At the start of each year, nearly half of all Americans set New Year’s Resolutions.

Sadly, more than 9 out of every 10 people end up breaking their resolutions. When you break a promise to yourself, not only do you feel like a failure, you also send the subconscious signal to yourself that you are not worth the effort.

If you’ve set a fitness-related goal for 2017 and you want to keep your resolution rather than become a statistic, a lot of it comes down to mindset, attitude and willingness to make lifestyle adjustments.

Here are some tips from leading fitness experts on how you can actually keep your New Year’s Resolution and improve your own health and fitness over the next twelve months:

1. Schedule It -Just like any other important event on your calendar, make sure to write in some time for your workouts. Don’t allow yourself to schedule anything else during those time frames. Do your friends want to meet you for dinner? They can make plans with you after your workout. You’ll be extra hungry anyway.
2. Think Outside the Box - If your regular fitness routine starts to bore you, mix it up! Not a runner? Try Zumba instead. Not a dancer? Try martial arts. Dreading the Monday morning gym crowd? Try working out at home that day. If you get bored with the same old music that plays in your gym all the time, a quick Facebook or Google search can provide ideas for gyms that play music you actually like, and bring the fun back into fitness.
3. Have your workout clothes waiting for you. If you’ve been coming up with excuses for why you don’t have the time or the motivation to work out, stop giving yourself the opportunity to come up with those excuses. Instead, get your workout clothes and tennis shoes together the night before your workout. You might even consider keeping a backup set of clothes in your car or at work in case you ever forget your workout gear on your way out the door one morning.
4. Find a workout that you can do in bed. Yes, really. “Too tired to work out” isn’t an excuse anymore. There are plenty of ways you can bring fitness into your life in just a matter of minutes per day, either right before you go to sleep or shortly after you wake up. This fitness routine can be done with a pillow and is suitable for beginners.
5. Know That You Deserve It! When she headed to the Australian Open in 2017, tennis player Venus Williams was quoted as saying, “The mentality I walk on the court with is: I deserve this!” Become your own biggest cheerleader and know that you deserve health, longevity, fitness, endurance, strength, stamina, and the body of your dreams.

Try not to think of fitness as something you “have” to do, or even something you want to do for just a limited amount of time. Instead, think of it as a lifestyle adjustment that will lead to lasting, long-term results. Many people just like you are accomplishing their fitness goals each and every day - and you can, too.

Remember, you deserve it.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay by Hannah Wells

Today’s guest post by:

Paige Johnson loves everything fitness. From strength training to running to yoga, she infuses her workouts with variety and encourages others to do so as well. She writes about her own fitness journey and provides advice to others on LearnFit.org.