How To Stay Motivated To Meet Your New Year Fitness Goals

Staying fit or losing weight is not an easy task. Just like everyone, you probably have other things you need to do or would rather be doing, but being healthy really is possible for anyone who tries. This week we will discuss how to stay motivated to meet your New Year fitness goals.

1. Create More Than One Goal

Think of what your one main goal is; let's just say it is to lose 20 pounds. Give yourself a realistic time line and then break that big goal down into smaller goals. 20 pounds in six months is more than doable. So in three months, you will need to lose 10 pounds, meaning you only need to lose less than four pounds in a month. By only losing less than a pound a week, you can lose 20 pounds in six months.

2. Compete With Friends or Strangers

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Find out if you have other friends or family members that are trying to lose weight and team up with them to stay motivated to meet your New Year fitness goals. You do not even have to be in the same state. By tracking progress online or through social media sites, you can keep each other in check. If you do not know anyone personally, ask at fitness centers or online forums for anyone else that needs to lose the same amount of weight or wants to maintain their current form.

3. Keep a Blog or Journal

It is a good idea to keep a journal during your weight loss journey. Sometimes you may have ups and downs that you need to express, but might not feel comfortable expressing them to someone else or you may not have someone else to express them too. If you would like to share your experiences with others, an online blog is also a good option. Just be prepared that for every good comment you receive, you must also be prepared to receive negative comments.

4. Know That It's OK to Fail Sometimes

You never know when you will have an unexpected lunch or party at work, or you might just want to eat pizza and watch movies with your kids. It is OK to enjoy food and your life. If you do not lose the weight you want one week, or gain some of it back, it is OK, you have the next week to make up for it. You need to be happy during your fitness plan or it will not be worth the work.

Video: New Year Fitness 12-Minute Pilates Workout

This quick 12 minute workout can fit into your busy schedule no matter how busy this year turns out to be for you! These are 6 exercises you can do just about anywhere, and they provide all the great stretching and strengthening benefits of Pilates to give you lean, toned, strong muscles that can support you in all of your other workouts. Tone your abs, glutes, thighs, arms, shoulders, and more with this short but effective workout.

Make a resolution today to visit this blog every week for a new workout, and we promise to continue to bring you fun, quick workouts that can keep your fitness goals on track throughout 2015 and beyond!

New Year Fitness Pilates Workout - Kristi Cooper
http://www.pilatesanytime.com - We are all very busy and this workout is easy to fit into anyone's schedule. This video highlights exercises that you can do ...

Should You Join A Gym In The New Year?

When starting a new exercise program or attempting to continue an old one, it can be hard to decide on whether or not to get fit from the comfort of your own home or incorporate yourself into the gym fitness scene. These questions/tips should help you to decide if you should join a gym in the New Year.

If You Join A Gym

1. Where Is It? Try to find a place that is close to your home or work. You can toss a gym bag in your car and have no excuse to not be able to hit the gym.

Fitball Group Fitness Class. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2. Do They Offer Free Trials? Most gyms offer a free or discounted trial membership. If they do not, ask what the daily rate is and if they would discount that off of a membership if you should decide to join.

3. How Much Does It Cost? Most gyms charge a sign up fee and a monthly fee. Some plans include all gym activities including classes and others make you pay for certain classes or amenities separately. Get a cost breakdown before joining.

4. What Are Their Hours? If a gym opens late or closes early, it will be almost impossible to work out. If they close on the weekends, you also cut out the chance of doing additional routines or “make up” exercise time.

5. Are There Trainers Available? Of course you can figure out how to use most exercise machine, but having trainers on hand can help you get the most out of your fitness routine.

If You Do Not Join A Gym

1. Make Time to Exercise: Make sure you dedicate a specific time of day or night to your exercise routine and stick to it. Set an alarm so you will not forget.

Dumbbells/Hand Weights. (Photo credit: Judy **)

2. Do Your Research: Start off with exercise videos and follow the instructions for proper form. It does not matter for how long you exercise if you are doing it incorrectly. Improper form can yield little or no results - or even worse, lead to injury.

3. Invest In Equipment: Aerobic and beginner exercises, and many specialized forms of exercise like yoga, can be done without any special equipment. If you want to get the most out of your workout, you'll probably need to eventually at least invest in a set of good hand weights or resistance bands.

