It’s December and a lot of people are starting to think about making changes next year, thinking about New Years Resolutions, thinking maybe a "New Year, a New Me". Maybe it’s to lose some weight, or to get fit or to build some muscle. Whatever it is, New Years always seems like a great point in time to start.
Great, you got a goal. Now what? A goal without a plan is just a dream. Resolutions fall by the wayside more often than not because people have goals but no plan to reach them. So they walk into the gym in January and don’t know where to start, so most likely they’ll do 45 min. on the treadmill and go home. Or they stand in the kitchen wondering what they should eat. First off, you need a specific goal. To say I want to lose some weight or I wanna get fit is just too broad. Better is to say: My goal is to lose 10 lbs. or my goal is to get down to 15% body fat. Your goal needs to be attainable also, saying you want to lose 50 lbs. in a month is not very realistic and will set you up for failure and possibly low self-esteem when the month is over. A time frame is also a good idea where applicable. Have a date by which you want to reach your goal, otherwise it will be open ended and the goal may elude you forever.
Oh yea, a plan. You need to have a plan of action. It’s a good idea to write down your goal and look at it every morning before you start your day and every night before you go to bed. Same with your plan, write down the steps (or mini-goals) you are going to take to reach your overall goal. Daily goals, weekly goals, and step by step plans are very powerful tools. If it’s written down it’s more real than if it’s just in your head.
It’s the beginning of December, so you have plenty of time to formulate a realistic goal and a plan of action. A few minutes every day to study up on what you want to accomplish and take notes, find useful websites etc… and you’ll be ready for the 3rd step come New Year. Taking Action on your goals using your plan.
This year is perfect for resolutions, New Years Eve falls on a Friday, you can recover from partying on Saturday, take it easy on Sunday and start on your goals on Monday, the most popular day to start anything.
A few free websites that might be helpful:
First is Fitday.com an excellent site for tracking your calories, your weight, moods and body measurements. You can keep a journal, get long term reports and analyze your stats. You get a lot for free.
JohnStonefitness.com John Stone did an amazing body transformation and took pictures every day for the 1st few hundred days, which you can view on this site. It also has an excellent forum with a great community, where you can find answers to any question you might have on Fitness, Nutrition, Workouts etc.
Bodybuilding.com has thousands of articles on fitness, nutrition, motivation and just about anything & everything. Plus another great forum.
Exrx.net is an excellent source for exercises and the muscles they help. Plus loads of other fitness related information.
scoobysworkshop.com another great forum community and good info for those who wish to work out at home. Explore this site you’ll find some interesting and useful stuff.
I’ll keep these links up to the right of my blogs for easy access.
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