The new year is here! You’re pumped up to hit the gym and clean up your diet. But when you take your first step into the big-box national chain gym, you’re completely overwhelmed: Rows and rows of dozens of cryptic resistance machines, while seasoned gym rats hog the free weights. You’re just getting started and there’s no one there to tell you what you need. Where do you head first? What equipment works best for your body and your goals? And how do you use it? For how many reps and sets?
This is an intimidating, frustrating way to start off your New Year’s fitness journey. So many people give up on their goals because they don’t have a professional to guide them—to assess their needs, set specific and realistic goals, encourage them and hold them accountable.
At Lana’s BarBelles, we offer a welcoming, personalized and productive boutique gym experience that sets the stage for a successful new year.
The Numbers
There’s no shortage of New Year’s resolution statistics, but here’s a summary: 80% of people who set a behavior-related resolution will not stick to it for the entire year, and more than half of them will have given up by February. The leading reasons people reported for abandoning resolutions are losing motivation, not having enough support, and changing their mind.
Not Changing Your Mind
If you change your mind about your resolution, you probably didn’t set the right resolution in the first place. The right resolutions are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Instead of “I want to lose weight,” try something like, “I want to lose two inches in my waist in one month, using both cardio and strength training three times a week, and logging my meals.” Once you reach that goal, set another. Many small goals equal one large goal over time, and they reinforce you through regular accomplishments.
This is the first place professionals will help: Turning your general fitness dreams into specific goals, using the fitness techniques that will make them possible.
Keeping Motivation
So now you’ve got the right resolution, and you’ve got your health and happiness in mind. Unfortunately, that still doesn’t create year-long motivation. First of all, acknowledge that motivation comes and goes naturally, and you haven’t done anything wrong if on some days you’re just not feeling it. This is when you need to call on your outside influences to get you through.
The best motivators are real-life human beings—the combination of a knowledgeable instructor to tell you what to do and hold you accountable, and sometimes another group of humans to do it all with you. Whether it’s obedience, competitiveness, accountability, obstinance, or just joyously exercising together, other people give you energy. Other people create motivation where there wasn’t any motivation before.
Getting Support
This is the big one, isn’t it? Long-term focus, motivation, and even optimism all hinge on having someone there for us when we can’t be there for ourselves. And this is a tough load to put on friends and family; they’ve got their own journeys to worry about. This is why pairing with a knowledgeable, encouraging, professional personal trainer makes all the difference. We are dedicated to you. It’s our job, and it’s our personal calling to see you achieve your resolution. We’ve got you—today, next week, and all the way through 2021.
