You’re treating a marathon like a sprint.

Slow and steady habit change might not be appealing, but it’s a lot more effective than the “I want it ALL and I want it NOW!” mentality. Small changes stick better because they aren’t intimidating, if you do them right they will be sustainable.  

If you have a lot of bad habits today, the last thing you need to do is remodel your entire life overnight. Want to lose weight? Stop it with the crash diets and excessive exercise plans. Instead of following a super restrictive plan that bans anything fun, add one positive habit per week. For example, you could start with something easy like drinking more water during your first week. The following week, you could move on to eating 3 fruits and veggies every day. And the next week, you could aim to eat a fistful of protein at every meal.

You don’t believe in yourself.

A failure to act can cripple you before you leave the starting line. If you’ve tried (and failed) to set a New Year’s resolution (or several) in the past, I know it might be hard to believe in yourself. Doubt is a nagging voice in your head that will resist personal growth with every ounce of its being. The only way to defeat doubt is to believe in yourself. Who cares if you’ve failed a time or two? This year, you can try again and with belief in yourself you can succeed. 

Too much thinking, not enough doing.

The best self-help book in the world can’t save you if you fail to take action. Yes, seek inspiration and knowledge, but only as much as you can realistically apply to your life. If you can put just one thing you learn from every book or article you read into practice, you’ll be on the track to success.  

You’re in too much of a hurry.

If it was quick-and-easy, everybody would do it, so it’s in your best interest to exercise your patience muscles. 

You don’t enjoy the process.

Is it any wonder people struggle with their weight when they see eating as a chore and exercise as a dreadful bore? The best fitness plan is one that causes the least interruption to your daily life. The goal isn’t to add stress to your life, but rather to remove it.

The best of us couldn’t bring ourselves to do something we hate consistently, so make getting in shape fun, however you’ve got to do it. That could be participating in a sport you love, exercising with a good friend or two, joining a group exercise class so you can meet new people, or giving yourself one “free day” per week where you forget about your training plan and exercise in any way you please.

You’re trying too hard.

Unless you want to experience some harsh cravings, don’t deprive your body of pleasure. The more you tell yourself you can’t have a food, the more you’re going to want it. As long as you’re making positive choices 80-90% of the time, don’t sweat the occasional indulgence.

You don’t track your progress.

Keeping a written record of your training progress will help you sustain an “I CAN do this” attitude. All you need is a notebook and a pen. For every workout, record what exercises you do, the number of repetitions performed, and how much weight you used if applicable. Your goal? Do better next time. Improving your best performance on a regular basis offers positive feedback that will encourage you to keep going.

You have no social support.

It can be hard to stay motivated when you feel alone.  The good news? You’re not alone: far from it. Post a status on Facebook asking your friends if anybody would like to be your gym or accountability buddy. If you know a co-worker who shares your goal, try to coordinate your lunch time and go out together so you’ll be more likely to make positive decisions. Join a support group of like-minded folks on Facebook, LinkedIn, or elsewhere on the internet. Strength in numbers is powerful, so use it to your advantage.

You know your what but not your why.

The biggest reason why most New Year’s resolutions fail: you know what you want but you not why you want it.

Yes: you want to get fit, lose weight, or be healthy… but why is your goal important to you? For example:

Do you want to be fit so you can be a positive example that your children can admire and look up to?

Do you want to lose fat so you’ll feel more confident and attractive in your body than ever before?

Do you want to be healthy so you’ll have increased clarity, energy, and focus that would carry over into every single aspect of your life?

Whether you’re getting in shape because you want to live longer, be a good example, boost your energy, feel confident, or have an excuse to buy hot new clothes. Forget about any preconceived notions and be true to yourself.  

• • The more specific you can make your goal,
• o SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based
• • The more vivid it will be in your imagination,
• • The more encouraged you’ll be,
• • The more likely it is you will succeed (because yes, you CAN do this!).

 

Keep Your Fitness Plans On Track During The Holidays

 

1. Schedule Your Workouts

Sitting down on the weekend and planning your workouts for the week ahead can be the most effective 15 minutes you spend on your health and fitness. By writing your workouts into your schedule, you’ll be more likely to regard them as protected time and actually do them.

Just stay flexible by checking in a couple of times during the week to make adjustments as soon as you know about things that have popped up. This lets you create a back-up plan for those extra busy days, rather than being caught off guard and having to ditch your workout.

2. Put Exercise First

By far, the best way to ensure that you don’t miss a workout is to do it first thing in the morning. Not only does this guarantee that unforeseen interruptions in your schedule won’t interfere with exercise, but studies have shown that our will power is higher early in the day before we’ve had to exert a lot of self-control.

Devoting the first 20 to 30 minutes of each day to exercise not only makes it more likely to happen, but an early morning workout could help you fight food carvings throughout the day, too.

