January and February can be strange months. The holidays are over and winter has fully set in, with short days and no big celebrations to break up the monotony it can be easy to get back to old habits. No matter how good your intentions were at the beginning of the year, chances are good that by mid-January you’re already struggling to keep up with New Year’s resolutions. You’re not alone in this, as U.S. News reports that as many as 80% of New Year’s resolutions don’t make it to February. The good news is you don’t have to be in that statistic! If you made a resolution to work on your health or fitness in 2019, read on for tips to keep going well pas the winter months!
Use Apps
Here at New Longview we have a 24/7 fitness center equipped with Wellbeats™ technology. This gives our residents access to dozens of fitness classes and channels as well as workout plans and fit tests to benchmark and track results. Even if you don’t have access to such technology there are plenty of things you do already have (or can have) to help reach your goals! There are tons of free apps for both Apple and Android that can help track caloric or water intake, time HIIT or other round-style workouts, and even provide programs and challenges to keep you consistent. Whether you’re training for your first 5k, wanting to work on flexibility with yoga, or challenging yourself to squats, lunges, or sit-ups, there’s an app for that!
Stream It
Another way to use technology to reach your fitness goals is through streaming services. Companies like Beachbody® offer for-pay streaming services in addition to their DVDs, but you don’t have to spend any money for workout videos if you don’t want to. There are quite a few YouTube channels dedicated to fitness that offer home workouts of every shape and size, free to anyone with a fast internet connection. Many other fitness coaches with an online presence will offer videos or other programs, sometimes free and sometimes for a small fee. Do a little bit of online research and you’re sure to be able to find what you’re looking for.
Stay Positive
Easier said than done, it’s important to stay positive through the entire process. At the beginning it’s easy to get overwhelmed, especially if you have a long way to go to reach your goal. Instead of letting that get you down, think about how far you’ve already come and focus on where you were rather than where you want to be. Fitness progress is as much mental as it is physical, so it’s imperative to keep going even when you don’t necessarily feel like it. A good rule of thumb is to make smaller goals that will help you reach your larger goal, that way you have a feeling of success regularly to keep you positive and motivated.
Don’t Get Discouraged
Even if you’re trying to stay positive you need to realize that we’re all human and you won’t be perfect at any point in your fitness journey. No matter how close to your goal you are, it’s almost guaranteed you will slip up at some point. Maybe you’ll catch a cold and won’t be able to work out, or maybe you’ll go on a family vacation and don’t want to think about eating healthy for a week. Both of those are perfectly okay, and perfectly human. One weekend, or even one week, won’t matter all that much in the long run as long as you work through it. Too often we’ll use that as an excuse to stop when it should be a reason to keep going.
Track More Than Just Weight
It’s not completely wrong to track your weight, but keep in mind that the number on a scale can vary wildly even in the same day. Between water retention, hormonal fluctuations, and muscle density, in addition to a wide variety of other factors, a scale is one of the least valuable ways to track fitness progress even though it’s still the go-to. If you do want to track your weight regularly make sure it’s only once every week or two, and that it’s at the same time of day each time you measure. It’s also a good idea to keep track of other progress such as body measurements, or things such as the number of pushups you can do or how many stairs you can take before being winded. Take pictures along the way as well, even if you never intend on sharing them, for proof to yourself that your hard work is paying off.
This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have before starting a fitness or diet plan.