Kick off the New Year with fitness!

By: All American Fitness

We have all heard it a million times, a New Year’s resolution of getting in shape for the new year. But, what if you actually stuck to your goal by making small achievable goals along the way? It can be remarkable what can happen when making little changes that can lead to big results in physical and mental well being!

Too often, someone will set a goal that is too hard to achieve in a short period of time. Therefore, they get discouraged and quit. For example, I want to run a marathon and I have never run one before. A marathon?!! Wow, that’s awesome but that takes a lot of time to train for so, start small and work towards that goal. First, train for a 5k then a 10k and then a half marathon before trying to train for a full marathon.

Finding it hard to even find time to workout? I get it, we all have busy and demanding lives. Again, start small, rather than saying “I’m going to exercise for an hour today”, try 15 minutes wherever you can fit it into your day. If you only have 15 minutes first thing in the morning or between meetings or before cooking a meal, do some effective movements such as; squats, lunges, planks, jumping jacks or burpees.

Still short on time? Consider waking up 15 minutes earlier. Starting your day with movement could get those endorphins revved up and burning calories all day. Not to mention, an early morning workout can set you up for a great mood all day!

Try new ways to exercise and once you find what you love, you are more likely to stick with it. If you have been working out for awhile, change up what you do. There are so many activities to chose from such as; walking, yoga, running, weightlifting, tennis, hiking, biking, rowing, boxing and so much more! Again, make it manageable and maybe just start with walking the dog or walk with a friend. Make exercising fun!