5 Steps to a Successful New Year Fitness Plan

How to Make A New Year Fitness Plan You Will Use

Saying you want to work out and actually doing it are not the same thing. A New Year fitness plan can often get lost by the end of January or before. Here’s how you can make a realistic fitness plan that you will use for months to come.

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Step One: Know What You Like – What Types of Exercise do you Like?

Using equipment or exercises you don’t like is one of the biggest reasons for failure. If you hate lifting weights, then don’t pick that as your exercise plan. There are plenty of other exercises and pieces of equipment you can use instead that will help you get motivated to exercise.

If you hate something, you’re not going to do it. Don’t torture yourself. There are so many fun exercises that are healthy too.

New Year Fitness Plan — This post may contain affiliate links

Consider these:

Dance
Martial arts
Jumping on a Trampoline
Swimming
Taking various classes
Walking/Hiking
Cycling
Yoga

Look around your community for exercise opportunities. Think about the types of exercises you have done in the past that you have enjoyed. Then add these fun activities to your routine.

If your metabolism is off, though, you may need to do a Metabolic Renewal Plan first before you choose an exercise program.

Step Two: Use the short bits of time in your day to exercise.

We all know that exercising for an hour is ideal, but who has time or energy to devote to that regularly. Approach your fitness habit realistically. Start by exercising ten or fifteen minutes a day.

Or if you’re really out of shape, commit to walking in front of your television for one minute a day. Then increase that time each day or week. This will motivate you to exercise by starting with a small doable time frame.

If you sign up for a class, make sure that you have time in your schedule once or twice a week to attend that class. Then on the other days exercise ten or fifteen minutes.

Make exercise a daily habit for a short time and increase as you can. This will make it much easier to embrace a more permanent exercise routine into your life.

-> Download your Simple Weight Loss Checklist to RAMP UP your Weight Loss RESULTS this Week! <-

Step Three: Reward yourself for Reaching Exercise Goals

You have to know your “why” and get rewarded for reaching your goals in order to be successful with an exercise plan. Think about why you really want to start an exercise plan and who or why you are thinking about. Do you want to get in shape to attract a spouse? Or maybe you want to be in great shape so you can play with your kids and live a long healthy life with them. Whatever your “why” make sure you know it and write it down in a prominent place.

Some people like rewarding themselves at the end of a successful week. Food is not a good reward though unless it’s done in moderation. Think of as many rewards that you would like to have and make a list. Then choose a reward from that list at the end of each week or month.

Find a reward that’s motivating and still supports your overall fitness goals. For example, you can get a massage at the end of the week. You might purchase a new fitness outfit.

Step Four: Decide Whether You Will Exercise at Home, at a Gym, or Both

If you’re planning on exercising at home, here are a few factors to consider. There are advantages and disadvantages. This is actually my preferred place to exercise because I like to be at home a lot. I know I will not be motivated to go to a class away from home, so I exercise at home.

Pros of Exercising at Home:

No waiting in line to get on a piece of fitness equipment
No worries about affording a gym membership
You don’t have to brave the weather outdoors.
It’s more convenient and comfortable for you.

Cons of Exercising at Home:

You might have to buy some equipment.
You have to provide space in your home for equipment if you decide to use it.
It can be difficult to motivate yourself to exercise at home if there is no one else to exercise with.

Factors to Consider When Setting Up a Home Gym:

1.) Purpose

What’s the purpose of your home gym? Are you looking to increase muscle strength and toning? Are you interested in improving your heart and lung function? Both aerobic and strength training are great for overall health. However, you may not have room or the budget for both. First, decide the primary goal or purpose for your home gym.

2.) Space

How much space do you have in your home for your gym? If you’re short on space, then something compact like a foldaway treadmill may be a good option. Other options include a spin bike, and a fitness ball or yoga mat.

If you have plenty of room, then an elliptical or a home fitness center may be an option. You can also purchase a stair stepper or a treadmill that doesn’t fold away.

3.) Budget

Some fitness equipment can cost a lot. However, you don’t have to spend your life’s savings to get a nice home gym. In fact, you can get barely used equipment at a thrift store, on Craigslist, or on Facebook Marketplace. Many people buy high-end fitness equipment and then realize that they don’t like it or don’t have time to use it. You can take advantage of their mistake.

YouTube also has TONS of exercise videos that you can use. Since there are so many, you can enjoy a great variety of exercises depending on your mood for the day.

So if budget is a concern, don’t worry about buying equipment and use YouTube instead.

4.) Maintenance

Most fitness equipment requires regular maintenance. Before you purchase any fitness equipment, make sure you understand the maintenance requirements. For example, treadmills sometimes need to have their belts lubricated. They also need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Most equipment is easy to maintain as long as you know how.

5.) Placement

Where are you going to place your home gym equipment? What additional equipment or items do you need? For example, many people have a television and/or stereo system in their home gym. Is your lighting good? Do you need a fan for air circulation? Do you want or need a mirror to make sure you have the right form?

