It's getting to that time of year when most people are starting to struggle with their New Years Resolutions, like most, setting fitness and weight-based resolutions after an indulgent festive period seems like a great idea at the time, but now as we get towards the end of Jan, it's not so good! You are not alone!!!!!
Only 8% of New Year's resolutions are actually achieved (Read that again, yes 8%!!) and 30% give up in the first two weeks. (So well done if you’ve made it any further than that!)
Hitting you with one more stat before we continue …… Fitness resolutions specifically, the 2nd week of Feb is named the ‘fitness cliff’, where most people tend to bail on their goals and the gym starts to get much quieter.

Most New Years Resolutions are generally made in good faith with no plan attached to them, apart from maybe joining a gym (12% of gym membership sign-ups happen in Jan) and getting some new gym gear to motivate you. (Defo not a bad idea!).

Now we’ve hit you with the stats, we’re here with all the tips to help you stay motivated and hit your goals, not just past the ‘fitness cliff’ but all year round.

Set Goals
Don’t make resolutions, set goals. Goal setting is different from a resolution as you need to get more specific about what you want. We recommend using the SMART acronym when doing it. This makes your new goal much easier to work towards. eg.
A resolution might be - I want to get fit for 2020.
A goal would be - I want to get fit for 2020 by going to the gym 3 times a week.

A tip here, setting goals based on aesthetics is much harder to stay motivated, as it is based on so many different factors, both genetic and lifestyle and because of this is, it is super easy to lose the motivation and is pretty short term (Not to mention we are flooded with an industry of short term ‘quick fixes’ that generally don’t work.) There is no shortcut or quick fix for changing your body, as it needs to come from inside out. ie. building strong habits, such as consistent training.
Focusing on fitness, strength or performance goals is much more rewarding as it is actionable, easily trackable and starts to build habits that will keep you pushing forwards longer term, plus the aesthetic results will come and it is much more fun!!!
If your goal is going to the gym three times a week you could break this down and say - learn to do full press-ups, this will give you real focus when training and make you feel amazing when you get there!

We hope this has convinced you to give it a try! If you have followed the SMART goal setting, you also know that you have worked on a routine that you can fit into your life. For us, we like to train at least 4 times a week, anything else is a bonus and we tend to do something fun!

Next - Break it down
If you haven’t been going to the gym, to suddenly start hammering it three times a week whilst juggling everything else in your life might be a bit much. The aim of the game is to make you feel better, not worse!! If you break your goal down, you might start with only one or two sessions for the first month. Small changes over time add up to much bigger changes, plus, you are more likely to succeed! Remember to keep them time-bound and realistic (SMART).

Schedule it in
Every week we sit and plan in our sessions like you would plan in seeing a friend or a meeting at work. Carving out time and planning ahead is one of the biggest parts of moving that routine in a habit.
Just to note here, we plan in, not cram in. If you know you are going to have a really long and super hectic day, your gonna be pooped etc. do not plan to go to the gym, quite honestly its a waste of time. You would be much better eating some nutritious food, chilling and getting an early night. (Rest is just as important!). Plus you are setting yourself up to fail, remember, ‘don’t be a dick to yourself’ life is hard enough as it is!

If you struggle to commit, book into a class that you love, get a gym buddy, or if you can afford it, a PT is a great motivator. These are great ways to keep you accountable to your goals and will get you on your way to building great a routine.

Focus on YOU
Don’t be afraid to try different things. You don’t have to go to the gym to be fit. Fitness is about moving your body and if you sit at a desk most the day, drive to work and sit in front of the TV most nights, a couple of hours spent at the gym will not suddenly make you super fit. Look at how you can get more movement into your life daily. Walking is soooooo underrated in our gym obsessed narrative! Plus it's free! It could be getting out for a 20 min walk on lunch, parking the car further away from the office, taking the stairs or an evening stroll after work. Plus fresh air and light are amazing mood boosters.

Now you’ve got your goal, it's realistic and it fits into your life, the next part.

Set yourself up for success!
Get a plan in place, when we say plan, we mean a plan to follow. Lay your kit out the night before ready, or get your gym bag packed. Its all about using as little thought as possible so you just do it. (Like washing your hands - the soap and water is there, so it’s easy).
You’ve got to the gym, you’ve got your goal, now its time to set you up for success. Make sure you have a plan for the gym. Split those sessions up. You don’t need to pay for this, there are so many free resources out there that you can follow, we've pulled together some of our fave's HERE. Our advice is find one that fits your goals and stick to it.

We like to work in 6-week blocks. Following a plan for 6weeks and then changing it up. This builds discipline, it makes habit-forming easier as you know what you are doing, and you also see results too! Make sure you track your progress, so record the weights you’ve used or the time you finished. All of these things make you feel great!
So your three sessions a week could be - something cardio-based, HIIT training, spin, supersets, all are great ways to keep your heart rate high, the heart is a muscle too and needs to be worked.
Then the other days could be a full body day and an upper-body day, or an upper body and a lower body split.
Doing a different work out each time you train in the week means it keeps that week interesting, allows different parts of your body to recover and staves off boredom!
Aim for about 6-8 weeks and then change it up. This keeps it interesting and also keeps your body and mind moving forwards.
So if your goal was one full press up, maybe now you’ve achieved it, it’s moving onto 10 full press-ups. After that is could be improving at pull-ups? Then onto un-assisted pull-up?
If walking or running is your goal, get your route planned out before you set off, there are some great apps for mapping these out, maybe get a few then you can mix it up and keep it interesting. Time yourself and track it. As you get fitter, you’ll be able to beat your time!

Finally - Reward Yourself!!!
This is all about building habits you enjoy and feel positive about, so if you’ve hit your goal, celebrate it!! Treat yourself to something you love, maybe it’s some new gym gear, or a facial, all of this will get you feeling amazing about yourself!

We hope you enjoyed these tips and we would love to know what goals you have set for yourself, or if you have any useful tips for staying motivated! (Drop us a message below!) Also, babes, we can totally vouch for these tips as they have lead us to build a healthy lifestyle for ourselves and make it a priority in our lives. xx

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