4. Do Not Get Distracted: Do not try and exercise in front of the TV or while trying to do something else like cooking or laundry. Fitness time should be set aside for just that and nothing else.

There are lots of available DVDs and other resources if you decide to exercise at home. Just make sure you follow the tips above so that you stay on track with your exercise plan, since you may feel less accountable than if you are paying for a gym membership.

How To Set Realistic Fitness Goals For The New Year

If you want to succeed, you cannot set yourself up to fail.  If you want to get into shape and start leading a healthier lifestyle you need to learn how to set realistic fitness goals for the New Year this year.

Take Advantage of The Entire New Year

Instead of trying to lose a large about of weight or being able to run a five minute mile in a month, plan out your goals over the course of the entire New Year. If you have a certain amount of weight you want to lose or a certain fitness goal that you want to attain, like running a mile in under 10 minutes, plan to achieve these goals over the next 12 months. In that time you can slowly lose the weight and get healthy, giving you a higher success rate without feeling too much pressure. If you accomplish those goals before the allotted time, you can set new ones, and advance even further.

Give Yourself Time

Not everyone can hit the gym for four hours a day, but try to dedicate at least three hours a week to start. If you can't find a solid 30 minute block of time during the day, break it up into 10 minute increments and spread them out. If you exercise for an hour one day but take a break the next day, do not beat yourself up over it. You will soon find out that the more you exercise, the easier it is to find time to do it. If you still have trouble, try to incorporate more exercise into your daily life - as described in the excellent book, "Move a Little, Lose a Lot" - instead of looking at exercise as an exclusive activity. Start with three hours a week and give yourself the entire New Year to work up to six hours a week, or more.

Make It a Game and Keep Score

Create your own personal score board. Keep track of your weight lost and gained, because it is not unusual to gain back a little bit of the weight you have lost during the process. Write down your calories for the day and also subtract the calories to consume for your resting metabolic rate as well as from exercise and even household chores. One pound is worth about 3000 calories, so for every 3000 calories you can cut out of your life, it will be one pound less you are taking off of your body.

The most important part of getting in shape is keeping a positive attitude and learning how to set realistic fitness goals for the New Year. If you do this, you're sure to achieve them!

10 Simple New Year's Fitness Resolutions

When you start to notice that you need to lose a few extra pounds, want to get back in shape or just maintain your current level of fitness, you need to get yourself motivated. Since it's that time of year, here are 10 simple New Year's fitness resolutions to get you going.

1. Start a Fitness Plan: Talk to your doctor or a qualified personal trainer about what your fitness goals are. Decide if you want to join a gym or exercise on your own. Most gyms offer a free trial period in their facilities.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2. Make a Friend: Find someone to keep you motivated. You can find a partner to exercise with or just an online buddy to help you track your goals. Websites such as Spark and Livestrong can even help pair you up in groups with others.

3. Walk and Bike More: Park as far as you can from work, school or even the grocery store. Take the stairs whenever possible and for longer distances use a bike.

4. Drink More and Less: Try to drink more water, as much as you can possibly stand. The more water you drink the less hungry you will be. Try to cut out all alcohol and soda and cut down to just one juice a day.

5. Count Your Steps: Get a pedometer – note that even some smartphones have step counters. You can also get them at Walmart for under $10.

6. Eat In: Prepare your meals at home with fresh ingredients. You'll cut out preservatives and hidden calories. (See our Cooking From Scratch blog for weekly recipes, and cooking tips and articles.)

(Photo credit: tedeytan)

7. Count Calories - But Not Too Much: Keep a food journal of what you eat and an exercise journal of the activities you do each day and for how long you did them - but don't obsess about this one. Just making sure you are eating good, whole, healthy foods will go a long way towards helping you get (and stay) in shape, without having to obsess over calories.

8. Reward Yourself: Set goals and associate a reward for each of your goals. It could be anything from a piece of your favorite cake to a professional massage. Note: When giving yourself food rewards, keep it in moderation.

9. Take a Day Off: Once every two weeks give yourself a break. Take a day off from exercising and cheat a little bit on your diet. People who have periodic breaks tend to succeed more on their diet and exercise plans by not feeling so restricted.

10. Track Your Results: Take before and after pictures and chart your weight and measurements. Share your successes with others. Celebrate any change even if it's just an inch or a pound or two lost.

And last but not least, be sure to check this blog regularly for new, fun, and interesting workouts weekly!