January is where gym memberships are born and often where gym memberships get put to rest. By the second Friday of the new year, most people’s fitness resolutions have flown right out the window and cancelled their gym memberships. You want to make your workout habits stick this year because you know that once you get into the swing of things and it becomes a habit, it’s going to be much easier to keep it going.

Abandoning your workout goals doesn’t have to be something that’s guaranteed. Instead, you can learn to put those habits in place so that you are sticking to them by the end of the year and not just quitting in the second week of the month. Buying yourself a reconditioned Apple Watch 8, the latest in athletics wear, and a whole kitchen’s worth of health goods, is a good start. But what comes next to help you to stick to those workout habits? Let’s take a look below.

Break It Down

Break your overall goals into realistic ones. If you know that you want to be in a completely different body shape by the end of the year, that can still be too big of a goal for you to get started with. Instead, recognise where your current fitness level is and craft your goals towards what you are now rather than what you want to be. Sure, you may aim to be somebody who could fit on the cover of a magazine, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to get there in the first month. Overcoming that idea is the first step.

Be Specific

Be specific with your workouts. There is no use in attending classes or signing up for classes that you’re not going to attend if you’re not going to be intentional in your workout. Lack of specificity is another pitfall that can really lead to an abandoned goal. So, instead of saying that you want to work out more, be specific and say that you want to work out once or twice a week instead. This way you can decide on goals that are more realistic for you and identify the right workout environment that suits you the best. If you’re motivated to be surrounded by other people, then join a class. If you don’t like being around other people when you exercise, then learn to go for walks. 

Change Your Mindset

Fix your mindset, and your motivation follows. If you believe you can’t do it, you’re not going to be able to do it. It’s as simple as that. Working on your mindset will help your motivation to follow because the mindset is another important piece of your workout puzzle. Acknowledge the fact that pursuing your workout goals isn’t easy and know that it’s not going to be easy throughout, but once you stay flexible and anticipate those setbacks. You can take it one workout at a time. By the end of the year, you’ll be grateful for the time you took and the pace you took because you know that the end goal was worth it.