Still Resolutioning?

It's late January.

How are those resolutions holding up?

There's a phenomenon that happens every year of people making New Year's resolutions that are often health and fitness-oriented, but then not seeing it through past the first month of the new year.

I worked in fitness for 21 years. When I was pursuing a medical exercise certification in 1999, the instructor pointed out how fitness clubs are jam-packed in early January.

It only lasts until maybe mid-January. Then physical therapist offices become jam-packed with exercise-related injury cases.

Physical therapists called these patients the "health club refugees".

Basically, people go crazy in the gym in early January but then drop out because they haven't set themselves up for success.

Part of that is people going in with a lot of fire and motivation early on, but then injuring themselves or the fire of that motivation dwindles.

Health and well-being is a long game.

If you think about it, most people would want to be healthy their entire lives.

That means you must be engaging in healthy practices for your entire life.

You need to sustain the fire of motivation for a very long period.

So it really doesn't work to go into the gym hot and heavy, because that is not sustainable.

Sustainability is key!

??????A few points to consider...

?? Meet yourself where you're at: Meaning, don't go so hard that you're exercising well beyond your current capacity. You'll likely to burn out or injure yourself, which will knock you off track.

?? Think long-term:

Whatever your goals are, it will take a while to reach them. So make sure to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound/deadline) goals.

?? Don't forget that achievable part:

Is 5 or 6 days per week for 90 minutes truly achievable for you?

Or would 30 to 45 minutes three times per week be a better place to start?

You can always increase your frequency or time per session later if you want, but remember the first guideline of meeting yourself where you're currently at and also the second guideline of thinking long-term.

?? Set it and forget it:

After you set your above goals, which can include getting to a certain weight, body fat percentage, bikini-ready, six-pack abs, etc. ... Now the name of the game will be consistency.

It is those smaller habits done consistently that make the biggest difference!!

Your consistent action puts you on a certain trajectory. That trajectory is the path that you are on.

That determines where you will end up!

Consistent ongoing action will likely make a much bigger difference than short-term thrusts.

?? Enjoy the process, embrace the journey:

The last thing that you want to do is to place the reward at the very end of the game when you feel like you have hit your larger goal.

It's important to consider the actions you are taking to be rewarding.

You have to place the reward in the right place so that the reward chemical known as dopamine can even become part of your fuel instead of a later result.

If you can learn to embrace the work itself and acknowledge yourself for the victory of consistent action, then you are really setting yourself up for success on a deeper level.

This is a matter of perception.

Your action path is the procedure, but how you see it is your perception.

Perceive it differently and you will experience it differently.

Make the journey the reward itself!

Make exercising and eating healthier the reward itself! ??

So always remember...

STAY ENGAGED!