By : Evelyn Kail
Every year it seems millions of people make a New Year’s Resolution dedicated to incorporating fitness into their life or increasing the time they spend in the gym. However, many notice that after the first week of January attendance to gyms seem to always drastically diminish.
You’ve already completed the first step of making a plan; we’re here to make sure you stick to it! If you are dedicated to making sure you stick with your fitness goals this New Year, these tips will certainly help you meet and exceed your goals.
Far too many make goals to live a more fit lifestyle without doing the proper research, having the desire to change their diets, or simply don’t know where to find the guidance to see them through. Not only will these tips help with each of preceding problems, they will help create a foundation for long-term success that is needed in fitness. Keep reading if you want to find out how to motivate yourself to workout and lose weight.
Find A Workout Partner
Having someone that will push you to both go to the gym and make sure you complete your workouts is a fitness gold mind. Although you will need to make sure they are also dedicated to reaching their own fitness goals or they could demotivate you from your own goals.
An extra voice of motivation can be the difference from creating a fitness lifestyle or being forced to begin your journey from square one next New Year’s!
Don’t Expect Results Overnight
If you’re a beginner in fitness expecting immediate change can be a detrimental enemy to your long term gym goals. Yes, in the first several weeks you will seem some immediate drastic changes due to your body using muscles that it doesn’t regularly. This is to be expected.
Yet, everyone will hit a wall where results begin becoming less noticeable to the untrained eye. This does not mean your exercise isn’t working, it only means that you will need to continue pushing in order to see the next drastic change in your body.
You will encounter struggles stemming from body soreness or frustration over not having a six pack after several weeks. These hurdles are preciously why it is important to have short term goals that keep you on a solid mental track.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Cheat Meals
When trying to get in shape many rightfully keep a keen focus on their diet. What you put into your body is extremely important when it comes to developing a lean and trim physique, albeit there is still room for the occasional cheat meal.
In fact, it’s strongly encouraged to indulge in one or two cheat meals per week. We all have cravings and it is important to satisfy them enough in order to minimize the risk of binge eating, which would throw you off from your fitness goals.
Scattering several cheat meals throughout the week will help you achieve your goals in the long term; don’t be afraid to indulge just a bit.
Push Through The Pain
Exercising will induce soreness, period. There really isn’t anyway around that, individuals can take Glutamine to reduce muscle soreness as part of their supplement programs, but some soreness will still remain. Those who are able to fight through this pain are those who are able to reach their fitness goals.
Properly stretching after exercise can also help reduce soreness and help prepare you for your next adventure in the gym. Also, learning the difference between muscle soreness and the pain from an injury is vital to keeping with your goals.
Luckily for newcomers to fitness, you will quickly be able to differentiate between the two feelings. Not only is this a key part of training, it can also build mental strength to push through other difficult tasks that may come up in your life.
Take Days Off
Don’t burn yourself out, plan at least two days off from the gym a week if you are a beginner. Preferably do not set your off days back to back as you don’t want to get in a daily habit of not exercising. With proper rest you minimize the risk of burnout, injury, and give your muscles the opportunity to properly grow.
Talk About Your Exercise
This doesn’t mean forcefully bring up your regime during every conversation; instead seek out forums online or other members of your gym to speak about your training goals. Speaking about your fitness life helps develop a sense of community and can lead to learning helpful tips from other gym enthusiasts.
Developing a support system can keep you motivated when you otherwise would have considered giving up on your fitness goals. Do not hesitate to find and utilize these avenues as they can be extremely helpful in the long term.
