If you are like 91% of Americans making New Year’s resolutions this year, your goals for 2023 are fitness-related. In fact, 66% of those surveyed in a February 2022 study by Planet Fitness cited “wanting to be healthier” as a reason for upping their fitness game in the new year. Another 51% aimed to exercise “to feel better about themselves,” while 48% hoped “to look better” — all pretty relatable goals, right?
However, maintaining those resolutions is another matter entirely. That same study found that, on average, it takes 41 days for Americans to abandon their resolutions, meaning many of those ambitious fitness goals never even make it to Valentine’s Day. When asked to explain the lack of follow-through, 40% of the respondents expressed a decline in motivation; 29% claimed to have gotten bored with their new routines, and 28% reported struggling to keep up with them.
It’s no secret that the benefits of regular exercise are multifold, including better cardiovascular health, mobility, digestion, sleep, mental health and overall wellness. “There isn’t a physiological system in our body that isn’t improved by being more physically active,” Cedric Bryant, president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, told The Washington Post.
That said, if you’re unaccustomed to regular and intentional exercise, it can also be overwhelming — but theGrio is here to help. The key to any success is consistency and the best way to get into any new fitness routine is to approach it in easy, accessible intervals. So, why wait until the new year?
From now through January, we’ll be helping you make those resolutions count with a weekly assist from theGrio Fit. Each Wednesday, we’ll drop two fitness tips to help keep you motivated and inspire even more activity to help you power through those tough first few weeks. Check out the first two segments, above and below.
With any luck, our tips will help you breeze through the first 41 days of the year and put you on the path to long-term fitness success. But should you find yourself struggling, we love the acronym that Teddy Savage, head of health and fitness excellence at Planet Fitness, uses. It happens to coincide with theGrio Lifestyle’s 2023 resolution: “RESET.”
Rethink your exercise routine
Ease back into a routine
Stretch to maximize any workout and make sure muscles and joints stay safe from injury
Engage with people
Try something new
Source: Cision/Planet Fitness
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