Tuesday Training: Tips to Keep New Year’s Resolutions and A New Year, A New You Workout Routine

Tuesday Training: Tips to Keep New Year’s Resolutions and A New Year, A New You Workout Routine

 I’ll admit it: I’ve never been a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. In my opinion, if you have a dream or a goal, you should just go for it now – no waiting around until the New Year to come along!

But I know, I know – it’s a natural thing to do to look back at the year and focus on some dreams and goals for the upcoming year. I know it’s the cool thing to do and it seems like everyone does it, so I thought I’d give you some tips on how to keep those New Years Resolutions and tell you what’s worked for me.

Like I said above, I don’t really believe in the whole New Years Resolutions thing, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have dreams and goals. A lot of people have told me that it’s really difficult for them to take the next step of their dream or goal and actually do it. I also hear a lot, “I can’t find the motivation.” Maybe you can relate with that and I get that. That’s why I’ve come up with 5 tips that have really helped me get and stay motivated to see my dreams and goals fulfilled. I hope these can help you, too.

 5 TIPS TO KEEP YOUR RESOULUTIONS OR GOALS:

1. Stick with only 1 big goal at a time. This could mean losing 50 pounds, getting back to a size 4, eliminating wheat completely from your diet, saving money for a big trip, etc. Once you complete that goal, then move onto your next. It’s too hard to focus on more than one goal, especially if it means altering your life in any way. My last goal was getting this website up and running and now that I can cross that off my list, I’ve moved onto my next big goal.

2. Put your goal into something visual that you can look at every single day. If you are trying to get into a size 4, put a picture up of a dress you would love to fit into on your refrigerator. If you are saving for a new car, put a picture of that car on your desktop. Or maybe it’s a motivational quote that will help you, but find a place that you will be forced to look at it every single day. This keeps your goal fresh in your head and reminds you to make steps in seeing it through everyday.

3. Plan your weekly schedule and block a little bit of time each day to work on your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, this might mean planning out healthy menus each day. This tip will look different for each different goal, but basically you want to try and do something each day to make you one step closer in fulfilling your dream. And it could be little bitty baby steps – that’s ok! It could be something as simple as reading an article, but at least you did something to gain some new information on your goal.

4. Don’t be afraid to fall down, make mistakes and fail. This is a big one and it’s one of the top reasons I believe so many people don’t ever see the results of making their dreams come true. You can’t be afraid to make mistakes! I know it sounds scary that you might fail, but I’ve lived by the saying that you take 2 steps back before you take one step forward. When you fall down and learn from your mistakes and then discover what works and what doesn’t is when true learning and transformation takes place. When you are out there making mistakes, it means that you are trying, pushing yourself, learning, changing yourself, and most of all out there doing something. So don’t give up! Learn from those mistakes, dust yourself off, pick yourself back up and keep trying. It’s ok, we’re all human and mistakes are bound to happen. No biggie – just keep pushing forward.

5. Reward yourself along the way. Meeting goals is extremely hard work and you should really be proud of yourself when you start to see those goals being met! If you are trying to lose weight, allow for a small reward at every 10 pounds of weight loss. If you are trying to eliminate processed food from your diet, reward yourself after a week or two of being successful. Your rewards could be a a trip out to dinner, buying yourself something special, a day at the spa, or anything that is a little extra special for you. When you finally meet your goal, you better celebrate your booty off! It’s a big accomplishment and a big deal when dreams are met, so throw your hair down and throw a little party 🙂

This workout is one of my favorites because it combines cardio and strength all in one effective routine. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but it’s not to be underestimated. These powerful moves work multiple muscles and the swings in between each move will keep your heart rate up to give you a great cardiovascular workout, too. This also will ensure that we are blasting a lot of fat and calories. My preferred weapons of choice are kettlebells, but you may substitute with a dumbbell, as well.

A NEW YEAR, A NEW YOU WORKOUT TO START YOUR YEAR OFF RIGHT

 Do this routine in a circuit which means you do the first exercise and then keep moving on to the next until you’ve reached the end. Then it’s time to repeat! Make sure you do a few minutes of warmup (light jog in place, leg kicks, arm circles, etc.) and a few minutes of cool down/stretching at the end.

Remember for this workout to be the most successful, you need to pick a weight that challenges you. It should be difficult during the last 2 reps.

15 Squat and Press Right Arm

 15 Squat and Press Left Arm

30 Swings

15 Right Arm Chest Press with Raised Hips

 15 Left Arm Chest Press with Raised Hips

30 Swings

15 Deadlift to High Pull

30 Swings

15 Reach and Extend Abs

30 Oblique Twists

Rest for 1 minute

Repeat Once