You might have heard about creating S.M.A.R.T goals and how it’s way more effective at helping you keep your New Year’s resolutions in check. It’s all about creating clear, measurable and realistic goals… but then what? What happens if (and when) you start to slowly tinker off, say for example, your health and fitness resolutions!
You should technically be on your way to a fitter you, right? Well… it’s not always that simple, is it? Sometimes, life gets in the way and before you know it, you’re coming up with one excuse after the other as to why there’s no way in hell you have time OR energy for the gym (no one is immune to this, trust us!).
So when it feels like you’re staring directly down the barrel of your fitness resolutions, with nothing left to do but run and hide, just hang in there. The experts at OrangeTheory Fitness Hawthorn have given us five reasons why it’s worth pushing through.
5 Reasons Why You Should Keep Going
1. There’s still time to get a bangin’ bod for summer
If you were planning on wearing hot pants to the Garden of Unearthly Delights, there’s still time! With 6 weeks of regular exercise and healthy eating, you’re sure to look and feel like a whole new person. But, from my personal experience, if you’re doing the right thing, you’ll start to notice your waistline shrink in the first 2-3 weeks.
2. Making and breaking habits is the hardest part
Once you’ve gotten through the first 6 sessions, it becomes a little easier. It’s making and breaking habits that seem to suck. Experts say it generally takes 21 days to kick a habit, so even a little improvement goes a long way to improving your overall fitness. You just need to keep at it and all those little improvements will result in one big lifestyle change.
3. Surrounding yourself with the right people makes it easier
It’s time to surround yourself with like-minded people! It’s often harder to stick to your goals when you’re doing it on your own. Which is why something like group training is perfect for motivation, variety and accountability.
Also, it’s really important to make sure that the trainers that you’re using are the right fit for you and won’t make you feel guilty for missing a few sessions here and there when your schedule does get hectic. Surely, I’m not the only one who dreads that “we haven’t seen you” phone call. It’s always in the “I’m not angry, I’m disappointed” tone.
Yes. Yes, I am well aware how awful I’ve been at keeping up Barbara – give me a break.
4. You’ll actually have MORE energy
Spending at least one hour a day exercising is a sure-fire way to increase your energy levels. Picking up groceries on your way home won’t seem like the hardest thing in the world. Science says: exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily tasks. Simples.
Ps. if you commit yourself to your fitness goals, your “all-out” effort right now will one day be your warm up.
5. Your co-worker will get to keep their head
Yikes! It doesn’t feel nice for anyone when you’re under the pump and snap at someone. Working out actually stimulates various brain chemicals that make you happy and less stressed. Better yet, working out regularly will help to improve your confidence and boost your self-esteem.
This totally ties in with my experience at OrangeTheory. Not only am I burning up 650 calories a session and feeling waaaay more confident about my body than I did pre-Christmas. The trainers are super knowledgeable, hilarious and down-to-earth, the classes are always filled with familiar friendly-faces too which makes getting up at 5:30am worth it. I’ve also been sleeping better and go to work feeling energised. I hear people talk about this 3pm slump and I’m like pfft! I got this. Yeah sure, like I said before, excuses slowly creep in every now and then as we get busier, but this is the first time I haven’t felt like quitting a gym because of feeling too guilty for intermittently going. I know I can come back kick ass and know it’s all going to pay off.
Also, I think my housemates like me better now.
Without a goal, a plan is just a wish folks. So make sure you’ve got some realistic, measurable goals in place and put your back into it. What more reason do you need?
To help get you stay motivated, check out OrangeTheory on Instagram and Facebook.
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