It happens every year. January comes around and people feel really motivated to get fit / lose weight. They up their fitness regime, either joining a new gym or digging out their membership cards for the gym that they’ve been too busy to make it to throughout December. They set some strict rules on nutrition and have goals for their weight / waist loss.
The first 2-3 weeks the motivation is high and they get stuck in, only to find that they’re not where they left off at the start of December. They’ve got so out of shape, they find it all hard and they feel heavy and slow. But they keep pushing on. By the end of January however, they’ve started to forget about the resolutions. The hard work has been paying off and they’ve got fitter and lost a few inches. But, if truth be told, they’re only now just getting back to where they were at the start of December.
Sound familiar?
I see this pattern every year and think to myself “This is nuts!”. This year, however, I’m giving you the opportunity to do it different……set some December Resolutions.
December brings Christmas parties at work, drinks and meals out with various different friends and family (and even with your gym community), hectic schedules of shopping, getting kids to parties, watching their Xmas plays, putting up decorations and all kinds of other excuses why you’re too busy to get to the gym. I get it…it’s a busy time of year. But I’m not going to let you off so easy this year.
There’s always excuses, year round, that you could use. But one of my favourite ways of explaining this thinking to my personal training clients is this “I know you’re busy….however, out there somewhere, someone who is busier than you is still getting to the gym right now. The difference between you and them is they’re not letting the excuses take control.” When you decide that you’re not going to let the excuses be in charge and keep something that is really important to you prioritized even when other important stuff is happening, some kind of magic happens. You find a way to work it out and fit it all in. You find the energy to do it.
Don’t you agree that it’s crazy to do what you’ve done for the last few/ten/thirty years and let yourself go backwards in December? (I like the definition of insanity which says it’s “doing the same thing you’ve always done and expecting a different result”). Imagine if this year you reach January in better shape than you started December. Imagine what you could achieve if you’re not spending the first few weeks catching up.
Here’s my tips for December Resolutions:
1) Book your Group PT sessions for December now. Go through your diary and check your commitments/parties etc. and then plan your training around them. Commit to be at the sessions you’ve booked no matter what. The other important stuff you need to do will still happen…… because you need to do it……. so you will find a way.
2) Set 1-2 small goals with your Coach. They could be to increase your Strict Pull Ups from 3 to 5, increase your Back Squat by 5kg or lose 1kg Bodyweight. Post them on social media (maybe with a link to this article?) to inspire your friends and to add even more accountability.
3) Have fun and enjoy the Christmas period, but don’t let it be an excuse for letting go completely for a whole month (or even a whole week over Christmas). Plan in advance what events will be “off plan” and then stick to your normal eating and drinking regime the rest of the time.