Does being asked what’s your New Year’s Resolution around 9pm on Dec 31 make you realise you’ve not given it much thought, resulting in a half-hearted, vague goal that isn’t thought through and therefore fails well before February.
After working with clients for the past few years and reviewing their training history and experiences I have noticed a pattern emerging. It made me wonder, how many other people have experienced the following:
The New Year kicks in and you decide to set getting into shape as your New Year’s Resolution.
You join a gym and decide that this time, you WILL succeed!!
You are feeling motivated and determined You have heard they do a great circuit class/boot camp/spin/(insert name of class here) so you get involved and give it everything and then some.
By the end of the class, you are a quivering wreck BUT you got through it and feel proud of the achievement. Next day you can’t sit on the toilet and although it is agony to walk down the stairs, you can’t wait for the next class.
Fast forward one month and your New Year’s Resolution is still on course. Your eating is on point. You haven’t missed a gym session and have now increased the number of times you go. The atmosphere in the gym is fantastic, the instructors encouraging and the members all seem to be friendly.
The sessions are still pushing you to your limits but you were only sick once this week and last week you managed to get through the entire session without needing to sit out for a while. Not only that but you have started to notice some changes. Your clothes are fitting better, you have more energy and you are feeling more confident.
Another four weeks later and people are starting to comment and tell you how well you look. It is really pushing you on and only last week you added yet another class to your weekly schedule. Four sessions a week. You KNOW you are fitter now, you can keep up with some of the fitter members in the class and you have increased the weight you have been lifting. By the end of the session you are still seeing stars but you are managing.
Fast forward another four weeks and you are still going and enjoying the sessions but you have missed a couple and your New Year’s Resolution is waning. You were too tired to go once and then there was that new series that started on Sky you really wanted to watch.
Your eating is still mostly good but you have slipped up a few times. Your partner brought home a Chinese takeaway and the smell was too much. Then there was your work colleagues birthday and they bought cakes before heading to the pub for a few drinks after work. You haven’t put any weight back on but it has stopped coming off.
Fast forward another twenty-eight days later and you have stopped going to the gym altogether. You have failed your New Year’s Resolution again and you keep saying you will “go tomorrow” but something always crops up.
You are finding it hard with work, family life and you are always exhausted. Eating has also slipped and you are back to justifying eating that biscuit with your tea and having a burger instead of cooking some food because you genuinely don’t have the time… or energy. The weight you lost is creeping back on but you tell yourself, next week I’m getting back to it.
This goes on for another 8, 12 or 16 weeks later before… you join a gym. This time, THIS IS IT!! You are feeling motivated and determined You have heard they do a great circuit class/boot camp/spin/(insert class) so you get involved and give it everything and then some.
By the end of the class, you are a quivering wreck BUT you got through it and feel proud of the achievement. Next day you can’t sit on the toilet and although it is agony to walk down the stairs, you can’t wait for the next class.
Hands up how many times have you personally experienced this cycle or know of someone who has?
In my next blog post, I will explain why it happens, how it isn’t your fault and what you can do to change it.
Don’t want to wait? Check out our new 28-Day Lean Lifestyle Challenge that kicks off next week
