Turning Fitness Resolutions into Habits

How to be physically active through 2022 and beyond

In the days leading up to the winter holidays, the gym is a barren wasteland of undusted equipment. Even at peak hour, it’s rare to queue at the coveted cables; dropped barbells cast echoes across the building. People prefer to hibernate as the days grow shorter, but an interesting phenomenon occurs during the last two weeks in December. As the calendar flips toward 2022, the gym begins to swell.

It starts the day after Christmas. People have their resolution insight and are eager for a head start. Loved ones acknowledged their newfound athletic enthusiasm, and have gifted crisp, colorful, name-brand athleisure. Men don squeaking sneakers; they hobble across the floor, rolling on the edges of their feet, trying desperately to avoid new shoe blisters. Women come in beat to perfection (which, if you don’t know, is an expression that means their full-face makeup is flawless). They wear their long hair loose — it swings as they sway — and I fight the urge to offer them a hair tie.

I recognize none of these people, and I’m here five days every week. Typically, I like making friends at the gym, but in the days after Christmas, it’s futile. I may not recognize them, but I’m familiar with the archetypes. They stick around for a few weeks. Some even until the end of February. The majority fall in line with most Americans, quitting by February 1st, and ultimately breaking their resolution to stay healthy after just 32 days.

The gym can be an intimidating place for beginners. Many who swarm the facilities post-holidays are ignorant of gym etiquette and have a propensity to abuse the equipment, which in turn can lead to injuries that end resolutions. My best advice for beginners is to consult with a certified personal trainer (CPT), present at most fitness centers. However, I must acknowledge the hypocrisy in that suggestion because I refused to consult with a trainer when I started. I was too anxious, and frankly, too broke as an undergrad working three jobs to meet rent on my cockroach-infested apartment.

So, if you’re unable to work with a trainer for whatever reason, but hopeful that you can be the New Year anomaly who sticks it out past day 32 and beyond, then I’d like to offer you advice on how to achieve it. Although I’m not a CPT, I have been a devoted, self-taught fitness freak for 10+ years, and it all started with my own resolution.

Four Ways to Turn Your Resolution into a Habit

Ease Into Routine

Have you ever started a new hobby by buying a bunch of expensive equipment only to feel overwhelmed and ultimately disappointed with your progress? *Raises Hand.* I’m notorious for giving up if I’m not immediately somewhat decent, and I’m also guilty of initially buying too many tools that I have no idea how to use. It’s a common psychological phenomenon. One that can be tackled by setting small goals within your hobby, sticking to the basics, and spending one-on-one time with experts either through Youtube videos or in person.

Developing a fitness routine is a lot like beginning a new hobby. You can easily spend too much money on equipment only to feel overwhelmed by the myriad of workouts and information available to you, and it’s easy to experience disappointment if you’re not immediately seeing results. Don’t fall into this trap.

At first, all you need is your body. If you’re intimidated by weights, mats, bands, etc., then stick to cardio. If you’re in a gym, use that treadmill time to familiarize yourself with where certain equipment is and watch how other people use it. Over time, you’ll find it’s not so intimidating. If you’re at home, start with video workout routines or jog around your neighborhood. Look on Instagram or Youtube for instructors that fit your personality and your goals. I follow four different Instagram accounts that help inspire me to do certain workouts when I need a little motivation.

Most importantly, be patient. You’re not expected to lift heavy weights or run marathons overnight. Your muscles will be tired. Weight won’t miraculously fall from your body. What is important is developing the routine first and focusing on how exercise makes you feel. Yeah, it can suck while you’re in the thick of it but try to gauge how routine exercise affects your overall perspective and mood. Once you’ve grown comfortable in your routine, then you can expand your repertoire and develop new skills over time (rock climbing, anyone?).

Decrease Friction

The top reason our resolutions don’t stick is a self-aware lack of discipline (52%), followed by busy schedules and lacking the proper time to see them through (43%). These areas require decreasing friction, or more simply put, making exercise effortless. Decide which hour in your day is less frequently interrupted and make that your designated time to work out. If it’s in the early morning, try sleeping in your athleisure. That way you can roll over and get straight to it. If it’s immediately after work, keep your gym bag in your car as well as a protein-loaded snack to stave off hunger.

