Did you know that most people give up on their New Year’s resolution by the second Friday of January?
It’s even got its own name, “Quitter’s Day”. This is the point at which around 88% of people give up on the promises they made to themselves.
A lot of us have given ourselves fitness goals and, after committing to jogging every morning then looking out the window at the miserable weather or getting distracted by some other equally important task, have decided to skip a day. And that skipped day tends to turn into a skipped week… I’m sure you can see where this is going.
If this describes the beginning, and end, of your fitness goals, don’t worry, this is not an article to shame you or tell you it’s OK to give up because 88% of the rest of us gave up as well. Instead, we’re going to delve into the reasons why people quit and how to get back to sticking to those New Year’s resolutions (and maintain those commitments throughout the year), because it’s never too late to make a fresh start.
The Short-Lived New Year's Fitness Rush
Every January, any gym owner will attest, there's a surge of enthusiasm for fitness. It’s as if the coming of the new year gives us the determination we were looking for to start reinventing ourselves. Like the enthusiasm you feel when starting a new project that you know will yield something great. But this initial burst of motivation is often short lived and fizzles out over the coming weeks.
Psychological Barriers to Sustaining Exercise Resolutions
Psychological barriers are the primary reason people give up on exercise. Perhaps it doesn’t feel how you were expecting it to. Going for that first morning jog felt great but doing it day after day doesn’t give you that same feeling and you’re now having to drag yourself out the door. Maybe you don’t think you’re reaping the benefits you thought it should be providing by now. How come you don’t feel stronger yet? When is the fat going to shift? When will your muscles start to show? Perhaps you’ve decided there are more important things to focus on than exercise, so you’ll do it after all those other things are done.
Unrealistic Expectations: Setting yourself a high bar to reach is not a necessarily bad thing, it’s good to strive for greatness. But if you set such high goals too soon, they can quickly feel unattainable, making it more likely that you will give up on them. Your goal may be to reach a certain weight in a set timeframe, and you may feel disheartened that you are not edging your way towards that goal as quickly as you had hoped or maybe you wanted to be able to lift x number of kilos but are stuck on a much lower weight.
Expectation of Instant Gratification: You set your goal and you want the results as soon as possible. Of course you do. You’re working towards a goal because you want to reach it, not just think about it. If you’re completely new to fitness, it’s hard to gauge how much time your fitness journey will take. The more experienced you are, the more realistic a timeframe you can set yourself to reach your fitness goals. Even then, there may be unforeseeable setbacks. Attaining your fitness goals requires patience, consistency and perseverance.
Lack of Accountability: Have you ever caught yourself making excuses to skip a workout, telling yourself reasons why you don’t really need to stick to the routine today? Believing them only because you want to, not because you know you should? When you have only yourself to push yourself to do what, deep down, you know is best for you, that, in itself, can be a difficult mental exercise.
Strategies for Sustaining Exercise Motivation Throughout the Year
So, those are the challenges we commonly face, but how do you overcome them? We’ll go over some strategies you can adopt to blast past these barriers and keep on track with your fitness goals:
Building Sustainable Habits for Long-Term Fitness Success: Stop tracking your short-term metrics. Focus more on your long-term goal instead. To reach your long term goal, you’re going to have to build habits. When you build habits that help you to consistently improve your fitness, you can be sure you’re always heading towards your target. Instead of starting an intensive workout regimen, as someone who is completely new to exercise, start with something less gruelling to begin with. The more unpleasant it feels, the more likely you will try and talk yourself out of doing it. Start small, give yourself no reason why you shouldn’t do it, then once you are fitter and you feel like you can challenge yourself further, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts.
Adapting Workouts to Fit Your Flexible and Unpredictable Lifestyle: Life is unpredictable. Work, family, sickness, all sorts of things can happen that will disrupt your routine. This can mean that we have to step out of our routine and respond to whatever demands our attention. This doesn’t mean you have to give up on your goals completely. This is an opportunity to practice flexibility and adaptability. If the disruption is temporary, get back to your routine as soon as possible. If it is a long-term change, you may have to redesign your routine entirely and make some adaptations.
The Power of Community Support: Surround yourself with other people who are on the same journey as you. You could join a fitness class, find a workout partner or chat about your fitness journey with others online. Other people provide us with a support system that can help us to stay on track. On those days when you feel like skipping a day of exercise, having someone around who you know is going to be checking in on your progress and who will remind you of your goals can really help keep you motivated.
Celebrating Small Wins: If you’ve been working out and are disappointed that you haven’t made as much progress as you’d hoped, stop that negative thinking right now. Progress is progress, no matter how small. Remember to celebrate your small wins, not just the big ones. Permit yourself to feel proud of small accomplishments, because in the end, they add up to become a small part of your great success.
So, it’s common for us to lose the drive and energy we initially had for our fitness goals, but you don’t have to join the 88%. Relight that spark by:
- Setting yourself realistic, attainable goals
- Building habits instead of relying on surges of motivation
- Adapting to the unpredictability of life
- Finding someone to prod you with a stick every time you try to weasel your way out of your fitness routine
- Celebrating every small step that takes you closer to your goal
Keep those promises you’ve made to yourself and get yourself one of our purposefully designed shirts to help you, and those around you, stay motivated. You’re going to crush it!