Before you purchase anything, make sure you’ve taken these five decisions into consideration. Once you’ve decided what you want to include in your home gym and you’ve evaluated space and budget, it’s time to compare equipment. Price new and used equipment. Look for brands with a reputation for quality.

A home gym is a convenient and comfortable way to stay in shape. If you’re looking to lose weight and get in shape, consider adding a home gym. You can achieve your health and fitness goals in no time.

-> Download your Simple Weight Loss Checklist to RAMP UP your Weight Loss RESULTS this Week! <-

Step Five: Stay Motivated to Exercise

You’ve decided to exercise. Great! You know where you want to exercise. Great! You have all the equipment, YouTube videos or memberships that you need.

Now you need to make sure that you stay motivated and figure out a way to make these exercise routines an easy part of your day and week.

1.) Make sure you know your “Why” and revisit that often.

When thinking about why you want to exercise, keep asking yourself “why” until you get to the real reason.

When someone asks you why you want to exercise, you might say, “I want to get in better shape.” Keep going with that and ask yourself “Why do I want to get in better shape?” Maybe you want to feel better. Then ask yourself, “Why do I want to feel better?” You might say you want to be able to play with your kids or even walk your daughter down the aisle with confidence. Now you are getting down to the real why and can use that reason to motivate yourself.

When you know your real “Why”, you can visualize yourself doing that. As you’re exercising or thinking about exercising, picture yourself playing with your children outside. Or picture yourself walking your daughter down the aisle with confidence.

Exercising can also help you feel good. It can make you feel healthier. And it can help you live a longer life.

There are many ways to help yourself stay motivated to exercise. Keep thinking and looking for ideas that will help you stay motivated to keep up your exercise routine.

2.) Change Things Up If Needed

If you’re the type of person that gets bored with exercise and doesn’t like going to the same gym or using the same pieces of equipment at home, then use all the options available to you.

If you have a gym membership it’s pretty easy to change machines or change classes. This should help you keep from getting bored with your exercise routine.

If you are exercising at home, consider several inexpensive pieces of equipment if you’re afraid you will get bored. Keep things like a fitness ball, weights, DVDs, and stretch bands on hand for times when you need to change your routine a bit.

Are you having trouble losing weight with exercise? Your metabolism might be off – check a Metabolic Renewal Plan first before you choose an exercise program.

Change where you exercise

Exercise inside with equipment one day, go for a run or walk another day, and exercise to a YouTube video another day.

If you really like the same exercise every time, then go for it. Some people love running or walking and don’t ever get bored with that. Other people like a certain piece of equipment and don’t need a lot of variety.

Know yourself and whether you love routine or you love variety. If you find yourself being unmotivated when thinking about your next exercise time, ask yourself some questions and get to the root of the reason. Then adjust your place, time, or equipment and your New Year fitness plan will be back on track.

Related: How to Get Motivated to Exercise

3.) Join Up With a Friend

If you find yourself wanting to exercise less and less, see if you can find a friend that wants to be your accountability partner. This person doesn’t even have to live close to you. You can have a local friend that meets you for exercise, but you can also have a long-distance friend who you check in with daily.

Both of you benefit if you know that someone will be checking in daily to see if you are exercising that day.

4.) Track your goals

You can’t know whether you are being successful if you don’t track your exercise goals. Set a goal like, “I will exercise 4 days a week.” Then have a paper or a checklist on your phone where you can mark off every time you exercise that week.

You can also track a goal like “I will not eat sugar.” Then every day you don’t eat sugar, you can mark that off. If you find yourself never marking off your goal, then you can reevaluate that goal. You might need to set a different goal, get an accountability partner, or look for ways to make that goal easier to meet.

You could set a weight-loss goal and track your weight each week. If you see that scale moving in the right direction by tracking it on paper, that will help you stay motivated to keep going.

You could also set an endurance or speed goal depending on your fitness program. If you take yoga, you might set a goal to achieve a complicated pose. If you’re in martial arts, maybe you can achieve a new belt.

Goal Tracking Sheets to Use

Take before pictures and measurements. This might be difficult but see but after a few weeks, you can look back at these things and see that you have made progress. This will motivate you to keep going.

Get this free exercise Goal Tracking Sheet by download to help you.

Write down the workouts you have done. Track the weight you have lost. You can even write down your feelings after each workout. Write down things like whether you thought the workout was easy or hard. State the level of exertion you felt. State how you feel the next day or after the workout.

Make sure you manage your expectations well from the beginning. Find exercises you enjoy. Track and celebrate your success. And realize that not every day will be successful or perfect but that you do a little bit each day and eventually succeed.

Find your favorite ways to exercise and celebrate your successes. Then your New Year fitness plan will work for you. You’ll feel better physically, mentally and emotionally when you exercise.