Happy New
Year! Its 2017 and we all just have to
be thankful for being alive to witness it, great things are in the pipeline, I can
feel it in my bones! My first idea for 2017 was to write a proper rant article
about how much I hate New Year resolutions; I personally consider them an
exercise in futility! However I decided to save that particular rant for next
week’s article and instead go with something more positive and uplifting, hence
the twelve tips of New Year, but if you still want to see me rant about
resolutions, please click on the video
below.
Moving on, I
was inspired to write down these 12 tips by the fact that we all make new year
resolutions of one kind or the other, and we mean them for good. The problem
is, a lot of the time we make them based on emotions and they end up not being
practicable. These tips are not resolutions, they are basic guides to achieving
fitness and life goals and I assure you that they will work for you if properly
implemented. Apply them and you will not be disappointed, thanks and have a
great year everyone.
1.
DON’T JUST START EXERCISING!
I know you are excited and have resolved to be fitter in 2017; however a
common mistake people make in the heat of the moment is to just rush to the gym
or field and just start running or hitting the iron, please pause for a second
amigo! First set your goals and get a plan to achieve it, don’t just pick any
fitness plan online, do your research and find out what works best for you, so
that you can actually last!
2.
SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS- AND ACHIEVE
THEM!
It’s great to have big dreams; big weight loss, big increases in strength
and great distances cycled or run. Note that they will only happen if you start
small, please make them achievable. This will give you a chance to succeed and
motivate you for greater gains, if you focus on the large goal, it can look out
of reach and frustrating. You can always create a new more difficult goal once
you’ve achieved your existing one. Build confidence first, and then build
results based on it.
3.
DON’T FOCUS ON YOUR APPEARANCE!
It’s human to want to look good and the last thing I will do is to lie to
you that it’s not important. Being too focused on your appearance can however
make you lose sight of what is important, as you work out this year, remember
that the goal is better fitness, strength, stamina and health. The six pack is
just a bonus! If you place too much stock on your appearance you can get discouraged
that you don’t have Cristiano Ronaldo abs in 3 months, while overlooking the
fact that you can now run for 45 minutes without getting tired! Enough said!
4.
TREAT YOUR WORKOUT LIKE A BUSINESS
MEETING!
I bet you planned a lot of workouts in 2016 but abandoned them as soon as
life got in the way right? I am also willing to bet that you didn’t treat as
many business meetings with such levity. One of the tricks to achieving fitness
in 2017 is to treat workouts like a business meeting between your body and the
gym. Have dedicated days on your calendar and only let an act of God stop you! Protect
this time to invest in your body because nobody else can or will!
5.
FIND A FITNESS FRIEND!
This tip has been well flogged and I am flogging it again with good
reason, while fitness can seem like an OYO goal, it doesn’t have to be. If you
can find someone to share the excitement with you are more likely to stick to
your workouts and less likely to quit when the going gets tough. A fitness
friend will help push and motivate you, and you can do the same for them, don’t
be selfish!
6.
JOINT A GROUP FITNESS CLASS!
If you are one of those people who can’t work out alone or need more than
one workout buddy, then this is for you. Some people do better with a more
social fitness experience than the typical; me against the iron or clock
workout. If this is you then join an aerobics, spin or cycling class, whatever
keeps you motivated!
7.
BE SERIOUS ABOUT FOOD!
In 2017 become a foodie! Food is serious business, especially if you want
to lose weight. Many people focus on the exercise end of fitness and are
careless about what they eat, not anymore, what you eat is more important than
the weights you push! This year become more educated about what you should eat
and what to ditch, and how much to eat as well as the right mix. You have to
experiment and find what mix works for you.
8.
TRAIN ONE DAY AT A TIME!
Please do not get wrapped up in the big picture; this is a situation
whereby if you don’t train every day, you think you have failed! Treat every
workout as a victory in your battle for fitness and every good meal choice as
well. Victory in fitness is an ongoing process and you need not become obsessed
by it and make it an all-consuming task. If you get obsessed by training, you
are going to lose all the joy it can give you.
9.
INCREASE YOUR INTENSITY LEVEL!
This year you need to get more intense! I recommend that the inculcate
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into your routine. For example when
jogging you can start sprinting for as long as you can, then dial it down to a slow
jog until you recover, then sprint again, recover, sprint etc. HIIT has been
proved to burn more calories in a shorter time period. Apply it, and you could
turn your hour long walk or jog to a 20 minute compact exercise. HIIT will keep
your metabolism higher for longer and can help you get rid of that stubborn fat
that has been hanging around for years!
10. CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE IN SMALL DOSES!
When you make the decision to change you fitness life, it is possible to
look down on what you are doing now and look down on all the people who are
still doing it, stop it right now! All of a sudden everything you or your
friends eat becomes evil, please resist this urge to judge and make only small incremental
changes in your lifestyle otherwise you may suffer a relapse as your brain and
body rebels. People fail to make change when they go at it full speed but then can’t
keep up the pace, slow and steady wind the race.
11. BE CONSISTENT BUT FLEXIBLE!
I know change would happen quickly if you followed a restrictive diet,
worked out every day of the week and stopped hanging out with friends and just
camped out in the gym. While motivation is a great thing, what happens when you
run out of energy or are just not in the mood to lift, you start to beat
yourself up mentally and can actually become depressed. ditch the all or
nothing approach to fitness this year and be flexible, do your utmost to make every workout, run etc,
but don’t beat yourself up if you fail, just start again. Aim for fitness
consistency in 2017 not perfection, nobody is perfect.
12. BE FEARLESS IN THE FACE OF CHANGE!
Yes building a fitter life will feel like a great battle at times. No,
you will not always progress in a straight line. Yes, you will be tired, hungry
and discouraged at times. No, it will not always make sense to those around you
or maybe even to you, don’t worry just keep going! Your fitness journey is not
about becoming someone new, it’s about becoming the best version possible of
yourself, just take it one day at a time and you won’t believe it when you get
to the top of the mountain!
Thanks and have a great year!!
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