Your New Year’s Resolution Blueprint

It’s almost that time of year again; a time to eat, drink, and be merry.

But mostly eat and drink.

And once December 26th rolls around, the ham and pie haze starts to lift, and we set our sights on the new year.

Most view it as a new beginning; a chance to start fresh. They see it as a chance to improve themselves from last year. And for many, that improvement comes in the form of their health.

Fitness resolutions are among the most popular resolutions each year. People view the new year as a good time to get their health in order. Many want to lose weight, some just want to eat healthier, and others want to be more active.

And most of them fail.

Statistics show that less than 10% of people who make New Year’s resolutions actually succeed in achieving them.

So why is the success rate so low?

While there are a lot of factors involved, the biggest one I have come across is poor planning.

When it comes to fitness, having a good plan is everything. Your plan is what is going to dictate your success. If you can’t execute your plan, you’re never going to achieve your goals.

So how do you create a good plan? Well you could either hire a coach or learn what it takes to create your own fitness plan.

For those of you who want to go it alone, here are the 3 biggest keys to a success fitness resolution plan:

1. Set Attainable Goals. To put it bluntly, your plan doesn’t mean shit if you set unreasonable goals. I am all for shooting for the stars and having lofty dreams, but you need to know the difference between dreams and reality.

Wanting to lose 25 pounds is a great goal. Wanting to lose 25 pounds in a month is probably going to be too ambitious for most people because they lifestyle changes needed to make that goal a reality are going to be too extreme.

Aim to achieve smaller, more attainable goals in the short-term that will work towards helping you reach your larger goal. If you want to lose fat, shoot for 1-2 pounds a week. If you want to build muscle, try for 1-2 pounds a month. It may not seem like a lot, but by the end of the year that’s still between 50-100 pounds of fat loss and 12-24 pounds of muscle gain, respectively.

2. Choose a Sustainable Plan. Once you have your goals, you need to choose a plan to reach them. And in order for you to reach your goals, the plan needs to be sustainable. Not for a week, or a month, or even a few months; the plan must be sustainable for as long as it takes for you to get where you want to be.

The biggest reason people give up on their fitness resolution is the plan they chose is either too hard or too restrictive. I always tell my clients a good fitness plan should compliment your life, not control it. If your plan makes your life miserable, how long do you thing you’re going to be able to stick with it?

If you love eating carbs, don’t choose a plan that eliminates carbs. If you hate running, don’t pick a plan that requires you to run every day. There are a lot of ways to skin the cat when it comes to fitness, so choose a plan that makes sense for you and your lifestyle.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you won’t have to make sacrifices to reach your goals. You just don’t need to be miserable while doing it.

3. Create Accountability. This is probably the thing people overlook the most when it comes to a successful fitness plan. Having accountability increases your chances of success by a factor of ten, roughly.

Creating accountability can be as simple as telling your spouse or a family member of your plans, finding someone to do a program with you, or joining a group fitness class.

When you make others aware of what you are doing, or better yet, team up with others to do it, you make it much more likely that you will accomplish your goals because you now have someone to answer to. And the last thing that we want is to be seen as is unsuccessful by our family and friends.

So there you have it; your New Year’s resolution roadmap to success.

But what if you’re one of those people who don’t want to go it alone? What if you’re one of those people who is busy with a job or two, family, and any number of other responsibilities life throws at us?

If the thought of creating your own plan seems too scary or overwhelming; or if you’ve tried before and failed, then New Year, New You is what you need.

New Year, New You is the newest group coaching program I have created, specifically to help people achieve their New Year’s fat loss goals.

This program was created out of my desire to help quell the abysmal New Year’s Resolution success rate. Not only will NYNY provide you with specific training and nutrition plans to help you meet your weight loss goal, but you will learn how to create habits and make lifestyle changes that will set you up to succeed long after the program is over. This is something you don’t get from your run-of-the-mill cookie cutter workout or diet plan.

Sign up for New Year, New You is now open, but I am only taking a limited number of people. The group kicks off Monday, January 4th. However, if you sign up before December 25th you are eligible to receive a special holiday discount.

> Click Here to Learn More About New Year, New You <

Don’t wait until after the holidays to start thinking about your resolution. The best time to start is now!

Want new articles sent to your inbox the day they’re posted? Sign up for the JPF newsletter!

Jorden Pagel