It is imminent,
Winter is coming.
The new year, new me mentality is almost here.
We are about to ‘get back on it.’
Or are we?
How many years have we failed to achieve our New Years resolutions? We would imagine, more than the amount of times we’ve succeeded at achieving our New Years resolutions, right?
Why?
Well, most likely, lack of goals, lack of drive, laziness and levels of expectations being set too high.
Let’s change that.
- Set your expectations and set goals.
- Be realistic and be real.
- Enjoy your life!
- Don’t bite off more than you can chew, literally.
- Don’t be afraid to say f**k it, f**k off or who the f**k are you.
1 – Set your expectations.
It’s a given, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Whether it be weight loss, weight gain, to be more active, to improve your mental health or just to be social. You need to set your expectations wisely. A week of 2 or two workouts, physically won’t do much. In fact, it probably won’t do anything. Mentally sure, you’ll feel better, probably sleep better and generally feel like you’ve made a step in the right direction. But set your expectations longer than January when it comes to hoping for that physical change, let’s be honest, it wasn’t one bag of Doritos and a week off work that made you gain weight or become unfit, right? So it will definitely take longer than a week to lose it. That same rule can be applied to you the fact that you didn’t lose fitness in a week, you didn’t become depressed in just a month and didn’t hate the way you look after fortnight, you gradually slipped and in some instances fell, over what was probably a long period of time.
“I wish I was as fat as I was the first time I thought I was fat.” – Most fat people
Setting your expectations wisely will allow you dust yourself off, pick yourself back up and head in a direction that very few do, in January.
2 – Be realistic.
Like the above, you’ve got to be real. Two things we hear in January a lot:-
“I am going to get fit before I join a fitness class.” This is retarded. It’s like washing the car before taking it for a valet or having a haircut before going to the barbers. It does not make sense. Trust your chosen fitness professional with your realism your goals and be realistic about what steps it takes to get there.
“I’ll start on Monday.” No you will not, because very few do. This mindset is short term that often come Monday you’ve failed by lunchtime. We’ve seen people start every Monday 52 times in a row.
December > I’ll start in January.
January > I’ll start on Monday.
Following December > I’ll start in January, that’s my year!
January > I’ll start on Monday.
December 5 years later > I’ll start in January!
Sound familiar?
This is a silly mindset and encourages binging up until Monday, the last Supper on the Sunday and doesn’t teach you anything, you are literally learning nothing other than you cannot conquer your demons and overcome those bad habits. Again.
So why not start now, like, today, think of one thing you can do, or stop doing as the case may be, right this second to make a change. Again, physically it may not do much, but mentally, it will work wonders and that’s almost more important. We don’t fail because physically we can’t do things like run or squat, we fail because our minds and our bad habits tell us no and creep back in. That is what you need to change.
So be realistic in whatever approach you take, just make sure you trust the process, start on a Friday, not a Monday and appreciate the road will be bumpier than you’d like it to be.
Pick your battles, if you have a meal out or a wedding to attend, enjoy it. Don’t dread it or regret it. Get back on the wagon or better yet, try not to fall too far off.
3 – Don’t be miserable!
Enjoy your life, enjoy exercise, enjoy cake, learn to enjoy exercise and enjoy the time you have!
For too many years we’ve seen miserable people on miserable diets being miserable about how miserable they look and feel. This is the danger zone if ever we’ve seen it. Do not join an outdoor fitness class if you hate the outdoors. Do not join the gym unless you’re motivated by stationary bikes and treadmills. Do not do the latest keto, slimshake, points and syns diet if you’ve failed on it 27 times already!!!
Be happy. Easier said than done, we know. But with you choosing the right path for you, or indeed exploring new paths you’ve never before explored, there is a much higher chance of you being happier. If you’re happier, your healthier – and who doesn’t want that!
4 – Don’t overcommit.
Don’t say you’ll exercise every single day, if in your mind, you know you won’t. All you will do is deem this as failure and end up right back on the “I’ll start on Monday” train in carriageway “Miserable.” Start small, start so small you overachieve, right now, commit to 1 exercise something in the next 7 days. One, a single workout of any kind. A walk, a run, a lunge or a press up at home. Just something to get your journey started. It doesn’t need to be a high intensity “XtreMe FAT BuRnZ MeTaBoLLic BoXINg Plyo TRX CoMbAt Class.” It can be a walk around your block. (Which in fairness is probably better for you.) So commit to your goals, absolutely, but don’t overcommit to a point where your bumpy path becomes a brick wall.
5 – Don’t be afraid.
Controversially and arguably contradictory to all of the above. Sometimes you just have to say “f**k it I’ve failed, and I’ll start again tomorrow.” (Unless tomorrow is Monday, in which case, you start again today ?.)
You will fail. It will be hard. A lot of it you won’t like. But doesn’t that outweigh the feeling of failure and miserableness forever? Short term pain, long term gain, right? It’s like anything in life, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows and never will be, there will be some thunderstorms in there and it will rain. A lot. But it can be enjoyed and it can be achieved. Don’t be afraid to throw in the towel short term. This is healthy. Having an off day, an off meal is absolutely acceptable. It’s when those off days become off weeks and those off weeks become off months is where you need to interject.
Sometimes you have to say f**k off to anyone ramming their way of the world down your throat.
Let’s take Barbara in the office for example who has lost 87 pounds this week on a local slimming club. Tell Barbara to f**k off. #Unsustainable
Or how about Chantelle on your Facebook page who last week was posting picture of the fish supper she had for her lunch (On a MONDAY!) who is now a network marketer / entrepreneur / business owner for big tubs of powder that she ‘invested’ in at a ‘party’ at the weekend. Tell Chantelle, to f**k off. #FAD
Or how about that personal trainer who tells you to eat chicken, rice, steak and broccoli for breakfast, 3 x times before lunch? Tell that personal trainer, to f**k off. #Nonsense
And lastly. Don’t be afraid to question it. Ask your fitness provider, Personal trainer or nutritionist why, who, what and where! In as unregulated an industry as the fitness industry you’ve every right to ask questions. Educate yourself and invest your time in to understanding why.
We wish you well in whatever your 2020 goals and aspirations are. As always, we as fully qualified and trusting fitness professionals are on hand and willing to give you solid and backed up advice.
Happy New Year!
