Fitness Friday: 5 Things to do Today to Crush Your 2014 Fitness Goals
You’ve got less than a week before 2014 begins. And if you are like most Americans, including me, you’re about to set some health-related resolutions for the New Year. Additionally, if you are like most Americans, including me, you recently (as recently as, perhaps, five minutes ago) ate two pieces of pumpkin pie topped with home made whipped cream.
And, like me (and all the other Americans) who thoroughly enjoyed each and every Christmas cookie and peppermint bark chunk, you can no longer button some of your jeans.
And maybe, like me and the Americans, your gratitude journal has a disproportionate number of entries including the words “spandex “ and “yoga pants.”
This is why I LOVE the New Year and all its Goal Setting and Resolution Making Glory. It provides the momentum a girl needs to undo the cookie damage.
But some habits are hard to break. Namely, those involving eating and exercise. If you wake up on January 1st, believing your sugar addiction will be miraculously replaced with a jogging addiction, I regret to inform you… it ain’t gonna happen.
So, here are a few things you should to today to ensure your success in 2014:
1. If you have not done so yet, set a fitness goal. I’ve written lots of posts on goal-setting but this one is my favorite.
2. Make sure you have everything you need. If you need new shoes or a set of weights or some warm running clothes, get them today. (If you need to order P90X3, there is still time to get it to you before we start our P90X3 Group Challenge on January 6th.)
3. If you haven’t moved in a while, you may want to go for a walk, do some light weights or some yoga. Don’t start a rigorous exercise program without preparing your body first. That’s a recipe for injury and discouragement and “ouch.”
4. Renovate your pantry and fridge. No matter what health goals you set, they absolutely must involve a clean diet, rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and proteins derived from whole foods. (← not cookies) Grab a garbage bag and throw away all the junk. Go on. Don’t hesitate. Don’t wait until next week. Don’t contemplate giving your junk to your kids or to your friend. They don’t need your potato chips and Christmas-colored Double-Stuff Oreos any more than you do. Then, after you empty out the crap, make a meal plan and head to the store so you can restock your kitchen with all-things-healthy.
5. Get some accountability. I know it’s a vulnerable thing to do, but you really should tell someone about your goals. If you want a workout buddy, find one. If you haven’t signed up for the half-marathon, do it. If you want to join our little on-line group, I’ll be hosting a P90X3 Group Challenge
(I almost named it a “Support Group” but that sounded too much like we needed therapy.)
(Which we do, but that’s beside the point.)
But really, anyone can join, not just P90X3-ers. We’ll be checking in with each other, at least weekly, to chat about our goals and our accomplishments. And also our struggles and our muscle soreness.
I haven’t decided if we’ll just do it here on the blog and chat in the comments or if we should start a closed Facebook group. There are pros and cons to each. I welcome your input about that.
If you’re interested in joining us, let me know in the comments.
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Q4U: What are your fitness goals for 2014? What are you doing now to set yourself up for success? What are you throwing away today?
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Linking up with my friend Jill Conyers today.
Great tips as usual. My goals are still a work in progress. So much I want to do but I need to shorten to a more realistic list.
I’m so freakin’ excited to start X3! Bring it Jan6!
Oops hit comment too soon. You’ve probably already said but are you doing X3? We should do it together again 🙂
Oh yes. I’m definitely doing it. Already have it. Already read the entire fitness and nutrition guide. I’m so excited. Except I’m not in very good shape right now. I planned on working out hard this week in preparation, but I caught a bad cold. 🙁 When I started X2, I had done 11 weeks of P90X in preparation for it. I hope I’m ready.
I’m not going to do the p90x but I am setting exercise and healthy eating goals for the new year. I would love to be part of your group, however you decide to do it.
I know you’ve been successful with your goals in the past, Amy. I have no doubt you’ll do the same this year!
I’ve actually been thinking about giving p90x a try to see if I like it. My number one New Year Resolution is to get more sleep… I think that would have a good affect on everything in my life.
Great goal, Terri. I didn’t know you had a sleep deprivation issue. I agree that sleep affects everything. Let me know if you want to order P90X (or 2 or 3!) I can hook you up, girl.
Oh Sandy! Only you can write a fitness goal setting New Years post that makes me smile and laugh out loud. I love you!
My goal: keep doing what I’m doing and don’t give up!! I’ve been calorie counting for a few weeks with MyFitnessPal and I lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks, then gained 3 lbs in one week (what?!?!-I blame PMS) then took 3 days off for Christmas, that turned into 4 days when I got lazy with tracking yesterday then ate some cake…..
So, step one, back to tracking today. Not going to give up even if my scale and PMS hate me.
Step two, start working out more consistently (at least 3 times a week). I have a dear friend writing workouts for me, but with new colds kicking our butts every 5 minutes since school started I’ve been pretty sporadic. I think I’ll go do a cardio workout on my treadmill (kinda new….about 3-4 months) right now 🙂 Oh. Maybe I should eat breakfast first. Coffee + Treadmill will probably = cake for breakfast.
By the way, Canadians are doing all the stuff you mentioned too. Although probably not so much pumpkin pie. More Nanaimo Bars. Which are a delicious Canadian thing. I’d post a link to a recipe, but that probably wouldn’t be appreciated by all your readers cleaning out their cupboards. Maybe some other time 🙂
I am so proud of your progress, even if it has been derailed by PMS and Christmas. PMS does that to me, too. It totally stinks. Keep it up–and don’t quit! All those little things you do for your body are SO GOOD FOR YOU!!!! I’ll be your cheerleader and help you over the cake humps.
I’m in for a lifestyle change, but am not able to commit to the p90 stuff. yet. 😉
The dvd player isn’t plugged in, and while it’s only 30 minutes, I just don’t see me using it properly. yet.
My fitness-related goals for the new year are to:
drink lots of water
have at least 1 smoothie a day more days than not
run or walk 1 mile a day
I like accountability! I’ll try to let you keep me honest! 🙂
xoxo
I know you’ve been toying around with thoughts of P90X for quite some time. I can’t wait until you try it. I wish you lived near me so I could let you borrow mine before you commit. I think you’d love it.
Your fitness goals rock. I do the “lots of water” and “smoothie a day.” I <3 smoothies.
One thing I did last year was I set some 30 day goals where I worked on doing something for 30 days. They could tie into fitness goals too. One month my goal was to drink 4 bottles of water a day. A lot of the things I worked on lasted more than the 30 days.
I remember you telling me about this goal. Do you plan on doing the same in 2014? I know you plan on doing X3!!!! I’m so excited to get started.
I would love to be in on the accountability group – it’s okay by me to call it a support group, I need all the help I can get, ha!
I’m going to not do the P90 part as I have a gym membership that just increased its rates, (boo!) and, in addition to shaking off some bad eating habits I’m trying to slim down the budget too. 🙂 Plus I have a treadmill and some outdoor running clothes that I want to use more.
So, Happy New Year’s Eve, let’s all enjoy and get a great start to 2014 next week!