5 Tips for your New Year’s Fitness Goals



It is that time of year again where we all come up with a New Year’s resolution. Most come up with quitting smoking or drinking however with the growing levels of overweight or obesity, there has been a growing trend to include Fitness Goals as part of this resolution. At the time of creating our resolutions the intent is always there. During the winter months especially over the holiday break people relax and let themselves go putting on extra weight. We would all like to lose 20 pounds or tone the body so we can recapture our youth, however most people struggle to follow through on achieving these fitness goals post holidays when their life resumes back to normal. Does this sound familiar? If so don’t worry you are in the majority, however this doesn’t need to be the case.

To go with this New Year’s resolution enthusiasm we have created a few fitness goal tips that should give you some guidance or inspiration to finally get that body that you deserve and have been missing since your youth.  

Fitness Goals Step 1 - Visit your Health Care professional

The first Fitness Goal is based around understanding your current fitness level. If you haven’t exercised for some time or you may have a previous ailment, it is advisable to be checked over by your resident health care professional. Sustaining an injury early on will definitely lead to a reduction in the types of exercises that you can perform. This will severely hamper or inhibit you from meeting your fitness goals. If this happens it is more than likely that keeping up your new fitness goals will become a chore and another new year’s resolution that was easily dropped. This is the first and easiest of the tasks to tick off of your new year’s fitness goal list.    

Fitness Goals Step 2 – Setting your Fitness Goal plan

Initially setting your fitness goals can be quite challenging. The higher you set the bar the further away you are to begin with. It is great to have a goal that is challenging but the trick is to break this goal down to its individual components so that you can and will meet regular milestones. When you do meet these milestones make sure that you reward yourself for accomplishing this component of your fitness goals. A special night out with your partner or a new piece of clothing is an example of how you could treat yourself.

A Fitness goal could be that you wish to be able to complete a marathon. If you have never run before then it is unrealistic that you would be able to accomplish within a short timeframe. Set weekly goals like I will run 2 miles this week and then increase to 3 the next week. After a few months you will be running 10+ miles without experiencing much duress. If your fitness goals are centered on weight loss then changing 2 meals a week to a healthier choice and exercising for 30 minutes, 4 times a week would be a good starting goal.  



However the motivation of starting an exercise routine for your Fitness Goals resolution or for whatever reason will wane over time. After a period of time any gains or more to the point weight losses that you may have achieved early on will be lost. Statistics show that people who can set regular designated times into their day to complete an exercise routine will be more likely to continue on then it is important to make sure that you schedule this exercise time into your fitness goals planning.   

Fitness Goals Step 3 - Build up your Exercise Routine over time

As determined in fitness Goals Step 2, the creation of a Fitness Goal plan is imperative to your success. You don’t have to kill yourself on day 1 buy lifting heavy weights or start running a marathon. This generally leads to sustaining an injury or your body becomes so sore that it becomes a chore to exercise any other time during the week. It’s about gradually increasing your exercise routines to meet today’s lifestyle and building up as you go.

My suggestion would be to start off with a manageable 15 - 30 minute brisk walk (depending on your initial fitness levels) and start building up to being able to jog for the full 30 minutes. If your fitness goals are designed to build muscle then start off with a lifting lighter weights with more repetitions. This will then start to condition your muscles for lifting heavier weights in the coming weeks/months.   

Set yourself fitness goals as you go and gradually increase these over time. It is amazing that after a few weeks’ things you struggle with today will be very easily accomplished. In a few months your final fitness Goals will be within reach and won’t be so insurmountable.

Fitness Goals Step 4 - Exercise with a Buddy to enjoy the workout

When setting your fitness goals it is advisable to try and find a buddy to help you through the change in your lifestyle. If you have someone to exercise with and to encourage and support you with meeting your fitness goals then the experience and results you will achieve will be enhanced. You also will meet in the coming months your final fitness goals quicker.

To qualify this point if you find that you are exercising with someone who is not as committed as you then this may not be the case. Find someone that has around your enthusiasm level with similar fitness goals as yourself which could be losing weight and becoming fitter and you will find that you will inspire each other to reach and surpass your health and fitness goals.

The change in your lifestyle from implementing fitness goals should be an enjoyable experience. There will be moments when you are tired and working hard and the fitness goals will be so far away. Pushing through this with the help and support of family or friends will see you meeting and surpassing your initial set fitness goals.    

Fitness Goals Step 5 – Create and meet a balanced diet plan

So you now should have created your fitness goals and you are building up your exercise routines. You should be finding that you have a little more energy than before you started. Your body’s metabolism should be increasing, your muscles are becoming toned and you will have started to lose some weight.    

The last fitness goals step is to start making healthier choices in your diet. You body is now starting to require regular food to maintain and increase your energy levels. The next stage is to set you a balanced diet plan. I generally don’t like the word diet as it has connotations with starving yourself to make you thinner. This step in your fitness goals plan is about looking at the food that you are consuming and making better nutritional decisions.

For your balanced Diet plan start reading the labels on the food that you purchase. Start by eating more natural and less processed foods which will provide the sustenance that your body requires. It is advisable to eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit daily. Start increasing your protein intake and reduce your white carbohydrates and you will find that your body has the necessary fuel to meet your fitness goals. Setting a solid diet plan early in your fitness goals plan and you will reap the benefits of increased energy and a more fit and athletic body.          

With any Fitness Goals resolution it is imperative that you design and set in place a fitness goals plan that will enable you to meet your resolution. Early in the process you will start to feel fantastic and people who you have known for a while will start to compliment you on how good you look. You will become more confident, energetic and healthier and feel like you have a new lease on life. You will have met your individual fitness goals and will be enjoying life so much much more.