Fit For Life: New Year, New Successes, Stay the Course

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Matt Espeut, GoLocalPDX Health +Lifestyle Contributor

It’s the last weekend of 2017, and I am getting a feeling that craziness will be happening to me in the next few weeks.

I am getting that feeling because I started advertising my next challenge starting up on January 20th, a few days ago, and I already have over 200 emails inquiring about getting on board.

This is a good thing for me, but in all reality only about 25% of all inquiries actually follow through.

Still a great turnout for a small facility like mine, but the percentage of follow through over the years made me analyze why people start out all gung-ho after the first of the year, then fizzle out, or never start in the first place.

Here are some of my conclusions and solutions that will hopefully keep you on track, and help you succeed in 2018.

You set your sights too high and expect things to happen too fast.

People want to lose 30 pounds, but want to do it in a month.

It doesn’t work that way, and when it doesn’t happen, people get discouraged and quit.

That’s because you set unrealistic goals and expectations.

I am not saying to avoid setting goals, just be realistic about how you will achieve them.

Instead of thinking about the total goal, break it down into attainable goals in sensible time frames.

I like to program my members to focus on 1-2# per week, and celebrate the small victories.

That way you have incentive to keep pushing forward and won’t get discouraged and quit when it takes too long to achieve the big victory.

Not only do you need to be realistic about how you will achieve them, you need a plan to be successful.

This is another reason why resolutions hardly ever stick.

You didn’t make a plan!!

“I’m gonna join a gym after the first”.

You may have heard, or even said yourself, but then what?

Do you know what to do? How to lift properly? What kind of nutrition plan did you come up with? How many times you need to go to the gym per week? Are you going to hire a trainer?

Ya see, unless you are a member, or plan on becoming a member of Providence Fit Body Boot Camp you need to have all that figured out, or you will not succeed.

We are a done for you program, and all our members get coached on everything from mindset to training to nutrition, so all they do is show up, and all the guess work is removed.

Getting fit requires a plan and execution to make it happen, and I see many people with great intentions fail because they didn’t have a plan.

Everybody wants to be healthy.

Just like everybody wants to be rich and worry free.

It’s a better way to live.

But if it was easy, everyone would be a millionaire with six pack abs.

This is another reason why people don’t follow through with their resolutions.

It’s difficult, and if you don’t carry enough pain, don’t want it bad enough, or are the slightest bit lazy, it won’t happen.

Think about it.

In order to be successful at anything you have to want it, and want it bad. If you are comfortable or content with your income, and your health, you will unlikely try to push harder.

When you are in enough pain, you will work even harder to overcome and succeed.

Being broke financially, and broken physically will limit your options, and require you to work hard and follow through or suffer worse consequences but if you aren’t in this position and have other options you may not have the incentive to follow through.

Laziness is also another culprit in the demise of new year’s resolutions.

We all have some level in us, and like I said earlier sometimes it takes a little pain to overcome hitting that snooze button, or missing a workout. Again, if you want something bad enough you will find a way, if not you will find an excuse.

So, instead of making big unattainable resolutions, aim for smaller targets and take smaller steps. Focus on creating lots of good habits that will lead you to your ultimate goals, and put plans into action to make things happen.

Celebrate the small victories and focus on the next steps.

I tell people that setting goals is like climbing a big set of stairs.

When you look at the top from the bottom it looks intimidating, but if you look at two steps at a time until you reach the top then look back at how far you have come, you will feel the satisfaction!

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

Here is a list of some of the most obsession worthy health apps.

Prev Next

MapMyRun

MapMyRun is the number one selling running app for a reason: it is easy to use, offers community support if you want it, and tracks and stores your exact routes for you. If you are training for a race or a serious runner, users say that the extra perks in the upgraded paid version are well worth it.

Made for iPhone, Android and Blackberry

Prev Next

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

YogaStudio

YogaStudio gets the top vote for Yoga apps. It has a lengthy collection of full class-length videos available at your fingertips. Unlike many other apps, this one also allows you to customize your own video yoga class. All of the poses are done by qualified yoga instructors, and you can find classes suitable for all levels of yogis.

Made for iPhone only

Prev Next

SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.

Made for iPhone and Android