3. Recruit an Exercise Buddy 

Another great way to motivate yourself over the holidays is to make a pact with a friend or group of friends. Even if you don’t workout together, checking in with someone else daily will make you think twice about skipping a session.

If your friends are all couch potatoes, head online to find an accountability partner. Around the holidays especially, social media is bursting with workout challenges and support networks.

If you can’t find anything in your social media feed, check out the forums on fitness-oriented sites and apps, like MyFitnessPal and Spark People.

4. Plan Ahead for Travel 

If you’ll be spending the holidays away from home, it’s imperative that you have a quick and easy travel workout in your repertoire.

This needn’t be your typical high-quality workout to be effective. A simple routine consisting of three to five exercises you can do with no equipment in a very small space is enough to keep you on track until you can get back to your usual routine.

The five exercises we suggest for our clients are one-legged balance stands, push-ups (modified if necessary), body squats,  basic crunches and prone opposite arm and leg raises (swimmers.)  Doing two or three circuits with little rest between exercises will give you a cardiovascular workout as well as maintain your muscular strength and endurance.

 5. And Squeeze in Mini-Workouts

One more thing: Because you might not get to exercise every day during the holidays, or the workouts you do get in might not be as robust as usual, try to focus on sneaking in short bursts of activity as often as you can throughout each day.

These “activity snacks” can be as simple as a trip up and down the stairs in your home, a walk around the block with the grandkids or a few deep knee bends during the commercial breaks when you’re watching football.

Studies have shown that walking just over a mile a day or doing three four-minute bouts of high-intensity exercise per week may be enough to help you maintain your weight and fitness level. By using the tips provided here, you should have ample time and motivation to do that much or more this holiday season.

Post Workout Recovery Tips

 

1. Cool down

The last thing you want to do after a hard workout is to put in even more effort or work, but that’s exactly what you should do. Take at least five to six minutes to focus on your breath as you stretch out the major muscles you just worked.  

Stretching eases muscle tension, enhances blood flow, boosts mobility, and promotes the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tired muscles, which all help facilitate repair and recovery, helping your body grow stronger.

2. Drink up

It’s important to replenish your body’s water supply after you’ve exerted yourself and sweat so much of it out. Besides lubricating joints to help ward off aches, proper hydration also helps regulate body temperature and prevent muscle cramps and dizziness. Plus, you need enough flow to shuttle all the nutrients that promote recovery to your muscles, heart, brain, and more.

And don’t forget to sip on water before and during your workout, too. If you only drink when you feel thirsty like so many people do, you’re already overexerted and on the spectrum of dehydration. Your body also absorbs it better when you sip over longer periods of time as opposed to guzzling a bunch right after exercise.

3. Give yourself a massage

Foam rolling feels really good, and that’s because it’s essentially a massage. Using a foam roller helps break up muscle “adhesions” that can cause soreness or inhibit performance.

A massage gun can help in a similar way, and if you don’t have either, a lacrosse or tennis ball can do the trick. Follow the product instructions for use, and if using a DIY method, have a personal trainer or physical therapist demonstrate the right way to do it.

4. Feel the chill

There’s a reason athletes regularly soak in an ice bath (yes, a tub filled with ice-cold water!). Hydrotherapy has been shown to reduce inflammation and improve blood flow, two key components to recovery.

If you’re not quite ready for an official ice bath, that’s okay— the same benefits can be absorbed through taking a cold shower!

5. Try compression garments

You can find snug-fitting compression garments for most major body parts—calves, knees, hands, elbows, back, you name it—and they help tame or prevent pain and delayed soreness by slightly squeezing muscles to improve circulation and reduce inflammation.

They are also thought to help remove lactic acid—which builds up in muscles following high-energy exercise, leading to pain—especially in runners. Beyond improving comfort, relieving or preventing pain helps you stay on track with your health goals and promotes improved flexibility and range of motion.

6. Schedule rest

Of course, you take a breather after a workout, but you should designate specific days during the week where you don’t do much at all. A lot of times the mindset is that you need to workout constantly to reach your goals. But seven days a week is too much—your muscles need time to repair in order to get stronger and grow, so build rest days into your exercise regimen.

That doesn’t mean lounge around (sorry!). Doing some light activity that gets your body moving—like a walk, hike, bike ride, light swim, or game of tag—enhances muscle recovery without straining them by boosting blood flow.

7. Do a quick body check

When you’re done working out, take a moment to assess how you feel. One of the best ways to keep soreness or injury at bay is to not overexert yourself. Your goal should be to challenge yourself without punishing yourself. In other words, go hard, but not so hard that you pay the price with soreness the next day. You’ll know you hit the sweet spot if you walk away from your workout feeling challenged, but also strong and energized. You should never leave a workout feeling drained and spent. If you do, dial it back next time.

