Don’t be a Resolutioner This Year!

Don’t be a “Resolutioner” this year!

Resolutioner Season is Here!

2018 is winding to a close and the time is coming where people start to take a look at their lives and set new goals for the upcoming year. For a large number of people those new goals will include something along the lines of “I need to get into better shape” or “I need to drop some weight!” This inevitably leads to a massive influx of new people to the gym on January 1st – we refer to this time of the year as Resolutioner Season. A Resolutioner is someone that has made it their New Year’s Resolution to get themselves into shape, rushes to the gym to furiously start working out, and then is gone and back to their previous lifestyle in 2-4 weeks because they didn’t reach their unrealistic goals. This is also the time of year where I write some kind of article or do some sort of seminar to try to encourage people NOT to become a resolutioner!

Why Resolutioners Fail

Probably half of the new gym members that sign up on January 1st won’t still be there on February 1st, and another 50% of those that make it past the first month won’t be there by March. Why does this happen? There are a few reasons: Most of those that quit early have set unrealistic goals, they often have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved, they don’t know what they are doing, they don’t have a good support system, or any combination of those things.

A typical scenario is someone who has progressively gained weight over the last 10-15 years that has finally “had enough” and wants to get into better shape. They will often set a goal of losing 30lbs by the end of the month, try to make up their own program, lose 5 lbs, get frustrated, and quit.

So how do you NOT become a “Resolutioner”??

Not turning into a “Resolutioner” and becoming a “Gym Regular” takes a fair amount of effort for the first few months, but I will try to give you some tips to help make that transition a little bit easier. Basically you just have to do the opposite of what I mentioned earlier! There ya go – article over, you now know everything you need to know!!

Okay – that was dumb, let’s be more serious for a bit because I truly would like to see people reach their goals.

  1. Set realistic goals! You are not going to lose 10lbs in a week or 50lbs in a month without an extremely strict diet and a spot-on perfect exercise program. It just isn’t going to happen, I’m sorry – anyone that says it can happen and can be maintained is lying to you or trying to sell you something. A realistic, maintainable, attainable weight loss goal is 2-3lbs per week – and that is a good start for goal setting. Pick something small. You may have 50lbs to lose, but you need to look at it in small increments You might lose more one week, just consider that a bonus and keep the overall goal reasonable. Small progress adds up to big results over time.

  2. Be realistic in your expectations! You are not going to transform from a fluffy couch potato into a lean swimsuit model in 2 months. It took a while to pack on the extra padding, it is going to take a while to lose it! Don’t decide you need to look good in a bikini by February if you have 40lbs to lose and it is now January – it isn’t going to happen without plastic surgery. You aren’t going to turn your 13” biceps into 17” biceps in a month either unless you plan to get some biceps implants! I understand that with all of the BS you see on TV and in magazine ads it can be hard to tell what is realistic and what isn’t – that is why #3 is the MOST IMPORTANT tip.

  3. GET HELP!! None of us knew what we were doing the first time we walked into the gym. In my case I was fortunate to have a friend that knew a bit about working out that gave me a lot of pointers and loaned me his copy of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding to learn from. Great book – plenty of things in there that aren’t necessarily true, but still a good starting point. Luckily for people starting out today there are dozens of great resources right at the tips of your fingers! Do a Google Search for some answers, or do what a lot of us used to do and ask someone at the gym! Trust me when I say that most of the people at the gym are HAPPY to help a newbie out – as long as you don’t ask them for help while they are in the middle of a set!

  4. STICK WITH IT!! If you can stick with it beyond the first few months, you just might find that you actually start to ENJOY going to to gym! You’ll move right past that “Resolutioner” phase and into the “person that works out” phase. You’ll look and feel better, and who knows – maybe eventually you’ll start writing articles on how to not be a resolutioner and acting as if your opinion should matter!!

Get your butt to the gym, keep your butt in the gym, and get into shape! Reach your goals this year, and don’t be a Resolutioner!!

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