Saturday, March 30, 2013

Taming Resolution Euphoria: Back to the Basics

I see it year after year....January brings in gym goers in the droves, drunk off the excitement of their New Year's Resolution to implement a new fitness program.  They start off with full steam, have a routine for a month or two, and then fade away because other priorities take place of the gym.
The idea of better physical fitness and a healthier you is GREAT, but it's hard work.  It's take some sacrifice.  It takes commitment.  Like I told a client the other night while she was lunging, if this was easy, everybody would be in here doing this.  People get excited about what the gym can offer them:  the better body, the strength gains, the confidence, the overall feeling better........but you don't receive these things overnight.  We live in a "Drive-Thru Window" society that expects things quickly, and if they don't receive things quickly, they forget about it and move on.  This is one of the main reasons I feel like those January crowds in the gyms thin out after Spring Break and maybe even a little before.
The results don't come as quickly as they wish and they give up, or they workout up to a scheduled event (wedding, class reunion, beach trip, etc.) and once the event has come and gone, they're out, and don't work out again until they have another excuse to get back into the gym.
So how do we succeed with these resolutions? First of all, we have to set realistic goals.  Be true to yourself.  Who knows you better than you?  We need to develop a routine, a pattern, a plan.  It would serve us well to team up with others.  We need accountability partner/partners, maybe even people who have been in our shoes before and can help us adapt to the changes we have created (CrossFit gyms have this aspect locked up tight).  These are basic steps we can take that can be applied to many resolutions actually.  The two I'm thinking of here are starting a fitness routine and making dietary changes, both allow us to feel better and fit better in our clothes. 
Inevitably, for most people, problems arise........
You miss a week or two of working out, things get busy, or you go on vacation.  You start thinking, I'm screwed, I haven't worked out in so long, there's no use in going back.  You give up.  Or, you've been so diligent in your new found healthy way of eating, and then BAM! You have a wild night of pizza and ice cream, you go crazy with it, and have fun.  You wake up the next day and you think what's the use and you give up on your healthy eating ways.
You need to realize a couple of things: you are human and things like this are going to happen.
We live busy lives, we get cravings.....you roll with the punches, you wake up the next day and you recommit to your heathy ways.
So, keep it simple.  Set goals. Start small and realistic.  Grab an accountability partner and begin accomplishing your listed goals.  If things get off course, re-evaluate, re-commit, and get rolling again.  Nobody is perfect, life isn't perfect, you fall off, get up, dust yourself off, and get back in there!