8. Feed your muscles

In order to build muscle strength or bigger muscles in general, pay close attention to the foods you eat after exercise. It’s best practice to eat something within an hour of completing your workout.

Savage recommends eating a balance of healthy carbs, lean protein, and healthy fat—all of which help facilitate the changes your body needs to make physical progress. For example, a slice of whole grain toast with peanut butter and sliced bananas or a cup of Greek yogurt with fresh berries would fit the bill.

It’s also important to replenish the electrolytes lost through sweating. These minerals play an essential role in fluid regulation and muscle contraction—and lacking in them can lead to muscle cramps or weakness, dizziness, a headache, and other unpleasant symptoms. Most fresh fruit contains electrolytes, and sipping on coconut water is also a good way to boost your levels.

9. Get hot, then cold

When you’re feeling sore after a tough workout, apply heat to help relax and calm muscles, then switch to ice to reduce pain and inflammation. This combo is ideal—then stretch out your muscle.  

10. Prioritize sleep

Bedtime is when our muscles get the chance to recover from exercise, and sleep deprivation prevents protein synthesis needed to repair your muscles.

Create a sleep routine that helps you doze off. In order to sleep soundly all night we recommend creating a soothing ritual, which can include practicing a quick meditation, dimming the lights, or diffusing a relaxing scent like lavender.

Practices To Handle Holiday Stress

Set your intention to enjoy the holidays as much as you can. By making the conscious decision to open yourself to true well-being and happiness, you’ll be more likely not to miss those uplifting moments and even begin to have your radar out for them. Psychiatrist Dan Siegel argues that by setting your intention, you “prime” your brain to be ready for positive experiences. And this can spur a positive cycle of happiness: Research by psychologist Barbara Fredrickson shows that when we allow ourselves to feel positive emotions, we become more open and sensitive to future positive experiences, bringing us even more of those good feelings down the line.

Savor any moments of well-being when they’re here. Don’t just know that you’re feeling good. Let your awareness savor how the experience registers in your body and mind for 15 or 30 seconds. (Neuropsychologist Rick Hanson calls this “taking in the good.”) Research by Fred Bryant, a professor of psychology at Loyola University, has found that savoring positive experiences strengthens our positive response to them. And neuroscience studies have shown that the longer we hold an emotionally stimulating experience in our awareness, the more neural connections form in our brains to strengthen the trace of that experience in our memory.

Take a break, regain your focus. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything on your To Do list, remember to take a few breaths. Take a break and enjoy a cup of tea or a hot bath. Try some yoga or exercise. Or get out of the doing mode for a little while and let yourself just relax. It can be challenging to disengage from the clutch of activity and connect with the moment in a restful way. But research suggests that it’s worth the effort to slow down and regain your focus: A recent study out of Harvard found that a wandering mind—typical in our multitasking culture—is a strong cause of unhappiness. 

Practice gratitude. Don’t take your good fortune for granted. Consciously reflect on all the blessings in your life each day. Express your appreciation directly to loved ones and friends when you’re with them. You and they will both feel the joy of loving connection. In a study by Martin Seligman, a leader in the field of positive psychology, people who considered themselves severely depressed were asked to write down three good things that happened each day for 15 days. At the end of the experiment, 94 percent of these subjects had a decrease in depression and 92 percent said their happiness increased. A study published earlier this year in the journal Psychological Science found that people who expressed gratitude to others felt significantly closer to those people afterward.

Practice generosity. Neuroscience research shows that performing an altruistic act lights up the same pleasure centers in the brain as food and sex! Whenever you feel the impulse to be generous, act on it. As you do, notice the expansive feelings in your body and mind. Without expecting anything in return, notice how good it feels inside when you see someone happy because of your sincere generosity. It can be as simple and profound as being fully present for a friend, sharing the gift of your caring and attention. Or when you open the door for someone, consider the positive impulse behind that act. Anytime you do something that contributes to the well-being of another, let yourself feel the joy of generosity. And be sure to include yourself in your generosity practice.

Play and have fun. Remember what it was like when you were a kid during the holidays? Let yourself experience that again. Be around kids if you can. Tune into and take delight in their enthusiasm. Singing or dancing are excellent ways to get out of your head and open to joy. As David Elkind, author of The Power of Play, writes, “Decades of research has shown that play is crucial to physical, intellectual, and social emotional development at all ages.”

Finally, remember that happiness is contagious: Research shows that happiness can spread like a virus across three degrees of separation; if you’re happy, you increase the odds that your close friends and family will be happy, too. So the more you can stay connected to your own happiness, the more you help others get in touch with their own well-being. We all benefit when you can awaken the joy within you. Happy Holidays!