Tips to stick to your health and fitness goals

We’re all now firmly settled into the new year and already there are more spaces in gym classes, water bottles are remaining full and salads are wilting in the fridge. For if you’re one of the 48% of people that set their new year’s resolution to be fitter, you’re not alone. Yet by the second of February, it’s been found that as many as 80% of resolutions will have been broken. If you want to smash your health and fitness goals and actually stick to them in 2024, there are many things you can do to help tip the odds in your favour. Keep on reading to find out.

Get a personal trainer

Nothing helps you stick to your goals than having a personal trainer there to incentivise you. With the ability to fit around your schedule and deduce the exercises that work for you, they can find out what you’re looking to achieve and make sure you get there. Having a trainer also makes it a lot harder to bail when you’re just not feeling it.

Once you know how much a personal trainer charges, there are usually payment plans you can choose. You might opt for paying a session at a time, or potentially saving some money by booking a block session. Block booking is also a good incentive not to cancel too. Rather than knowing you’re only letting yourself down (which sometimes, when you’re tired, probably doesn’t matter that much in the moment) you know you’d be letting your trainer down and also probably have to pay for the missed session too.

Personal trainers can help you to get fit in a healthy way, pick you up when you’re feeling down and ensure your workouts are always fresh and interesting. Who knows, you might like it so much you end up wanting to enrol in recognised personal training courses and become one yourself!

Make healthy eating interesting

If you’re just munching on lettuce leaves and drinking lemon water, chances are you’re going to get bored very quickly and slip back into old habits. Stop this from happening by making healthy eating interesting. Pre-plan your meals and make things such as healthy pasta dishes, curries and rainbow salads to enjoy. With such a diverse range of flavours and dinner ideas out there, don’t settle for anything less. Be sure to portion-control your dishes to ensure you’re not overeating and let yourself have treats every now and again.

Enlist someone to join you in your goals

The same as having a PT can help you hit your sports goals, enlisting a friend or family member to join you can also be a great way to not give up. Whether you decide to embark on a healthy eating journey together, go running or attend the gym, you can motivate each other and pick one another up when you’re not feeling it. Whether a friend, family member or your other half, sharing the motivation to get fit and healthy is a great way to stick to it.

Find a workout that’s right for you

There are so many workouts out there that if you can’t stand going to the gym or running, you don’t need to give up. Don’t be afraid to try many different workouts, from a body pump or circuits class, to swimming. Find the one that’s right for you and it will feel a lot less like hard work! You could also do a mix of a few, or have someone help put you on a plan that you can follow. Remember if something starts to feel boring, don’t give up completely, just switch it up and you can continue to progress and reach your goals in no time. It can be a good idea to keep a workout journal so you know what weights you’ve been lifting or times you’ve been running in and track your progress.

These are just a few things you can do to help stick with your health and fitness goals this year. Remember you’ve set these goals yourself for your own personal reasons. Whether you want to feel better, change your physique or have an event you want to train for, there’s many incentives behind switching up the way you live your life. What are some of your top tips for sticking to your goals?