New Year - new goals!

Welcome to 2024! Since the new year, I've been hearing a lot about 2024 plans, both from new starters and established regulars who want to up their game. It's normal in January to start thinking about goals and resolutions. According to Forbes, around 40% of New Year's Resolutions are about exercising more, so, as you can imagine, I hear a lot of them. However, the same article reported that 21% of people give up their resolution in under a month, with a further 34% lasting only three months.

I don't actively market to the New Year's Resolution crowd because I believe that long-term behaviour change is the key to improving your quality of life, and that repeated failure may have a negative effect on self-esteem.

However, the New Year is as good a time as any to make positive changes to your lifestyle, so if you've made resolutions, here are my tips for developing new habits that will change your life for the better!

1. You are good enough. Nearly all of my beginners confess to some insecurity or other. The truth is that all beginners struggle with new movement - everything we teach is a skill, and making mistakes is part of that process. Our teachers understand that - and we've seen it all before - so we would never judge someone harshly for trying and failing. We also don't mind what size you are or what brand of clothes you wear. We care that you move to feel good.

2. Make gradual changes. If in December you didn't have an exercise regime, don't start by working out five times per week. The Chief Medical Officer's physical activity guidelines are what we should all be aiming for (in brief: each week 150 minutes of cardio plus 2 strength training sessions); however, start one step at a time. You can expect habit formation to take around 10 weeks. Your new habit gets progressively easier, so you only have to maintain their motivation until the habit forms. So it makes sense to start by adding one new activity every 10 weeks until you've reached your target activity level, ensuring that you have established your new routine before adding in something else.

3. Make long-term plans. If you have a very specific goal, such as fitting into a wedding dress, then a "12-week body transformation" plan will provide you with that. After 12 (likely gruelling) weeks, you will have a transformed body. But if you go back to your old habits on week 13, you'll soon be back where you started.

4. Set meaningful goals. When setting your goal, think about what is meaningful to you. Your instinct might be 'to lose weight,' but is there a deeper need underlying that, such as avoiding the diabetes that runs in your family or feeling more self-confident? Taking time to reflect on the deeper meaning beyond the superficial goal can be very powerful when your motivation wanes.

5. Hold yourself accountable. Writing down your goals and tracking them can be a really helpful tool. There are apps that you can use, or you can simply write it on a piece of paper as follows:

My long-term goal _____________________________

My short-term plan (e.g., ‘I will take Pilates every week’)

(When and where) ______________ I will _____________________

You can then create a calendar with a tick sheet to tick off every time you do your workout - once you're up to ten, pat yourself on the back and rewrite your plan. It's like a grown-up's version of a reward chart!

6. Do something you love. Not everyone likes exercise; in fact, we are hardwired to avoid it unless it is rewarding or necessary. So, your best chance is to make it rewarding - and what that means will vary from person to person. Outdoors/indoors, loud music/silence, big groups/private lessons, high intensity/low impact, competitive sport/non-competitive. Think about what suits you - there's an exercise out there for everyone - you just need to find which ones are right for you!

In conclusion, the New Year provides a great opportunity to embark on positive lifestyle changes, and by adopting these tips, you can ensure that your resolutions lead to lasting improvements in your well-being.