Replace Your New Year's Resolutions

Replace Your New Year’s Resolutions

Much like every one of you, I have spent time in late December and early January setting my intentions for the very unknown year ahead. With so much growth in the Lr brand, and so many exciting new brand extensions, I have been mindful to reflect on the shifts and changes that I need as an individual, so that my heart, head and health all align. But I prefer not to call these intentions New Year’s Resolutions. So many lists and goals drawn up at this time of the year are discarded before a month has passed by.

Why do New Year’s Resolutions fail?

1. Isolated Intentions

I’ve consulted as a wellness expert on the journeys of many, many individuals over the past 15 years. A common new-year-new-me mistake is identifying one healthy intention that is not held holistically. You might commit to daily exercise, without committing to a progressive journey to fitness. Within weeks, you’re injured or have grown frustrated by a perceived inability to keep up with the programme. A new fitness regime takes time to build, and should be accompanied by a change in diet, improved sleep patterns and a real tune-in to your physical self. I love guiding a holistic journey of wellness, which begins with a detailed consultation in person, or online. 

2. Unrealistic Goals

Big, scary, audacious goals are GREAT! We need them, we should build towards them, and a slightly scary goal is often exactly what we need to feel most alive. But if your New Year’s Resolution is to run a marathon and you’re just buying your first pair of running shoes, you’re setting yourself up for painful disappointment. If your world is full to bursting with work commitments and childcare, think very carefully about the kind of fitness goal that you can fit in to the hours you have available. Got 10 minutes once or twice a day? Take a look at our No Time programmes.  I work many back-to-back 12-hour days, so rebounding for an hour is a workout that I can do anywhere, anytime, as long as I plan and prepare accordingly.

Also Read: How to Achieve Work Life Balance 

3. Immediate Gratification

We live in an era of immediate results. Information is a click away, just about anything can be purchased online and delivered within hours or days, and communication with loved ones or colleagues is real time, right now. So understandably, we want a swift return when it comes to fitness and wellness goals. But the end result is an accumulation of many moves, many fun workouts, multiple healthy meals and all the small changes that will eventually deliver a healthy, happier, sustainable new you. If you believe there are quick fixes, you’ll grow frustrated by the journey and discard your good intentions. Stay with it! Begin with an 8-week plan, mark your result at the end of the 8 weeks, and then set a further intention. Celebrate each and every small goal along the way!

4. Boredom

Oh dear! Has an “expert” advised you to start and end your day with plates of chicken and broccoli, and endless hours on a treadmill? We are simply not programmed to achieve weight loss or fitness goals that leave us bored and uninspired! I need music in my workouts, and I change the playlist and the workouts regularly. Use your rebounder, home gym equipment or no equipment at all. Shop my full collection of home workouts and never be bored again! I also need to enjoy a diverse range of food, flavours and fun snacks! I love experimenting with food, trying new ideas inspired by health and vitality, not calories! A plate of boring broccoli would probably kick start a wobbly into a bowl of comfort food, and then another, and then another… and the next thing you know, your intentions have been replaced by previous habits that did not serve you. Change it up! You’ll make the journey more fun, and far easier to maintain.

 

Also Read: What I Eat in a Day 

5. Accountability

Horrible word, right? But it could be the key to deciding on and sticking with the healthiest year of your life. There are many ways of bringing some accountability into your journey to wellness. Join (safe) group training sessions such as our regular, Covid-compliant rebounding classes so that you are committed to a workout that begins and ends at a particular time. Better yet, arrange to meet a friend at a class or for a run, and hold each other accountable. You could also set new year intentions with your partner and work together to form healthy habits for your home. I’ve worked non-stop over the past few months to extend our home gym equipment range. Create a beautiful space where you, your partner and children can train and motivate each other.
 
No matter what 2021 holds, I look forward to the many rebounding testimonials, to growing with you and unlocking our full potential along the way. Replace your list of New Year’s Resolutions with a plan to create and maintain a happy, balanced, mindful lifestyle. Our health is, quite literally, our wealth.