KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s a new year, which means it’s time for a new you. Many people use the new year as a springboard toward lifestyle improvements.
Popular resolutions range from quitting smoking, spending less time on a smart device, and getting finances in order to working out, eating healthier or losing weight.
“It was pretty busy [on the first]. We had quite a few people come in and quite a few people sign up. We are excited. People are getting after it in 2020,” said Ricky Huse, a manager of The Foundation Westport, a 24-hour gym and fitness center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Huse and the American Psychological Association echo a lot of the same advice for launching into a new resolution.
- Share your journey with others: Getting and giving support can encourage you to stay on track.
- Document your workouts so you know where you’ve been and how close you are to reaching your goal.
- Set a day on the calendar, maybe a vacation, birthday, or anniversary and give yourself a goal to achieve by that date.
- Start small: Don’t try to change lots of things at once, make changes incrementally and set attainable goals.
- Focus on one thing at a time: This way you’re less likely to get overwhelmed.
“What people do is burn themselves out. They bite off a little too much and go from not working out at all to coming in six, maybe even seven, times a week and you need to start a little smaller,” Huse advised.
He cautioned about using your phone while working out saying there needs to be balance. Certain apps can keep you on track, but others can distract you from what you came to do at the gym in the first place.
Another manager at the gym said the first step toward turning a resolution into habit is to start. You have to show up. He said don’t be intimidated that you won’t fit in or everyone is stronger than you.
“Don’t worry about it. No matter [how buff someone else] looks, they’re probably feeling just like you are. They are intimidated too,” Matt Petelin explained.
Petelin said there is a gym to fit everyone’s style or comfort. Some gyms, like The Foundation, have different floors, each with a specific specialty.
