not magical, it won't fill you with the motivation and confidence of Superman. The reality is you're just prolonging your journey waiting for the perfect time when in fact the perfect time is NOW! Whenever you're reading this…even if it's ironically New Year's Day. START NOW you're the youngest you'll ever be again so stop wasting your time and get after it!
That's all I have for today and I do apologize for the brevity and lack of pizzazz this week, I'm on vacation and writing this from my phone. If you're tired of letting the days pass you by as you wish you were in better shape, PLEASE reach out and we can get started transforming you into the version of yourself you WANT to be! Happy New Year and I look forward to getting after it with you all!
