Most people have good intentions of planning and starting their new fitness goals. This is all good and well but many tend not to stick to these goals and before you know it your back into those bad eating habits and non existant exercise routines! Here's a few tips to hopefully help you stick to and reach your fitness goals.
1) SET YOUR GOALS! Set yourself goals to keep yourself on track. 2) BE REASONABLE WITH YOUR GOALS Don't go to mad and set yourself goals that are unrealistic and impossible to achieve. 3) BREAK GOALS DOWN INTO SMALLER GOALS Don't go straight for the main goal and end up failing as it's just to challenging to complete. Break your main goal down into smaller more achievable chunks. e.g You want to run the next half marathon - Don't dive in head first and try and run the whole half in one go, break it down and aim to run 2km the first week then maybe 5k the next week until you eventually reach your target distance. 4) DON'T RUSH YOUR GOALS - BE PATIENT! Don't set an unreasonable time limit for your goals, take your time as your more likely to stick to your goals if you don't push yourself beyond your limits to soon. e.g loose a stone in weight - don't starve yourself and hope to exercise efficiently every day as your body won't thank you for it. Aim to loose 1lb to 2lb a week max until you reach your target weight, take it slow and you'll reach your goal and feel better for it. 5) DO ACTIVITIES YOU ENJOY Make sure you do activities you enjoy to reach your goal. Exercise isn't all about Gyms and running miles. Choose activities you find fun and you'll soon be dropping those extra calories without realising it. You are also more likely to stick to your goals if you are doing things you enjoy. 6) DON’T DO FAD DIETS Diets are ok for a quick fix but you won't stick to it and you may even end up putting on more pounds than when you started. Change your lifestyle by doing food swaps and introducing healthy foods into your diet. Starving yourself isn't the best way to reach and stick to a fitness goal, you'll be hungry again before you know it! 7) BRING A FRIEND ALONG YOUR JOURNEY Bringing a friend along with similar fitness goal interests will help you stick to your fitness plan. Fitness can be more fun with a friend and you will be both there to help motivate and encourage each other during your journey towards your final goals. 8) REST OFTEN Make sure you don't over do things and get plenty of rest. The body needs rest to recover and build itself back stronger after vigorous exercise. If you over do things you'll burn yourself out and end up giving up before you reach your goal. e.g Adopt a day on day off approach to let your body recover after each workout day. 9) REWARD YOURSELF Reward yourself once you’ve achieved part of your goal. You are more likely to stick to your goals if you treat yourself once a week to something naughty as it gives you something to look forward to after all that hard work you’ve put in. Just don't let the naughty days spiral out of control! 10) DON'T WORRY IF YOU GO OFF TRACK Don't feel deflated if you go off track of your goals. We all have times where we are unable to train or end up having a night out which goes against our healthy eating plan. Don't beat yourself up about it, we all do it - Just make sure you find focus and get back on track toward your goals, the sooner the better!