We’re a week into the New Year and how many of us are already finding it hard to stay on track with resolutions? I know a lot of people wait until they’re a week in to start acting on the resolutions and I’m writing this to help everyone stick to what they set out.

Unfortunately, I have no magic tricks to help you stick to the exact resolution you decided upon but I am going to outline a few steps backwards that will help you reset resolutions and make them a lot easier to maintain.

The first step is in outlining what your resolution is. Common ones we often hear are to “Lose Weight”, “Tone Up”, Get Fitter”, Eat Healthier”, “Study More”, etc., All of these are very difficult to define and measure. This brings us onto the SMART principle. This is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Timely.

 

Specific & Measurable – These often go hand-in-hand as being specific often makes it measurable. Have a definite goal that you can say whether you reached it or not. “I want to lose 5kg”, “I will eat healthy 80% of the time”, ‘I want to lift 100kg in the bench press”, “I want to run 5km in under 22 minutes” etc,. The options are endless once they can be measured in some way and are specific to what you want.

 

Achievable & Realistic – Your goals must be something that you can achieve and are realistic for your self. If someone has no history of physical activity and is quite overweight then hoping to run a mile in under 5 minutes is neither achievable or realistic. To complete a 5k in a combination of running and walking would be a much more realistic and achievable goal. The reality of your goals will be very much affected by your current and past behaviours. If you currently exercise once a week and want to start exercising 5 times a week it may be too big a jump and unrealistic for you. If you want to achieve 500 points in your Leaving Cert and are currently studying all ordinary level subjects then it is not achievable based on your current behaviour.

 

Timely – Having a time limit to achieve your goal will help keep you on track towards it. If I said I wanted to run a 5k it could be anytime in the rest of my life. If I said I wanted to run a 5k by Easter then I have a specific time to complete my task and something to work towards.

 

There are numerous examples of SMART goals for every aspect of life but the real key to achieving them is to break them down into smaller, behavior-o

 

riented goals. To complete a 5k by Easter is an outcome goal. We must take a few steps backwards and break this into a number of smaller behaviour goals. Primarily you and the actions you take affect behaviour goals. Not only will this allow us to feel we have achieved something when we complete the 5k but it also helps us to reach many smaller accomplishments along they way to increase motivation.

 

Some of the steps I recommend for the 5k are:

• Download a Couch to 5k app on your phone.
• Look up some 5k ‘Fun-Runs’ in your local area (Timely).
• Set aside two separate 1-hour blocks a week that will allow you time to go walking/running.
• Tell some close friends/family about your goal and see if some of them would also like to participate or will simply help you stay on track.
• Write down a set distance/time that you will be able to run for at the end of each week (Mini-Goals/Achievements).

 

 

What happens if you don’t complete one of the weekly goals? Don’t worry! It’s not the end of the world. Many things you can’t control can get in the way such as family crises, illness or busy times at work. These are entirely out of your control and there is no point worrying about them. The most important thing is to get back on track and not fall completely off the wagon because of one bad session or week. One bad week over the course of 52 is a very small percentage.

 

Other examples of behaviour goals are:

• I will pack my gym gear and leave it in the car before bed so I can go to the gym straight after work/school tomorrow.
• I will plan a grocery shop so I have foods to prepare healthy meals for the next week.
• I will batch cook two different recipes and freeze them so I have healthy meals prepared for dinner and lunch.
• I will research Jim Wendler’s 531 so that I can increase my strength.
• I will go to training early and work on my weaker side/foot for 10 minutes.
• I will sign up for after-school study so I can ensure my homework is done every day and will help leave time for extra revision.
• I will join an online fitness group to help keep me accountable to my exercise goals.
• I will set an alarm on my phone to remind myself to switch to flight mode an hour before I plan to go to sleep.

 

 

 

 

These are just a few samples of behaviour goals that will help you reach your outcomes. Feel free to adapt these to your own needs.

 

There are a few different ways to help keep you on track. I previously mentioned telling family or joining a group to stay accountable. To take this a step further you can team up with one or two other people with different skills and traits to yourself. If you are very creative but a little disorganised then teaming up a training partner who is good at time keeping and organisation will compliment your skills very well. You can add variety to workouts or training sessions while they can plan times for them to go ahead.

 

Other people may make faster progress than you at the start but don’t worry about that. There are a number of reasons why progress may be slower for some but the key is to remain consistent. The person who sprints off the start line at a marathon may never even see the finish line while another runner could easily finish high up the placings by taking a slow and steady approach.

 

Celebrate reaching each behaviour goal with a small reward. It can be anything that’s important to you but often works best when it’s related to the goal such as buying a new pair of runners after completing your first 5k.

Different approaches and behaviours will work for everyone. They key is to remain consistent with your behaviours and if you find something that works, keep doing it!

 

 

If you would like any further guidance on your fitness or nutrition goals then contact me at fhsperformance@gmail.com.