As the New Year approaches, it’s time for resolutions – and the top promises people make themselves every year consistently have to do with fitness. While many New Year’s resolutions aren’t maintained past the second week in January, you can make your fitness goals a priority and keep your routine going through 2019 with these six hacks to help you stay on track.
- Get up fifteen minutes earlier. Not an hour – just fifteen minutes. Roll out of bed, spend five minutes stretching, then ten minutes doing aerobic exercise like jumping jacks or a quick session on your exercise bike. This will start your blood moving and trigger a small endorphin rush to get your day started. Trying to force a wake-up time an entire hour earlier would feel like living through another time change – but 15 minutes is manageable.
- Walk during lunch. Pack something you can eat while walking – like a veggie burrito and a piece of fruit – and find a place close by where you can eat and walk at the same time. If getting outside just isn’t an option and your place of employment doesn’t feature a gym, invest in a small stepper to put in the corner of the break room and do reps stepping on and off. You can do lunges to work out your legs, and (once your lunch is gone) exercise your shoulders and arms with reaches and stretches as you run through your step routine.
- Add a pedal cycle to your desk. Bike pedals on a small stand can slide under your desk so you can pedal away while working on documents, typing, or taking phone calls. This is a good way to burn calories while sitting down.
- Workout when you watch TV. Ready to queue up the next episode of your favorite Netflix show? Hop on the treadmill or exercycle and maintain a steady pace throughout your viewing time.
- Try out a weight vest. Any small workout can have its effects instantly maximized with added weight, A vest allows you to add weight slowly, and can turn a walk around the block into a serious workout.
- Experiment with a new workout every month. Sometimes resolutions fail for the simplest of reasons – boredom. Make a commitment to sign up for a new sample class at a local gym or studio at the start of every month. You can choose from exciting classes like kickboxing or yoga with goats, or tamer activities like water aerobics or tai chi in the park at dawn.
Even if your 15 minute morning workout is all you get in on any particular day, that counts as a win. On days when you exercise more, you can bring yourself closer to achieving one of your goals. The important thing when keeping your resolution is to make it fun and easy! As with any fitness regimen, when starting a new routine, you should check with your doctor. Dr. Strasburger can help you identify the best plan for you.