Fitness Resolution Already Failing? Good

It’s almost the end of fitness resolution season. If you’re still hanging on to your new year fitness resolution by the end of January, you’re beating a lot of the crowd.

Research shows only 9% of Americans complete their resolutions. 23% quit by the end of the first week, and 43% quit before the first month is over.

It’s a surprise if people stick to their resolutions for more than a week. A full month is something to be proud of.

Of course I want you to stick it out longer, but if your resolution is already failing, that may be a good thing.

It’s better to try and fail fast, learn where you need to make corrections and then improve. It’s a chance to revisit what you really want to set out to accomplish.

This isn’t a post about quitting your new year fitness resolution. It’s about understanding why you’re not sticking to it and figuring out how to get back and stay on track.

Why your fitness resolution fails

When most of us set our sights on a goal for the new year, we just think about going out and accomplishing that specific thing. So, for example, if you say you want to work out more. January 2 through January 9, you probably spend more time doing pushups at home or signing up for a gym.

However, it takes more thought to make sure your life supports your new goal. This is the same life that made it easy for you to not meet those goals in the past. What’s different this time around?

Here are some common mistakes to look for:

• Not Being Specific About Your Goal: What does it mean to “work out more”? If you worked out once last year, does working out twice this year mean you hit the goal? To stay committed to working out, establish SMART goals. See the linked post for how to set great goals that give you clarity on what you want to accomplish and the path to get there.
• Failing to Change Your Environment: People are creatures of habit, and our environment plays a huge role in how we live our lives. If you want to keep up with your fitness resolution, change your environment to support it. This could mean cutting out time wasted scrolling through social media, prepping meals ahead of time, getting an easy home gym or gym membership set up.
• Not Planning for Sustainability: You want to start working out, so you decide to hit the gym 5 days a week. Soon, you fall off track and quit going altogether. Well, it’s tough to go from 0 to 5 suddenly. Instead give yourself a time to build a habit that will actually stick. Fidelity matters more than intensity here. So, maybe try starting with 2 days per week, and pick 2 specific days to make it a habit.
• Not Planning for Failure: One of the most common reasons that people quit their fitness resolution is that they are trying to be perfect. When they miss a day of working out, they call the year a total loss and slip back into old habits. The first slip up is seen as a sign that they can’t accomplish the goal. Instead, plan ahead to what happens when you miss a day. How will you make it up? Will you make it up or move on to the next workout? It’s ok to work through the rocky start while you develop the habit.
• Lacking Support: Having a support system is crucial. A buddy can help you stay on track when falling off, but also builds in accountability. Someone else knows your goal and how you are tracking toward it.
• Not Celebrating the Process: If your fitness resolution is a big lofty goal, it’s going to be difficult and take some time. Focusing on just where you are and where you want to be can be discouraging. You won’t feel like a winner until you get there. Instead, give yourself mini milestones. How are you doing this week? Where are you tracking for the next two weeks? Love the process and your consistency, and the results will come.

How to get back and stay on track

Again, not celebrating the fact that your fitness resolution is failing, but look at the silver lining. You get to figure out what caused the rough start and adjust. Create a winning formula for yourself.

• Schedule Your Workouts: A common question is how to find time to exercise. Without this, your fitness resolution is doomed. The linked post has specific ideas to help. The most important thing you can do is schedule your workouts so that you have time planned and blocked off. Otherwise, you’ll push it off.
• Start Small: This connects to the note about failing due to lack of sustainability. Don’t jump in and run so fast you burn out before the race begins. Give yourself a ramp up period and small new challenges along the way. Grow from working out for 2 days for 30 minutes each to 3 days, and then 1 hour each, and then 4 days and so on.
• Find Accountability: The most common way to do this is to find a workout buddy to stay motivated and accountable. You can encourage each other to stick to your fitness resolution and make working out more fun. However, if you can’t coordinate this with another person, find accountability in other ways. For example, maybe text updates and progress with someone you trust who doesn’t live nearby. Alternatively, you can post about your journey on your social media.
• Track Progress: Seeing where you are and where you want to be can feel overwhelming. If you have a big scary goal, it might feel like you’re always so far away. Track your progress daily or weekly so you can compare where you started to where you are now. You’re making positive changes, but they happen slowly and gradually over time. Without tracking them, you might miss them.
• Get Enough Sleep: Sleep builds muscle and lets your body recover, but most of us fail at this simple thing. This is part of changing your environment and habits to support your fitness resolution and who you want to be.

It’s ok if you’re failing off the new year fitness resolution wagon. Take it as a good opportunity to reevaluate how you kicked things off and reset your goals and expectations.

Thoughts or questions? Let me know in the comments!