As we prepare to say goodbye to what has to be one of the strangest, most bizarre, stressful, and unforgettable years in history, many of us will be looking to the future, particularly with regards to our weight, health, and fitness in general.
At the end of a regular year, many of us prepare to set New Year’s resolutions based upon losing weight and getting fit, but 2020 has been anything but regular.
During lockdowns, quarantines, self-isolation, and whatever else the media are calling it, it’s safe to say that many of us have eaten too much, drank too much, and gained too much weight. Add to that the fact that gyms were closed for so long, and it’s easy to see why so many people are taking their lockdown fitness and New Year’s resolutions so seriously.
If you’re looking to get back on track with your health and fitness for 2021, here are several lockdown fitness tips to help you meet your goals.
Stop doing workouts that make you miserable
When it comes to lockdown fitness, one of the most important things you need to realize is that making yourself miserable when exercising is just asking for trouble.
Yes, exercise is a basic fundamental of good health and a good physique, but why would you knowingly make yourself miserable by going through workouts and doing exercises that you know you hate?
If the thought of a 1-hour workout on the treadmill is filling you with dread, stop doing it and instead get active in a way that you actually enjoy. We can’t speak for you, but whether you enjoy sports, cycling, indoor exercise, outdoor exercise, exercise in the water, or anything else, as long as you enjoy it you’ll find it much easier to stick to your resolutions.
Set clear goals
As far as your lockdown fitness goals and resolutions are concerned, another key strategy to help ensure that you succeed is to set clear goals.
Too many people set themselves up for failure by not setting clear goals. Don’t just say you ‘want to lose weight’ in the New Year, instead, give yourself a target weight loss amount.
The clearer your goals, the easier it becomes to reach them.
Look for exercise to perform at home
As we’re talking about lockdown fitness, one handy tip for meeting your goals is to find exercises and workouts that you can do at home. Why? Because in all honesty, we don’t know what’s around the corner and we don’t know when gyms will open again and/or have to close again.
Obviously working out at home is not the same as training at a gym, but we can’t always get to the gym and thanks to a global pandemic, gyms are often being forced to close.
Whereas there is light at the end of the tunnel, for the time being, working out at home is considered the safe bet, and it ensures that you can carry on your routine if your gym is forced to close again.
Stop being hard on yourself
Finally, as 2020 was so stressful, depressing, and frightening for a lot of people, don’t beat yourself up mentally or be too hard on yourself if you gained weight and slacked off from your workouts.
Lockdown fitness is tough, eating clean is tough, but it will become a whole lot harder if you mentally beat yourself up and make yourself feel as if you’ve failed.
By all means work out and eat clean, but if you do have a bad day, dust yourself off and start over the day after.
