There’s always a lot of hype around the New Year period and health and fitness are always top of the New Year resolutions. Usually people who are into their health and fitness view exercise and healthy eating as a lifestyle factor that they attempt to incorporate throughout the year have an increased goal setting phase or increased in discipline around this time. If health and fitness isn’t so highly prioritised though, then a New Year goal of any sort wont long lasting.
We know that the summer-time health kicks are popular. Fitness membership and personal training hit their peaks in warmer weather, partly because its easier to train (especially outdoors) when its light, sunny and warm, versus cold dark and wet, but also because most people literally don’t prioritise their fitness goals as highly in colder months than when the beach weather approaches but health shouldn’t be seasonal. By building the habitual focus on health into your lifestyle you inherently prioritise it and increase adherence to any goals set anytime of year.
So here are the top five tips to keeping the fitness and health kick alive throughout the year:
1) Variety: Include strength and aerobic training in your programs. Strength is great for feeling strong, confident and stoking the fire of metabolism. Strength training is often underrated by the health community for its overall health benefits. Moderately intense aerobic training is great for stamina conditioning, grinding out the calories and helping with recovery. Adding variety or changing up your training goes a long way to abstaining monotony and keeping you interested and motivated. You can add strength and stamina and improve your physique and performance in such a variety of ways. Think outside your comfort zone – tried riding, kayaking, swimming, running, rock climbing?
2) Performance vs. Cosmetics:
Set more than one goal. These can be at the same time or spaced throughout the year such as a new focus each quarter or even every month. Make sure to at least make some of them performance-based goals and not just physique or cosmetic based goal alone. There’s nothing wrong with physique goals but sometimes a focus too strongly on this area can detract from the optimum physiology and functioning of the body from specific training, which in the long run doesn’t do you any favours in either area. For instance, don’t focus so much on the scales and instead look at building a peak performing body.
3) Periodisation – break the monotony and master each aspect over improving all aspects only a little bit.
4) Groups and training partners.
5) Build the habit of planning most weekly meals.
6) Register or enter community events throughout the year. These provide a great point of focus and once your registered, your more likely to go through with it!
