How to Stay Motivated for Your Fitness Resolutions

As the new year begins, many people set fitness-related resolutions for the year. The fresh feeling of a new year gives many the push to “reset” their goals and make the most of the year to come.

Despite the initial excitement to make new fitness goals, about 80% of fitness-related New Year’s resolutions fail before February. A significant number of people find themselves in the cycle of setting ambitious goals, starting to work on them, then giving up early in the year.

“Exercise is often thought of as having one goal, such as losing weight, preventing diabetes, or getting stronger,” said Stephanie Costa, Health and Wellbeing Director at the South Shore YMCA Emilson Branch. “We set goals and begin working on them, but after a while may find the motivation fading, causing us to give up on goals. Staying motivated is key to not giving up.”

The following tips can help you stay motivated to meet your 2022 fitness resolutions.

1. Set reasonable goals. Start with simple goals and then progress to long-term goals. Remember to make your goals realistic and achievable. It’s easy to get frustrated and give up if your goals are too ambitious.
2. Make fitness fun. Fitness resolutions contribute to healthier, active habits, and people rarely enjoy boring tedious lifestyles. Don’t punish yourself with a physical activity you dislike when trying to meet your goals. For example, if you don’t like running, you can try swimming, cycling, group fitness, or endurance workouts instead. Change it up!
3. Start with small goals. Many fitness resolutions fail because people make too many significant changes at once, which can easily become overwhelming and lead to failure. Start with small changes, like adding a 30-minute walk to your day or cutting back on drinking coffee. These small changes allow you to develop healthy habits that benefit your overall well-being over time.
4. Measure Progress. Keeping track of your progress motivates you to stay on track! How do you feel? Are you moving better? Are you getting stronger? You can measure your progress by counting steps, writing down how many times you go to the gym, and recording what equipment you used.

At the South Shore YMCA, our friendly, qualified staff of professional personal trainers are ready to help you stay motivated to set, and crush, your fitness goals. Personal trainers provide the motivation, support, and personal plan needed for you to finally succeed in fitness. Whatever your goal or interest, our trainers are here to help you become the better you.

To get started with a personal trainer, visit ssymca.org/personaltraining.