Most resolutions fail because they are too big and not specific enough. To make yours stick, you need a plan that accounts for scheduling the new habit you are trying to build along with “SMART” goal definition.
However, after a long holiday season filled with rushed schedules, busy travel, year-end work/school stress and family or other social events, it might be best to focus on recovering from the crazy weeks from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. Here is a question from a listener of a recent podcast:
Hey Stew. I recently heard you talk about setting a fitness goal a few weeks into the New Year, rather than January 1st. Interesting advice. I appreciate it. After a few weeks of de-stressing, what are the following steps to being one of the 10% that succeed with their New Year's goal? Thanks, Robert.
Thanks. If you think about it, starting a lifestyle change and building new habits after a highly stressful season can take a few weeks, so focus on just walking, stretching and breathing to unwind. You will bypass the overfilled gyms and be better able to start fresh into a new training cycle that will require actively pursuing recovery to handle the added physical activity (eating well, sleeping, de-stressing). No need to start physically adding stress to your day after several highly stressful weeks of the holiday season.
Here is a three-step blueprint to help you transition from the "resolution" phase of fitness to a lifelong habit and the accomplishment of specific goals.
Step 1: De-Stress and Set Your ‘SMART’ Goal
Instead of burning the candle at both ends, give the first few weeks of the new year some recovery time. This is not a delay in getting started; it is just focusing on sleep, good nutrition, hydration and rest/recovery. Start with walking, stretching and breathing, even for 15-20 minutes a day. While you are in this recovery process, narrow your focus on what you want to do with the goal you are setting. Pick one primary objective for the first 90 days that is:
- Specific: What exactly do you want to achieve? Instead of saying, “to get in shape,” be more specific, such as “run a 5k by April,” and set a timeline to lose weight (1 pound per week). The more specific and time-oriented you are, the more successful you will be.
- Measurable: Assess yourself. If you are not assessing, you are just guessing, so a measurable goal is needed. Use a scale, belt loop, watch for time training, a pedometer for daily steps, or amount of weight lifted, depending on your goal.
- Achievable: Be honest about your current fitness level and logical about a goal in a given timeline. Remember, it’s not failure if you are still working toward a goal, though you may learn you need to make a change. Just don’t quit.
- Relevant: Does this goal excite you? Does it make you nervous? Good. You need both, and you will find that taking this journey will make you a different person in one year if you stay consistent.
- Time-bound: Set a deadline. These can be weekly activity checks, monthly performance tests or seasonal changes to your training to keep your efforts from becoming stale.
Step 2: If It Is Not in Your Schedule, It Does Not Exist
The biggest hurdle is usually "finding time." Don't find time -- make time. Set this fitness time like an appointment. This step is essential to help you “fit” fitness into your day.
- The 15-minute rule: If you are busy and don’t feel like working out, commit to just 15 minutes. Do your warmup. After a warmup, you usually think differently and get it done. But if pressed for time, you have done something!
- Set an appointment with yourself: Treat your workout like a doctor’s appointment. Put your workout time in your digital calendar with a notification, or on your old-school calendar on your desk, or on the refrigerator.
- Identify energy peaks: Are you a morning person or a night owl? Schedule your hardest sessions when your energy is highest.
Read More: How to Make Time to Work Out
Step 3: Build Your Program With Logical Training Phases
Consistency beats intensity every time. Start with a baseline you can maintain even on your worst day. Set yourself on the right track and get in your best position to make lifestyle changes, build new habits and break old habits; and handle this process by recovering from end-of-year craziness:
Weeks 1-2: Recovery Phase
Recover from a stressful holiday season. Avoid the rush to the gym, and be ready to get to work with new energy and focus.
Weeks 3-4: Habit Phase
Just show up four to five times a week. Walk for 20 minutes or do 10 minutes of stretching. Focus on the routine, not the sweat.
Weeks 5-8: Build Phase
Increase intensity. Add resistance training (calisthenics or weights) two times a week, or increase your heart rate with faster walking or jogging.
Weeks 9+: Refine Phase
Adjust based on how you feel. Add variety (swimming, cycling, weights) to prevent burnout. Consider a seasonal change every 9-12 weeks.
Something to Look Out For
At some point in this process, life will get in the way. That is fine. Have a backup plan when you miss a workout appointment. Some ideas include walking for 10 minutes after every meal that day. Do a quick workout video in your living room for 20-30 minutes if you cannot get to the gym. Or bump the workout you missed that day to tomorrow.
The goal is to work out four to five times a week. There is no rule that these must be four to five days in a row. Add a rest/recovery day when needed. But the overall goal when you “don’t feel like working out” is to do it anyway. No one is motivated every day to train, but with a bit of discipline, you will find that you will feel better having done something rather than skipping one of your workouts of the week.
The most important thing to remember is to forgive yourself. A bad day doesn't ruin a good week. Just get back on track the next morning.
Pro Tip: Close Your Wallet
Don't buy expensive equipment or a high-end gym membership on Jan. 1. If you follow the above advice, you may not need a gym membership for at least a month, and there are plenty of exercises and activities you can do at home without one. Check out the Military.com Fitness Section for more information on workout planning.
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