Follow Through this New Year!

It's that time of year again. In a couple of weeks, the fitness facilities will be packed. Everyone will be deciding to get into shape this new year! There will be lines of people waiting for their favorite cardiovascular machine. The majority of parking spots will be taken up and people will begin to get frustrated.

This year, make your decision to get in shape last! Try these 4 things to keep yourself on track with your fitness goals:

1) Be accountable

Have someone you trust keep you true with your goals. A friend could work well here, however most friends are too nice to let you know the honest truth. When you begin to "fall-off the wagon", a real friend will let you know how damaging missing even one workout can be.

Consider investing in a personal trainer/consultant this new year. It is one of the best ways to make sure you stay on track and push yourself to reach higher fitness levels than you ever thought possible! If you are truly serious about getting in shape this new year, it is very much worth the investment!

2) Track your progress

By tracking your exercise and diet, you will dramatically increase your chances of seeing progress! It is far easier to steer your fitness goals if you can clearly see where you have been. Also, a personal trainer can help you FAR more if you have accurate exercise and diet logs. A study conducted by the American Council on Exercise found that people who tracked their diet are 90% more likely to lose weight compared to people who don't track their diet.

Consider using an easy online tracker like http://www.myfitnesspal.com/. It's pretty simple to setup, and after just a couple of days of using it, it remembers all of your choices so you will be able to fly through the tracker within 5 minutes by the end of each day. Plus it's free!

3) Try a "competition"

Now, normally when I talk about "competition", most of the time I am talking about bodybuilding competitions. However in this case, it could be any type of competition. If you are new to fitness, consider doing a 5k (3.1 mile) walk/run. This will give you a focus for all of your workouts.

It is much easier to focus on an event for your training than to just "get in shape". The "get in shape" mentality will only carry you for about the first 2 weeks. Then, your child will get sick and you will miss a workout. Then, your boss will want you to stay late and you will miss another workout. Before you know it, it's been 3 weeks since your last workout and your new plan needs to be remodeled! However, when you have an event that you schedule (and preferably pay for ahead of time to keep yourself honest and on track), even if there are 6 inches of snow on the ground with no plowing, you will make it to the gym!

The great part of having a competition focus is it will always keep you moving in a new and different direction that will help you stretch yourself. For example, you can start with a small running event and then consider a swimming event and then maybe eventually venture out into triathlons and before you know it you will be joining me and The Works Bodybuilding Team for your first natural bodybuilding competition!

Another compeititon I want to briefly mention is the one that got me started. The Body-For-Life competition is one of the best ways to get your start with event-specific training. It's a competition that is based on before and after results over the course of a 12-week period. The top winners receive $10,000 and there is an overall winner that receives $25,000! This is all for getting in shape, basically what you were going to do anyway! Goto: http://www.bodyforlife.com/ if you have any questions or you can email me.

4) Make it Fun!

Yes, fitness can be fun! Try something new and different this new year! More preferably try it with a friend to keep it interesting (--side bar-- however, don't let your friends decide if you are going to get in shape! Just because your friend that you love to workout with can't make it to the gym doesn't mean that you shouldn't go. Go anyway! You might even make some new friends and friends that may be more true to their fitness goals! It's your life, decide to take action and follow through this new year with or without your friends!).

There are a bunch of group exercise classes that members rave about. Try a "Zumba" class (don't ask me what it is, because I don't know) or group spinning or tae boxing. Make fitness fun, that way you will look forward to coming to the gym instead of making it feel like a chore. Also, a fitness trainer can help you make the most out of your training time. Personal trainers are the best people to contact for making workouts different and exciting. Consider calling one today!


This New Year will be different for you! By following these 4 points, you can and will follow through with your fitness goals this new year! For more information about personal training, please email me jonathanearnold@gmail.com

"Oh that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees" Psalm 119:5 (NLT)