How to create New Year’s Resolutions that actually stick

With the new year quickly approaching, it is time to re-evaluate those pesky New Year's resolutions. Each year we convince ourselves that this is the year we will actually commit to them, however, as soon as February hits, those goals are out of mind, out of site, just waiting for the new year to come around so that we can repeat the process once again. Don’t fall into the trap again this year. Instead, it is time to create New Year’s Resolutions that you know you will actually adhere to. 

S.M.A.R.T Goals

SMART goals are the most effective way to set goals as it will ensure that they are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Timely. Regardless of what goals you make, whether they are fitness related, work related or something in between, the SMART process will ensure that the goals created will be achievable and within reach. 

Specific

In order to keep yourself accountable it is important to make your goals as specific as possible, eliminating any areas of potential confusion. When constructing your goals ask yourself the following questions: Who is this goal designed for? What do you hope to achieve? When do you aim to achieve them? Where? Why are you setting this goal? By asking yourself these questions it allows you to reflect on why the goal is being made (which often adds as motivation and gives you that extra push). 

Measurable 

All goals need to have an element of measurement. What good does a goal do if you can’t measure the factors which will deem that goal to be successful? Rather than just saying you want to increase your squats, define the goal further with a measurable element. For example, a measurable aspect of a goal would include ‘aiming to complete 50 squats with a peach builder booty band’. 

Achievable

Whilst being ambitious is a great trait to have, it is important to not set yourself up for failure by making goals that are completely unachievable. To avoid doing so, break your goals down as you work through the SMART stages (specific, measurable and then achievable). To ensure all goals are achievable, break the goals down into measurements which can be reached within a few months. By doing so, the goals will be accommodating to both normal and unexpected elements of life which may arise and will therefore remove any excuses or games that your mind may try and play on you to trick you out from completing the goals. For example, if you want to achieve a total of 100 squats by the following new year, but that goal seems like a stretch as you have never completed a squat before, break the goal down into smaller chunks. Create a goal like ‘aim to increase squats by 10 reps each month’. 

Relevant

Similar to the reasoning as to why goals need to be achievable, it is also important for them to be relevant. What is the point in setting goals which are completely irrelevant? There is no point in even classifying them as goals if that is the case, so essentially it would be a waste of your time and effort. For example, don’t set a goal to run 5 km within 5 months if you have a broken leg and are not allowed to complete any exercise for 6 months. Another way to make your goals more relevant is to change the way your word them. For example, your goal may be to increase your glute muscles (aka. your peach) so rather than say ‘to gain 1kg of muscle within the gluteal region’ why not break it down by saying ‘to increase my weights and reps each month with strength training with resistance bands’ as therefore by increasing the weights and reps, the by-product of that change will be stronger glute muscles and a perkier peach!

Timely 

Finally, in order for a goal to be SMART, it needs to be time-bound. Setting a goal completion date is a great way to boost motivation and that inner drive to achieve the goal/s. No matter what your goal is, set a relevant and achievable goal date and stick to it. 

Unsure of what New Year’s Resolutions to make? If you are wanting to make them fitness related, why not push yourself and set a few goals in relation to your resistance bands? Strength training with resistance bands is the most efficient and effective way to incorporate a resistance based style of training into your own workout routine. Set yourself a small goal of aiming to complete a glute workout with resistance bands (make sure your goal is SMART of course!) and then go from there. Peach Builder’s Fitness Bands help to build a strong peach by targeting and activating the gluteus muscles, therefore increasing the muscle strength and definition within that area.