The Edge Life Blog

6 min read

Setting Smart New Year's Resolutions

Most, if not all, of us are very happy to say goodbye to 2020. But with any start of a new year, everyone is thinking about setting New Year's resolutions and goals. Chances are you've been down this road before, choosing a resolution & getting excited about it, only to forget about it by the springtime. You may be tempted to not make a resolution at all if you've failed at it in the past. But don't let that deter you. If you are serious about making a change in 2021, then it's important to choose your resolutions wisely and more importantly create a plan to execute that goal. Here is our guide to help you set your goal and stick with it in 2021! Side note, we are using a fitness related ambition in this blog post, but this process can be applied to any 2021 goal you are working to achieve.

1. Set your goal

This one is obvious, to reach a goal you first need to set one. And at the end of the day, some are better than others. Deciding that you’re somehow going to lose thirty pounds of fat and gain twenty pounds of muscle by spring is a very vague goal and is unrealistic for most people. First thing’s first - your goal needs to be realistic and doable. The example above, to completely change your body composition in three months is just unrealistic. Generally speaking, when it comes to weight loss, anywhere from one to two pounds per week is what you should be shooting for as this is a healthy way to shed and keep the weight off in the long term. Your goal also must be measurable, bound by a deadline, and attached to a specific action plan.

Fortunately, this is quite straightforward with most fitness goals. Let’s say you want to lose 15 pounds. A deadline is important because an open-ended “I’m going to lose 15 pounds” almost never happens. You’ll also need to make sure you’re tracking your weight and measurements regularly to make sure you’re on the right path. Lucky for you, you can track your weight on our InBody machines at any of our locations to get an idea of how your measuring up in terms of body fat and muscle. Before your start working on your goal, make an appointment to step on our InBody scale to look at where you are now.

2. Set a timeline

Setting a timeline is important, but the trick is finding a good balance - if you set a deadline that’s too far in the future you could end up losing sight of the goal. Setting a deadline too soon could lead to burnout and making you want to quit completely. For most fitness related goals, a few months is usually a good length of time. No matter what, it will be important to break your goal down into mini weekly goals - this will help keep you on track week after week, and month after month. If your goal is to lose 15 pounds, break that down into measurable, attainable weekly goals. This could mean setting a goal to workout 5 days a week, making one of those workouts an Edge Strong Class, and keeping a daily food journal to keep track of your nutrition.

It’s also really important to keep track of your goals and progress on a regular basis. In the case of weight loss, this would mean weighing and measuring yourself every few days, and being as accurate as you can by consistently weighing in at the same time each day, preferably in the morning before you eat. You'll also want to make sure you are getting on our InBody machines at least once a month, this will allow you to track your change over time in the InBody app.

3. Set an action plan

This is the most important part. Above we discussed breaking your big goal into mini weekly goals. This is part of the action plan. Goals by themselves are meaningless. One of the biggest reasons that most people fail at this is because they have a vision, but no plan. And while much of your action plan will need to be changed and tweaked as you move forward, you should have the fundamental road map laid out. Using our previous example, rather than simply saying “I will lose 15 pounds by May 1st”, make your goal: to lose 15 pounds by May 1st by tracking my food intake using a journal to make sure I'm eating 2200 calories per day, getting to the gym 5 days a week, and making it to one Edge Strong class per week.

That may sound incredibly specific, but that’s the point. You want a detailed action plan, filled with steps that you take on a regular basis. Doing so will not only get you going in the right direction, but it will build up a sustainable healthy lifestyle. In fact, you should get even more specific - “I will do 30 minutes of cardio Monday, Wednesday and Friday first thing in the morning so I don’t skip it and I will take my Edge Strong Class every Tuesday. I will keep my food journal on my nightstand so I don't forget to log my meals every day. On the 15th of each month I will weigh-in on The Edge InBody scale." Doing it this way will make it harder to talk yourself out of it when the going gets tough and it will create a routine for yourself which will eventually become a habit.

There’s no question about it - sticking to ANY goal for the long term can be hard. But by following these steps and creating a realistic action plan, you will crush your 2021 resolution! It can also be helpful to have an accountability buddy. Tell someone about your New Year's resolution and about your plan to get there. Write your plan down and keep it on the fridge so it's right in front of you everyday. Working with one of our certified personal trainers can also be helpful as they will guide you and help you stick to your plan in the long run!