The Benefits of Exercise for Weight Loss and Overall Health

 A New Way to Make New Year’s Resolutions Work

Now that the New Year is here, so are the requisite New Year’s resolutions. You know what I’m talking about: “This year, I’ll lose weight, get fit, get a six-pack, et cetera.”

I see the same pattern every year. The gym is filled with new members as of January 1st. I’m flooded with emails and calls looking for a trainer, but by the middle of February, the crowds thin and only the regulars remain.

But you don’t have to be one of those people! To help you achieve all your health, lifestyle, and fitness resolutions in 2011, I’ve outlined five reasons why your New Year’s Resolutions may not have been successful in the past, along with five corresponding solutions to help make this year different.

1. Are you bored of the gym? Think outside the box!

Sign up for a physical activity on your “bucket list." If you’ve always wanted to dance, sign up for a group or privately run dance class once a week. If you never learned how to swim, sign up for weekly adult swim classes.

Set a goal. Sign up for a 5-kilometer race or mini-triathlon so that you have an athletic goal to look forward to. Plan an active vacation you have to train for. Book a hiking or biking holiday for December 2011. Then spend 11 months training for it. Try joining an adult sports team. There are lots of local social-sports leagues in your community, with various levels of ability, so you can compete with your peers in a fun and social setting.

2. Perfection shouldn’t be your goal.

Achieving your fitness goals doesn’t mean you have to be perfect 100% of the time. Thinking that way means that when you make one unhealthy choice, you feel as though you’re destined to fail and end up giving up early. Change your perspective and your method of analysis.

Life is meant to be lived, so enjoy it, including unhealthy activities. Just enjoy them in moderation. Instead of analyzing your lifestyle choices on a daily basis, think of your positive lifestyle changes like the stock market. Allow for fluctuations, just so long as, on a monthly evaluation, you come out on top.

This goes along with the concept of living by the 80/20 rule. As long as you’re active and eat your vegetables 80% of the time, you have the leeway to enjoy a nice glass of wine or dessert on the occasional Friday night.

3. Break your New Year’s resolutions into smaller, more manageable goals.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the daunting task of living up to your many New Year’s resolutions. Instead, break them down into several smaller, more manageable goals that allow you to be and feel more successful. The feeling of success can propel us to make more of these small but positive lifestyle goals.

For example, let’s say your main goal is to strength-train two days a week at the gym and be active for a total of 30 minutes every day of the week. Break that large goal into smaller parts.

For the first month, concentrate on walking three times a week for 30 minutes instead. Ask a colleague at work to walk for 30 minutes on your lunch break. Put the walking dates in your calendar. Treat it like any other appointment.

Then slowly add in strength training. Ask yourself if you’d be more likely to work out at a gym or in your own house. If you think you’d prefer to work at home, buy some inexpensive hand weights and an exercise ball for your home. Look at your day planner and block off two 30- to 45-minute time slots weekly for your strength-training workout.

Next, add two more days of vigorous cardiovascular activity! By March, you’ll have been walking three days a week for two months and strength training two days a week for a month. Now’s the perfect time to add in slightly more vigorous cardiovascular activity. Possible options include jogging, biking, using the elliptical machine, or skipping.

4. Join a gym; is the gym culture too narcissistic and ego-oriented?

Many people are turned off by their experiences in gyms, with their multiple mirrors and narcissistic gymgoers. But exercise doesn’t have to be all about how you look. Frame your exercise goals in relation to other people and events.

For example, aim to become active and healthy so you can play soccer and other sports with your grandchildren. Or, plan to get in shape to walk or jog a five-kilometer race to raise money for a charity that means a lot to you.

Think of the aesthetic benefits of exercise as secondary to the physical, social, and emotional health benefits that can be achieved.

5. Don’t set goals without a clear plan to achieve them.

Ask yourself: Are your goals realistic? Did you set yourself up for failure by stating a vague goal and then not creating a plan of action that would allow you to succeed?

There are five stages to reaching any goal:

1. Pre-contemplation: I know January is coming and I should care that I gained 20 extra pounds in 2010, but I don’t.

2. Contemplation: January is fast approaching, and I want to make 2011 the healthiest year I can.

3. Preparation: How can I plan ahead to guarantee I reach my goal?

4. Action: Follow through on your goal.

5. Maintenance: Continuing to follow through on your goal.

Most people skip stage number three. They don’t adequately prepare themselves, so it becomes almost impossible to achieve and maintain their goals. So whatever your goal is, set up your plan of action to realize it, and you’ll be much better equipped to get fit, feel energized, and be active for the New Year.