[This post is written by Drake Webster, CSCS – Athletic Development Coach at Athletic Lab]

The New Year is here and it brings new beginnings, new thoughts, and hopes of an even better year. Along with these things also come so many New Year’s resolutions. Everyone has something that they swear off or make the choice to begin, but how long does it last?

Being a sport performance coach at Athletic Lab I see/hear the same resolutions. They are all along the lines of more consistent workouts, changing their diet, or just making a healthier lifestyle change. These all sound like great choices to me, I mean getting healthier and stronger could never be a bad thing. The problem isn’t the choices we make as New Year’s resolutions, it’s how we commit and plan for the change.

?Failing to plan is planning to fail??. People assume that they can just jump into a huge lifestyle change and it isn’t going to be that hard. Small steps need to be taken towards the overall goal. Often people envision the end of the journey and never think of the steps in between. If the ultimate goal is to lose 40 pounds, don’t think of it as 40 pounds. The end goal in the beginning looks insurmountable as a whole. Plan on losing 2.5 pounds a week for 16 weeks, sound a little easier? Everyone makes the same mistake with their new year’s resolution by jumping in full force when they may not be ready for such a drastic change. My opinion of a New Year’s resolution is something that we can sustain throughout the New Year. This can only be done, if handled correctly.
Here are some other tips to sustaining your 2013 New Year resolution:

  • Make team resolutions- Get a workout partner that has the same goal as you or have co-workers get on the bandwagon to lose weight with you. This also adds accountability to you and makes it harder for you to quit.
  • Ask help from professionals- We can help with recovery plans, training plans, or any questions that will help you achieve your goal and also motivation.
  • Keep up with progress- This could be as easy as just writing down what you did towards your goal or making sure you know how far you have come.
  • Just do it- Many people say they will start tomorrow, but it’s always better to just start day 1 as soon as possible, once you have your plan and mindset ready.

New Year’s resolutions are often people’s time to say they are going to make a change, why not make this be the year that you actually do it. ?There are seven days in a week and someday isn’t one of them??.