Staying on Track with Fitness Goals

While most of us start the new year with all the best intentions when it comes to eating healthy and achieving all our fitness goals, as the dark January nights set in your motivation can start to waver and it can feel too easy to just give up altogether. The year of 2020 didn’t go exactly as planned for most of us and with us all staying at home more than ever before, it is even more challenging to stay on track and continue your fitness journey. 

So, with a new year brings with it a whole new set of goals and aspirations that you want to achieve. Even though planning a strict workout regime and healthy meal plan is simple enough in theory, doing it in practice is more of a challenge. So here are our top 5 ways that you can keep on track and achieve everything you hope for in 2021.

Make a plan

While you can easily spend all the time in the world writing endless fitness hopes and dreams for the year of 2021, the plan you put in place is what is going to help you achieve those goals. Therefore, we recommend that you take some time to create a plan and schedule how and what you are going to do to keep on track. Often one of the reasons we go off course is because we aren’t sure what we should be doing. However, if we put a structured plan in place, we will always know what the next step is on our path to success.

Making a plan is also a great way to integrate your training and workouts a part of your routine. For example, if you have the time to head to the gym after work on a certain night of the week then if you stick to that routine you will start to do it without even having to think about it. The gratification of sticking to your schedule and seeing results will give you the motivation to stay on track.

Keep it realistic

One of the biggest stumbling blocks that you are going to face is if you set yourself goals and schedules that are unrealistic for you to keep. Therefore, it is important that you are realistic when it comes to what you want

and can achieve. For example, if you have set yourself the goal to lose weight in 2021 then you need to seriously consider how much weight you can lose in a healthy time frame. If you set yourself the goal to lose more weight than is possible then you will only feel disappointed if you do not achieve it, which will leave you wanting to give up.

Similarly, you shouldn’t set yourself a workout schedule that involves heading to the gym for 3 hours a night, 7 days a week, if you haven’t set foot inside a gym for years. This is not a sustainable goal that you can work towards and trying to force your body through workouts it isn’t ready for will only cause damage and pain to your muscles and joints.

Use a foam roller

Many of us know what it feels like to hobble home with sore arms and legs after a heavy gym session and how close it can make us feel like we want to give up on getting fit altogether. However, by taking the time to use muscle recovery equipment, such as a vibrating foam roller, you can increase the blood flow and oxygen to your muscles to help speed up recovery and ease aches and pains. Using the vibration technology in this foam roller allows you to reduce muscle tightness and lessen next day soreness after a training session.

Muscle recovery equipment is also a great way to benefit from massage techniques and therapy in the comfort of your own home, which is even more important with lockdown when our access to massages is not only limited but essential for our muscle health and recovery.

Eat well

It can be a whole lot easier to stay on track with your fitness goals if you combine working out with a healthy diet. You are more likely to feel energised and motivated to stay on track with your fitness schedule if you move away from fatty and processed foods and instead eat healthy greens and vitamin-rich foods.

You shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with food and try something different with the recipes you attempt.

You will likely be surprised at what great food you can make that both tastes good and leaves your body feeling pumped and fuelled ready for the day ahead.

It can also be beneficial to start your own food diary to accompany your workout schedule so that you can keep a track of the food you enjoyed the most and focus on how it makes you feel. This is also a good opportunity for you to keep on top of your water intake and make sure that you are drinking enough to keep your body hydrated, especially post-workout when your body is dehydrated.

Forgive yourself

Even with the best intentions in the world, sometimes the unpredictable happens and you may not be able to stick to your schedule as much as you would like. There will be occasions when life gets in the way and between working late and wanting to catch up with friends and family, you may skip workout sessions and fall off track. However, this doesn’t mean that you have the excuse to give up altogether. Instead, you should use this as motivation to fuel your determination to keep working hard to track your fitness goals. You can do it!

Staying on track with your fitness goals in 2021 doesn’t have to be as difficult as you may think and by being realistic with your goals, taking the time to take care of your body and allowing it to recover, you can remain motivated and achieve ultimate health this year. Remember that taking the time today to stay on track and make healthy changes will help you feel better tomorrow.

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