For increased energy, I use kratom. I buy it from a certified vendor. The green Maeng Da blend offers clean energy, whereas caffeine makes me sweaty, upsets my stomach, and provides a wallop of social anxiety if I take too much. If caffeine doesn’t negatively affect you, then this works perfectly fine as a pre-workout. Just don’t mix caffeinated beverages with pre-workout powders as many are loaded with caffeine.

The most important thing is to plan your routine before you get to the gym. To borrow a phrase from the French chefs, mise en place. In the culinary world, this means establishing your workspace with ingredients and utensils that act as visual queues, alerting you to the next step in the process, thus developing flow. We can apply this to our mental landscape and workout routine: Write down your exercises (how many sets and reps). Know what muscles you’ll attend to, which machines you’ll use, and have a backup plan if the equipment you intended to use is occupied (as is typically the case post-holidays). A plan gets you in the door. A backup plan keeps you from leaving prematurely.

Make it Public

Publicity yields accountability. If you’re hesitant to announce your fitness resolution online out of fear you won’t commit, then that is precisely the sign you need to make it public. Realistically, no one is keeping score but you. Quite the opposite. Most people will support your fitness journey because practically everyone in the world is struggling with an inability to stay active.

Making your resolution public keeps you accountable — you’ll want to show off your successes. It can also foster a supportive community. Find a friend who will work out with you either in person or online. Help hold each other accountable and celebrate your accomplishments. If you’re tackling the gym for the first time, going with a friend can alleviate a lot of the anxiety that comes from going alone.

Small, Immediate Rewards

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when embarking on a healthier lifestyle is treating exercise and healthy eating as punishment. If you think green vegetables and bicep curls are punishment, then you’re unlikely to ever develop good habits. Eating healthy and working out should feel rewarding because it is rewarding. A healthy lifestyle breeds baseline contentment: Chronic positivity. In the beginning, it will be difficult to substitute berries for chocolate. It will feel unnatural to take a jog after work instead of drinking a beer. Change is hard. When it’s hard to find the intrinsically positive elements, that’s when we get creative and make our own.

This is not an arena for long-term rewards. None of that, “if I lose X amount of weight by X date, then I’ll book a cruise, buy a new gadget, etc., etc.” That doesn’t work here. As psychologist Wendy Wood suggests in her book, Good Habits, Bad Habits: When it comes to making a devoted, daily change, gifting yourself small and frequent rewards is key. Sometimes, but very infrequently, it’s okay if the reward is seemingly counterproductive. It’s fine to reward yourself with your favorite food after a week of sticking to your exercise routine. An unrealistic goal is saying you’ll never eat pizza again. Saying that almost assures you’ll fail, and most likely, eat more pizza than you would have normally. If pizza is your favorite food, and you’ve completed your goals for the entire week, then go ahead and eat that pizza. Guilt-free junk food is the best-tasting junk food.

Other ways you can reward yourself, or at least make the experience more pleasurable, include listening to your favorite podcast only when working out. Or watching your favorite TV show only while on the treadmill. What I do, because I am admittedly a weirdo, is buy myself colorful, frame-flattering Gymshark leggings and crop tops. My entire wardrobe, aside from my workout gear, is thrifted in an attempt to cut down on textile waste. Gymshark is how I reward myself. I like the way I look in those clothes — I feel strong and sexy — and I love matching patterns and colors so that preparing for the gym is fun.

No matter what 2022 entails, remember that you can pick up exercising at absolutely any time, no matter how long it’s been since your last workout. Don’t wait for the next “new year.” Any movement is better than no movement.

Remember:

Ease into the routine: Crunches while you watch TV, a quick jog before you make dinner. Commit to some physical activity every day and try to keep the time of day consistent.

Decrease friction. Have your gym bag ready to go in the car. Keep your weights beside the couch.

Make your journey public, and even better, share it with a friend.

Finally, acknowledge the positives and reward yourself frequently for your accomplishments. You deserve it.