How to stick to your New Year’s Resolution

How to stick to your New Year’s Resolution

A feature article by Matthew Pressman, Mar 21, 2008

Summary:
As Easter is on the horizon many will have already broken their New Year’s resolutions, so here’s a few tips to stick to yours.

If you decided to start off the New Year with a resolution to get into better shape, you’ll have noticed that now is about the time when most people start breaking theirs.

Getting into shape, like learning an instrument or how to drive, is contingent on three factors – Natural ability or talent, frequency of practice, and time.

Natural ability will in this case be your genetic make-up. While many who are out of shape blame their metabolism, for a lot of people this is more of an excuse. You may not have the DNA to make yourself look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but you probably wouldn’t want to either. Start looking at your diet to see whether you could eat more healthily and still live a happy day-to-day lifestyle. The NHS has online and offline resources with guidelines on how to prepare nutritious, filling meals.

The frequency of how often you should exercise depends on how much free time you have and the nature of your training. Ultimately it’s about lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes. Don’t set out to run 5 kilometres every day if you haven’t been jogging since John Major was Prime Minister – you most likely won’t be able to keep it up in the long run. Also, avoid running on treadmills and especially on hard surfaces such as outside if you’re on the heavier side. It will put excessive strain on your knees and shins, and is a fast track to injury. Cross-trainers, exercise bikes or even walking are better alternatives to burn more calories while also preventing injuries.

If you’re looking to join a gym, do your research before signing anything. Some gyms offer nice perks like free towels with every visit, but does that really make up for the fact that its facilities include less than 10 resistance machines and two treadmills, making it unbearably busy at peak times? If you have a friend or relative who frequents a gym, take him or her along to see what they think, or get a consultation from the gym staff to see if their facilities meet your needs. What you want from a health club membership is knowledgeable, friendly staff, facilities that don’t get too busy and a friendly, inviting atmosphere.

Time, that is the time period you’ve been training, is often the biggest factor for people to set out to get into shape and then quit. This is because they expect too much too soon – set yourself realistic goals. Start off easily and increase the pace and intensity of your training as you progress. With enough tenacity and dedication you should be able to see the long-term results of your current training method in 2 months or less.

And most importantly, remember to indulge yourself. It’s impossible to eat healthily all the time. Many professional athletes and bodybuilders allow themselves one day a week to eat whatever they want, usually over the weekend. It’s a good way to keep cravings at bay by keeping in mind that you’ll be able to have that takeaway meal on Saturday and ultimately a good reward for all the hard work you put in.

Keep this all in mind and next Christmas you’ll ripple rather than wobble into the New Year.

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