As the year comes to a close, millions of people all across the country are preparing themselves for the start of a new year. As has been the case for years, Americans use the new year as an opportunity to start fresh. Millions of New Year’s Resolutions are set with the hopes of improving someone’s life.

Arguably the most common resolution you will hear about in the coming weeks is to exercise more. For 2019, 59% of people stated that exercising more was their top resolution of the year. Naturally, eating healthy and losing weight were close behind at 54% and 48%, respectively. However, even though millions of people made these goals, most never follow through with them. According to U.S. News & World Report, around 80% is the failure rate for New Year’s Resolutions.

The new year is the perfect time to set new goals for yourself. While setting fitness goals for yourself is admirable and will undoubtedly improve both your physical and mental health, it can be incredibly difficult. That’s why so many people never follow through with them.

Fitness Nation is here to help you stick to your fitness New Year’s Resolutions in 2020! Today, we will be providing you with some helpful tips to stay dedicated to your goals!

Ask Yourself Why

Everyone has their reasons for setting goals at the beginning of the year. They may be for personal reasons or even health reasons. Unfortunately, sometimes people feel pressured by society to embark on these journeys. But it’s important to ask yourself why you want to engage in them. Why is this New Year’s Resolution so important to you? What motivates you to take this massive leap to make a change in your life? Once you find the reason that drives you, you will have a better mindset to complete your goals.

Set Specific and Reasonable Goals

Yes, your resolution for 2020 may be to lose weight or lift more, but those are relatively broad terms. A study found that setting broad, unspecific goals can cause depression, proving to be counterintuitive. Be specific about what you want to do. Don’t just say you want to lose weight or set a new bench press PR. Say, “I want to lose 10 pounds this year,” or “I want to add 15 pounds to my bench press.”

This gives you a set goal to work towards. However, it’s important to set realistic goals. If you have never been into fitness, chances are you may struggle at first. Set small goals for yourself and then build momentum. Set the goal of simply going to the gym. Then once you’ve formed a habit, increase the difficulty of your goals. Always celebrate any accomplishment you reach, no matter how small.

Write Down Your Resolutions

Once you have set a specific and reasonable goal for yourself, write it down and post it somewhere where you will see it every day. Research has shown that if you write down your goals and share them with friends and family, you are more likely to follow through with them than if you didn’t. Write your goal on a sticky note and place it on your mirror. You can take it one step forward and post about your goal and your progress on social media. Not only will you hold yourself accountable, but you may encourage others, as well.

Establish a Set Schedule

Another important aspect of sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions is creating a set workout schedule. If possible, workout at the same time and the same place every day. This will help you establish a routine while also helping you form strong habits. Review your schedule and find a daily time where you can fit in exercise without interfering with other parts of your life.

Spice Things Up

After you’ve been exercising for some time, you may realize that following the same workout plan every week gets redundant and boring. Your body gets used to the exercises, which leaves you feeling like you didn’t even work out. Mix it up every once and a while. Variety is important in your everyday life and your fitness journey.

According to the American Council on Exercise, varying your workouts and trying new things motivates you to stick with your resolution. Even those who practically live at the gym get bored by their workouts sometimes. Try out a new class, such as yoga, cycling, or kickboxing. Not only does this keep you motivated, but trying new things is always a great way to inject fun and excitement into your life.

Invite a Friend

Whenever you embark on a new fitness journey on your own, it can seem like a daunting task. When you’re alone, you struggle to find the motivation to bring yourself to the gym every day. That’s why asking a friend to join you on this fitness journey can be helpful. Not only do you get to be active and spend more time with your friend, but you also have someone to hold you accountable.

Be Understanding

Remember, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” You aren’t going to reach your fitness goals all at once. It will take plenty of time and a lot of work to reach them. You have to be patient and understand that you may not see immediate results within the first few weeks. You also need to be forgiving of yourself. We are all human. We all mess up. You will experience a few setbacks along this journey, but you can’t let them bring you down. You just need to understand that they are a part of the process.

Set smaller, more attainable goals while you work towards your big ones. You aren’t giving up on your initial resolutions, but you are giving yourself a chance to accomplishment plenty in the interim.

With 2020 swiftly approaching, millions of people across the country will be setting fitness New Year’s Resolutions. Even though many people set goals, most of them never reach them. We want to help you hit every goal you set for the new year. If you need any help reaching your goals, contact Fitness Nation today.