Deciding to adopt a healthier lifestyle is the first step towards achieving your fitness goals, sticking to them is considerably harder. The unpredictability of day-to-day living means it is understandably difficult to stay focused on your fitness journey.
A 2023 study found that 80% of Brits had given up on their health goals by February but there are some things you can do to see the changes you want. Here are some tips you can use to stick to your health goals and improve your fitness without feeling like you’re forcing yourself:
Choose the Right Goals for You
You don’t need to be too hard on yourself when it comes to getting healthy. By setting realistic and attainable goals for yourself you can keep up your enthusiasm throughout your fitness journey. You can work towards these goals one at a time without feeling overwhelmed by doing it all at once.
Once you’ve met your initial fitness goals, you can work on increasing them. The point is that your goals are achievable for you and that you undertake them at your own pace.
Make it an Everyday Thing
Not all of us have enough time in the day to fit in a rigorous workout but including fitness into your routine, every day is a great way to keep you feeling motivated. Small, consistent actions are better for you and more likely to have an effect than big, infrequent ones. Something as small as going on a daily walk has wondrous physical benefits.
Lingerie specialists Hunkemöller conducted a wellness study on popular social media trends and found that 28% of UK adults have tried a fitness trend. Popular ones included the 30-Day Water Gallon of Water Challenge and Hot Girl Walks. Hot Girl Walks is a TikTok walking trend that encourages walkers to do a daily four-mile walk while listening to a motivational playlist or podcast whilst thinking about how grateful they are.
Hunkemöller found that 20% of participants, including almost a fifth of men, had taken part in the challenge and had a positive experience.
Prioritise Health
It can be difficult not to compare yourself to fitness models or athletes and it’s important to remember that these people have teams of professionals helping them and years of experience. There are some serious side effects of overexercising so resist the urge to overexert past your limits and include rest days into your workout routine.
Hunkemöller found that some online challenges were not for the faint-hearted and impacted every aspect of daily life, like the 75-day Hard Challenge. According to personal trainer James Bickerstaff, continuous exercise without rest days can increase your likelihood of injuries like stress fractures and iliotibial band syndrome so it should be avoided.
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