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With a new year comes a fresh start. It’s a great time to give yourself New Year’s resolutions to work toward in the months to come. Sometimes these goals are physical (“I wanna run a 5k in the summer!”) or mental (“I want to meditate more.”). Oftentimes, fitness goals can be a mixture of both (“I want to create healthy habits for me and my family.”).
It’s easy to start off strong with your New Year’s resolutions. But somewhere around the middle of February. The adrenaline fades, and people get off track with their resolutions. Old habits creep up and any progress made is lost.
If that sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone. Nor does it have to stay that way forever! Below are some tips on setting and achieving your New Year’s resolutions this year.
Be specific with your resolutions
Start by making a list of goals you want to achieve. Write down what you think of before editing it or worrying about the goal itself. Get all your ideas out of your mind first.
You can write down anything; your resolutions don’t have to be only fitness and diet related! The tips I’m sharing here can help you with your other goals, too. Maybe you want to save more money, read more books, or practice more self-care. I had a goal of reading more books this year and I went from 13 in 2021 to 28 books in 2022.
Then, be as specific as you can with your goals. Instead of saying, “I want to get in shape,” you might say, “I want to run a mile faster” or “I want to lift heavier weights.” Being more specific about your goals. It will make it easier to achieve, not to mention easier to track your progress. You can then compare your running times or how your weight lifting amounts changed. That way you can see exactly how you’re improving.
Also make sure of the goal you want. Something you actually believe can happen. I always like to be honest with how I feel and what I'm working towards. So I'll share some goals I have. I so badly want us to be pregnant this year. This Christmas was hard thinking about how I was supposed to have a baby in my arms. To send out Christmas cards with our family of three. But that didn't happen. Peter and I are so content with our life. Our new home, traveling and putting 100% into our jobs. But we can't deny that ache in our bellies when we think about the desire for a baby. SO praying that 2023 is our year for a little Imperato. And the practical steps to trying for a baby are pretty self explanatory so I wont go into it.
On another note I want to get a sponsored athlete or trainer position with First Phorm. I love this company (it's where I coach people for the 8 week challenges and get all my supplements from.) This is a company I love and would love to be further affiliated with. I am working hard at learning more and being a better coach from them. So I would love to be recognized in this way. Also the steps to get there are clear. I have to work hard at showing up for my clients every day and put all my effort into helping them change their lives. I have never in my life felt more connected to what I do. I love seeing people enhance their everyday life by incorporating and prioritizing fitness. I love what I do.
Be realistic about your expectations
After you set your specific New Year’s resolutions, create a plan. Be realistic about your expectations and your abilities. Otherwise, you may find it hard to stay motivated and excited about working toward your goal. ( I also suggest creating 3-8 goals max)
Take that previous example of”running a mile faster”. Let’s say you’re new to running and currently take about 15 minutes to complete a mile. It’s not very realistic to want a 9 minute mile in one month by running four hours every day, is it? You might find yourself hating your plan which can result in giving up.
Give yourself time and be realistic about your expectations and limitations. If you only run once a week now, maybe you increase the time spent running each day by ten minutes. Or, you try to run one and a quarter miles instead of one mile. With this realistic approach, you’ll notice your progress more. Then you may want to stick to your resolution.
Also if you want to get better at running or quicker. Ask a friend to help you or hire a coach to teach you. If you want to get better at something, sometimes it takes asking someone who is better than you to help you. I have a coach for my business and it's so helpful to have someone remind me of things or teach me things in a different way.
Speaking of. If you feel like you need a coach to help you with your fitness goals. To make them long term sustainable and enhance your everyday life. The winter 8 week challenge could be a good move for you. You can message me to join on instagram! And let's get you ready to crush your goals in this new year.
Be honest with yourself
Before setting a goal and creating a plan to achieve it, be sure it's in line with your other goals or values. If it’s not, you’ll find it tough to motivate yourself. For example, if you say you want to run a marathon but the thought of all that running seems impossible. Maybe it's not a goal you really have. First ask yourself. Am I quitting before I start and do I need to prove this to myself? Then ask yourself, do I want to achieve this or does it just seem cool?
And if you’re finding it difficult to set the right New Year’s resolution. Consider that it may not be what you really want at all. Do you really want to try this trendy new diet or hit a certain goal weight? Or is that something you think you should do because, well, they’re some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions?
You can always shelve a New Year’s resolution and think about it later, or let it go completely! Why waste time working toward a New Year’s resolution that’s not really true to who you are?
Which brings me to my third point..
Be willing to change your goals. This is something you can consider now or in a few weeks or months. Maybe you'll set a goal and realize, wow I don't actually want this. Or this is making me into a person I don't want to be. Be willing to change that goal then. For example, I'm currently doing the 75 hard challenge with my husband. This is something I told myself I would never do. But I knew I needed a change. Something to kick me into gear so here I am almost 40 days in. This was never in the plans when prepping for 2022 but it's something I knew I needed. So my goals shifted.
Side note: sometimes we need to do hard things and try hard things. But be willing to assess yourself. Be real with yourself and change the things that need to change.
Get started on your New Year’s resolutions
Coming up with specific goals, creating a realistic plan, and executing that plan can be very difficult. That’s why so many people seek outside help with achieving their fitness and diet goals in the New Year.
That’s what you get when you work with me. Someone in your corner to help you set the right goals, motivate you, and keep you accountable. I'm finding a huge piece to fitness success right now is someone you can talk to. Accountability. Someone to push you when you don't want to show up. So join the next 8 week challenge. It's 12.99 a month to get access to all the accountability, daily support if you need it and a clear workout and macro plan. No restrictions and simple plan to enhance your everyday life.Like i said above Message me on instagram if you're interested and want to talk more about it. Or download the app here and select me "Maria Imperato" as your advisor!
