*Originally posted on 05/01/2021
Do you make any New Year’s resolutions and do you fully achieve ALL of them? Why is it we don’t ever complete our resolutions, a few months after January? Well, two things really: one, we set too many resolutions and two, we don’t set specific-enough goals.
Welcome to the first blog post of 2022 from The Foot Geek. Find out the 10 simple ways to upgrade your 2022 New Year’s fitness-related resolutions, so that you can stay motivated and achieve your goals.
Why Making a Plan Is Essential for Your Fitness Growth
Before we get into the details of how you can supercharge your fitness resolutions, first, it’s a good idea to know why planning your day is very helpful. See this quote from one of my favourite motivational speakers:
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals”
Zig Ziglar
Did you know that people who write their goals down are more likely to achieve them? So, think how much more likely your fitness goals will become reality for you by writing them down.
Here’s everything you need to know on how to upgrade your New Year’s fitness resolutions, or should I say, GOALS:
10 Ways to Get a New You in 2022
1 Create SMART goals
Which goal seems more achievable? “I want to lose weight” or “I want to lose x amount of weight in x months”? You guessed it- the second one. Why? Because it’s SMART.
Unlike basic, unclear goals, SMART goals tell you WHAT you want to achieve. Even better is if you write down your WHY– why do want to achieve your specific goals? So, let’s say your number one goal is to lose weight.
SMART Goals
Taking this weight-loss example, a SMART goal would be:
Specific- specify HOW much weight you want to lose. If you’re not too sure how much weight you can lose that’s healthy for your body, use a BMI calculator.
Measurable- specify how you’re going to measure this, e.g., measure your weight roughly every few days until you reach your target.
Achievable- ask yourself is this goal achievable? If not, ditch it.
Realistic- is your goal realistic? If it isn’t, don’t ditch it. Adjust it. Losing 30kg of weight over x number of weeks is more realistic than losing 30kg in one day.
Time-bound- specify a realistic deadline you want to achieve your goal by. Weight loss in x number of weeks, months or even a year is more achievable than a day.
P.S. BMI isn’t the best indicator of body weight, since muscle weights more than body fat and different ethnic groups have slightly different proportions of body fat.
2 Eat more fruit and vegetables
Fitness is about what you’re doing physically AND what you eat. Credits: Jil Chen, Nikki Astwood
It’s not just doing things like increasing your protein intake that will help boost your body to its fitness optimum; you’ll probably need to eat more fruit and vegetables, especially if you’re not a fan of them🤣. Fruits and veggies are packed with the Vitamins, Minerals and other goodies your body needs for optimum heath and performance.
Not sure where to start? Try and create a food diary– make a note of what food you’re eating and not eating. You’ll now see if you’re not eating enough fruit and veg, or, if you’re eating too much.
See this blog post for more food tips.
Q What does colour have to do with fruit and veg?
In a previous blog post, I show how the different skin colours of fruit and vegetables represent the different compounds they contain:
Red, Blue, Green = the fruit/veg probably contains anti-oxidants
Orange and Yellow = the fruit/veg probably contains Carotenoids
White = the fruit/veg probably contains anti-inflammatory compounds
The solution?
Try eating different colours of fruit and vegetables regularly (includes smoothies), as part of you eating your 5-a-day (5 portions of fruit and veg a day). If you don’t do this, you’re not alone🤣. Worldwide, not enough adults are eating their 5-a-day. Ouch!
Tip: everything in moderation– fruits in any form, especially smoothies, still contain sugar even though they are natural.
Too much veg can cause bloating or even lead to a laxative effect, because of the amount of fibre they contain.
For more blog posts related to eating well, visit the Nutrition category.
3 Set up a home gym
Create a separate room in your house to convert into your humble home gym. Buy any equipment you need, like dumbbells or other types of weights, TheraBands/resistance bands, foam rollers etc.
Not only do you save money from that gym membership you rarely use even before COVID appeared, you also have your own, distraction-free personal space!
4 Realise that your posture can affect things
Did you know that your posture and balance are linked to exercise? So, if you’re doing workouts with poor posture, e.g., not keeping your back straight, not only would they be less effective, but you can also increase the chances of injuring yourself.
When you’re exercising, especially with weights, try doing them with a mirror, so that you can make sure that parts like your back is straight throughout.
If you want more specific exercises you can do to improve your posture, see this Healthline article.
5 Use a fitness journal
Mix using your SMART goals and a journal specifically designed for all things fitness and you get a fitness journal, full of information like what exercise you’ve done today, your estimate calories burnt, your workout schedule etc.
This will motivate you to achieve your fitness resolutions, help you find out what’s going well and how you can improve/change your goals.
Start with this basic worksheet as part of your workout regime.
Conclusion
Now you know 5 of the best and very simple ways you can upgrade your fitness resolutions for this New Year. I leave you with the rest of the quote from Allan Rufus: “Knowing which move to make comes with insight and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are accumulated along the way. We become each and every piece within the game called life!”
So, what are your thoughts on these tips? Leave a comment below.
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New: access a FREE Basic Workout planner from the Resources page.
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