Embarking on a fitness training regimen and losing weight are two of the most common New Year’s resolutions. According to Marist Poll, about 44% of Americans are planning to make resolutions this year and exercising more is the second most popular after weight loss. Although those resolutions are famous for falling by the wayside as gym memberships go unused and diets are abandoned, last year 60% of those polled stuck with their goals for at least part of the year.
The key to success when it comes to keeping up your fitness programs is setting attainable goals and finding ways to exercise that are fun and mesh with your lifestyle. The Cleveland Clinic advises: “If you’re currently a couch potato, don’t expect to be able to climb a mountain overnight. Instead, set a feasible goal such as walking for 30 minutes each day, and work your way up from there.” To help you keep your exercise goals on track for the New Year, we’ve got eight ways to approach fitness training that will put you on the path to success.
1. Body Weight Training
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), body weight training tops the list of fitness trends for 2015. In other words, kickin’ it old-school with exercises like push-ups and lunges that you can do in your living room with no equipment. No more excuses about not having time to make it to the gym!
Read Related: Kicking Butt & Taking Names: 13 Bootcamp Workouts for the Fitness Purist
2. Set Realistic Goals
Don’t resolve to run a marathon if you haven’t done more than chase toddlers for the past several years. The last thing you want to do is set yourself up for frustration and failure or, even worse, risk an injury. Start small, make a plan that you know you can stick to and focus your ultimate goal on something that will make you feel fantastic, not tortured.
3. Wearables
Fitness bands have been around for a few years and they keep getting better—in form and function. Tory Burch for Fitbit is just one of the increasing number of fitness trackers disguised as fabulous accessories. One of the huge advantages of using a wearable fitness device is that you can see all the little ways your fitness is improving that don’t necessarily show up in the mirror.
4. Do it Digitally
These days there’s a fitness app for every kind of workout you can imagine and many sync with fitness trackers to make planning, monitoring and maintaining your progress easier than ever. Online fitness programs are another of the major trends for 2015. Sites like Blogilates, Fitness Blender, yoga.com and Grokker and offer full-length workouts you can do at home.
5. Break Out of the Gym Rut
If you want to break free of the gym and still get out of the house, there are plenty of outdoor activities and fitness programs that make getting in shape fun. In addition to skiing, biking and hiking, there are easy workouts you can do with the equipment in your local park.
6. HIIT It
One of the most common excuses for skipping workouts—especially for busy moms—is not having three or four hours a week to devote to fitness training. Well, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) makes that a thing of the past. HIIT alternates short burst of very intense exertion with short periods of rest. You can apply this concept to just about any type of exercise and in only 20 minutes, you get the same benefits of 60+ minutes of a moderate intensity workout.
7.Find Your Niche
More and more boutique gyms are popping up across the country offering ultra specific fitness programs like treadmill workouts, aerial yoga, aqua-cycling to name a few. If you loved jumping rope as a kid, why not try Punk Rope? Want to channel your inner animal? Check out Animal Flow.
8. Functional Fitness
Functional fitness training focuses on working out the way you move in everyday life—walking up stairs, bending, lifting, etc. It’s a great way to incorporate exercise into your daily activities and avoid repetitive boring workouts. There are online programs like Evolve and functional fitness oriented gyms like Monkey Bar Gym with locations opening across the country.
