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Let 2025 be the year you don’t abandon your New Year resolutions by the first week of February.
Penning down your ambitious, and more often than not, impractical goals on January 1 may be tradition, but it’s a futile one at best.
Going from zero to 100 almost always guarantees a burnout, and is the primary cause for people dropping out of the race. Especially when it comes to fitness.
January sees the biggest upsurge in gym membership sign-ups, and the greatest turnout, too. However, come March or April, the numbers dwindle down to a fourth.
If you don’t wish to fall into this category, there are a few realistic and sustainable tips to follow which will help you keep to your fitness-related New Year resolutions in 2025.
A simple daily reminder on your phone or smart device is a great way to keep yourself in check. Make the message fun, say something like “Time to hit 10,000 steps!” or to quote Maroon 5 — “I Work Out”. Seeing the same pop-up at the same time everyday will help you fit the movement (of any kind) into your routine, and will soon turn into a habit.
You can’t go from beach-whaling and doomscrolling your evenings to a sudden 100 bench-presses and (too many) minute-long planks. It’s also extremely delusional to believe that you can drop 10 kgs within two weeks of vigorous exercise.
Start small — maybe yoga or cardio for 30 minutes, three days a week — and a goal to shed 2 kgs by the end of the month. Wait for your stamina and endurance to rise organically before amping up your level of workout.
When it comes to being diligent with your fitness goals, it’s a good idea to have someone in your corner who will hold you accountable.
Not shame you, necessarily; but to just give you the right kind of pep-talk and hype you just enough to have you running to the treadmill all charged up and ready to conquer.
It’s hard to stick to your fitness-related New Year resolutions if you don’t enjoy breaking a sweat with certain types of movement. For instance, if the thought of a 20-minute HIIT workout makes you want to cry, you’ll find yourself coming up with excuses to skip it just one day, then another… and before you know it, you’re ghosting your trainer.
Tracking your progress is one of the best ways to stay motivated enough to continue on your fitness journey. Putting in the hard work will always get you positive results, be it significant weight loss or simply building more stamina.
Start by simply acknowledging your willingness to embark on your fitness journey in the first place.
The fact that you’re ready to commit to the hard work and discipline it requires is a win in itself, and every time you hit a target — be it a step-count of 10,000 a day or by simply showing up at the gym for two weeks straight — reward yourself with a little something that will make consistency feel like a prize.
[ Via GQ India]
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