Fitness Tips: A New Year, A New You

Are you one of the many people who, as hard as you’ve tried, you’ve never liked going to the gym? Maybe you’ve even enrolled for a membership with a few different health clubs, hoping the added expense and accountability would be enough motivation to turn you on to consistent exercise. But it didn’t work.

Maybe you didn’t have time, couldn’t get motivated or simply did not feel comfortable. With every New Year brings the opportunity to rediscover yourself and change the things you dislike. Even those who workout almost every day with religious enthusiasm likely didn’t start out that way. Here are a few tips to help you conquer your new year’s resolution challenges and get on track to create a new you!

Make Time

A good way to start your new transformation is to pick an exercise schedule that you know you can stick to. With so much going on in our daily lives it pays to have a place to exercise that can accommodate your busy schedule. Anytime Fitness, for example allows its members to have 24 hour access to over 2,000 clubs around the globe. This can be especially beneficial to those who have children or work outside of the 9-5 range. Pick a time on certain days that you know you can commit to. Even exercising as little as two or three days a week can help you see some results. So when is the best time to get your workout in? It’s really up to you. You can exercise in the morning, afternoon or evening. Lunch breaks offer an excellent opportunity to get out of the office and exercise. Or maybe you want to get rid of the day’s stress by fitting in an exercise session after work. Whatever time you choose, make sure you stick with it, as establishing a routine will help you adhere to the program. For some people, it’s easier to stay with an exercise program when you do it with a friend or coworker. After a couple of weeks you will find that it isn’t nearly as hard to stay committed as you might have thought!

Stay Focused

Have you ever wondered about those people who are in the gym all the time? What’s their secret? How do they stay motivated to grind it out in the gym day after day and year after year? The truth is that very few people were born with an innate love of the gym. But what typically separates people who like working out from those who don’t is actually pretty simple: fitness. Let’s face it, working out sucks when you aren’t in shape. However, you don’t have to become a meathead to condition your body to the point where exercise is no longer a chore. Exercise, like so many other things is a learning experience, like learning to cook. Start by talking with a personal trainer and researching different exercises and how they help you. With exercise it is very helpful to have a vision or goal you hope to accomplish to help motivate you in your efforts. After you reach a certain level of proficiency, exercise stops feeling bad and starts feeling good, especially when you begin to see your hard earned progress! Like with cooking, the only way to get better is to do it!

No Shame

One of the biggest challenges to overcome is how you feel others perceive you while you are exercising. Let’s face it, while every gym in America has a wide variety of people with various fitness levels within it, no one likes to feel as though they’re being judged. For many first timers or those who have been out of exercise for a while, going to the gym means facing your insecurities head on so it’s no wonder we can feel scrutinized and judged, even if it’s all in our head. Most people tend to put enormous social stress on themselves when staring up an exercise routine for the first time. Whether you are not feeling proficient with your exercise techniques or insecure about what you are wearing, one thing you really need to understand is that everyone starts somewhere.

For example, that the woman over there with amazing flat abs or the guy over there bench pressing a 350lbs had to work very, very hard to reach that level of fitness. Everyone at a gym is at a different fitness and health level but everyone is working toward a similar goal so the fact that you’re there and trying your best garners respect from even the most experienced gym rat. We like to consider our club to be one big family or community. As gym manager as well as a personal trainer I am always amazed at how great our members are at making new members feel comfortable and welcome!

Always remember that you’re most critical to yourself. No one on this earth knows you like you know you. It is important to remember that people do not see you the same way you see yourself and for many that is a relief! Going easy on yourself is also one of the hardest lessons to learn. I can’t stress enough how people who are in a gym have a tremendous respect for anyone else there.

It’s Time For Change

So if you have tried in the past but just couldn’t quite stick to it, let this year be the year that you finally overcome all of the things holding you back from the new you. Start planning out you goals for 2014 and start accomplishing every one of them. You will have an amazing new found respect for yourself when you meet those goals and achieve the fitness level you have always wanted!