• Last week I wrote about starting your fitness goals off by building the habit of fitness. If you missed it you can check it out here

• If you noticed in the first post, I only recommended building into the habit of exercise. There is no need to start off like a crazy super intense gym guy, especially if you haven’t done any real exercise since grade school.

Now that you have started slowly, it is time to set some goals you want to achieve.

First you want to think about long term goals. These goals should be something you can achieve in 6 months to a year.

Once you have 2 or three of those written down write down 2 or three short term goals for each of your long term goals. The short term goals should be something you can achieve in a week, up to a month.

With your short term goals, you can make them outcome oriented or process oriented. I usually recommend process orientated at first as to keep with the theme of building the exercise habit first.

For example, an outcome orientated goal is to lose 5 lbs. A process oriented goal is to do 20 minutes of walking 3 times a week.

The reason process oriented goals are better at first is because you have total control over them. To lose poundage there are a lot of factors associated with it. If you don’t achieve that goal that week or month to lose X number of pounds then you many not feel very excited about continuing because you were not able to achieve your goal. If your goal was to go for a walk 3 times a week for 20 minutes, then you have almost 100% control over that being accomplished.

Each week or month you need to revisit your goals and build off of them so you can continuously get closet to your long term goal.

If your goal for the week was to go for a walk 3 times a week for 20 minutes and you achieved it, then you can easily build off of that goal. For the following week or month maybe your goal is to walk 3 times a week for 25 minutes. When setting and resetting goals you don’t need to make crazy big adjustments. Small achievable steps work best for success.

When setting goals use the SMART principal

Goals should be Specific

Goals should be Measurable 

Goals should be Achievable 

Goals should be Realistic 

Goals should be Time based

Saying ” I am going to get in shape” as a goal does not follow any of the principals mentioned above.

An example of a long term goal that meets the above principles is

” My goal is to lose 30 pounds in 6 months”

That is now my long term goal. for two short term process oriented goals that will help me get to that long term goal are

1. Go for a 15 minute walk 2-3 times per week for the next 3 weeks
2. Reduce the amount of fast food I eat from 3 times per week to once per week.

That long term goal and the two short term goals satisfy everything that I mentioned in today’s post.

• First you need to do some research and make a plan.

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It is that time again, the Monday after New Years. Everyone is trying to get back into their regular routine and those that made fitness resolutions this year are starting to head to the gym. If you are a frequent gym user, you are nervous about the first few weeks in January, but this post is not for you. It is for those people that are trying to make a positive lifestyle change, those that are making that resolution to get in shape, lose weight or in some other way improve their health. If you are one of those people please read on. 

If you are not a frequent gym user and are starting  that lifestyle change and making a resolution to become more healthy, to make your health a priority this year, congratulations. You won’t regret making this decision. It pays off huge dividends along the way. 

The biggest obstacle, barrier if you will,  you need to overcome is the habit change. If you have not been a regular exerciser and have not really done any real exercise since grade school the first few weeks in any fitness program will be a shocker to your system.

But don’t give up. We want to prove to all of those naysayers that say resolutioners will be gone in a few weeks. 

Like I said above you need to build the habit of exercise first. Too many people have the mentality that when they get into the gym they should “go big or go home” that is not the case. Going too hard the first little while may make you think you are doing good but you could get hurt or push yourself to the point where you don’t like exercising.

Just start with small amounts of exercise just enough so that you feel more energized (like a brisk walk for 15-20 minutes). Once you are able to do that on a regular basis  (2-3 times a week) for a month or so then you can add in other exercises or make the sessions longer or more intense. 

Look at it this way, if you are doing nothing right now 15-20 minutes is a lot better than nothing. If you tried exercising previously and ended dropping out after a few weeks think back as to why. By starting off slow you are setting yourself up for success.

Next thing is to only do exercises that you enjoy doing and only do them at a comfortable pace. If you don’t like the treadmill then don’t go on it. By doing exercises you enjoy doing you are more likely to stick with your program. 

If you don’t know how to use a machine, do an exercise or the unspoken rules of the gym you should look at hiring a personal trainer.

They will get you to where you need to be a lot faster and a lot safer than if you tried to figure it out on your own.

Don’t be the person in one of those gym fail videos on Youtube

Try the 15-20 minutes of some sort of exercise for the first few weeks. You can always add more in as you go and this way you will keep the positive feelings around exercise instead of associating exercise with soreness and pain.

 Any exercise, as long as it is being done correctly, even in small amounts will be well worth your time and effort. 

Check back later this week for part two of New Year Fitness Resolution tips. 

Stay Strong!

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