How to keep your good sports resolutions for the new year?

" I've decided to take up sport again ! ". After the end of the year marked by the festive season and its excesses, many people aim to get back into shape or to lose weight. Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases, these sports resolutions only last a few weeks. In this article, I propose to you to discover my advice to (finally) keep your commitments.

Motivation and perseverance: the keys to making your sports resolutions a success

New year, new sports objectives?

As a general rule, seasoned athletes hate new resolutions. For those who practice strength training who train several times a week and watch their diet all year round, this kind of commitment can be seen as derisory.

Getting back in shapeWhether it's weight loss, muscle mass gain or health improvement, the motivations that lead to making sports resolutions can be varied.

It is true that the health benefits of sport are numerous: the fight against overweight and obesity, preventing chronic cardiovascular disease and hypertension, lowering blood pressure, reducing joint pain, etc.

So there's no right (or wrong) time to start looking after your well-being and fitness!

A high drop-out rate

But out of every ten people who sign up for the sports hall in January, only two managed to reach their goal several months later. In reality, this sudden interest in fitness, or physical activity in the broadest sense, is short-lived.

The explanation behind this phenomenon lies mainly in the psychology of the motivation.

Everyone knows the importance of sporting activity. Whatever the type (running, swimming, weight training, cardio-training, boxing, rugby, etc.), regular exercise helps you feel good.

On the other hand, achieving a specific goal, such as losing a few extra pounds, takes time (several months, even several years) and patience. It requires a real effort of projection. It is then much easier to give in to an immediate temptation.

That's why many people prefer to stay on the couch. Rather than going to the gym and taking another step towards an uncertain future result, they prefer to opt for an easy alternative whose reward is immediate.

And yet, the very fact of having signed up for a room is a sign of good taste. state of mind. All you need are a few keys to keep your commitment over time.

5 tips for keeping your resolutions

1. Define your goals

Before starting or resuming a sporting activity, it is essential to establish objectives. Well-defined goals will keep you motivated for a long time.

Your objectives must be SMART, a well-known acronym in the world of management. This means that they must be formulated in such a way that they are :

• Specific;
• Measurable;
• Achievable;
• Realistic;
• Temporally defined.

For example, simply telling yourself that you want to lose weight isn't enough. On the other hand, wanting to lose 6 kilos in 3 months is a SMART goal.

A medium or long term objective can be broken down into a series of sub-objectives in the short term.

Let's go back to our goal of losing 6 kilos in 3 months. To maintain your commitment on a daily basis, it may be useful to set an initial deadline of losing 1 kilo, for example, after 2 or 3 weeks.

According to a study conducted in 2009 by researchers at the University of London, your brain needs on average 66 days to turn new activity into a routine.

By forcing yourself to exercise regularly in order to reach these intermediate goals, you will be able to take on more weight. good habits.

2. Organize your week

Once you have defined your objectives, you will need to set up a action plan to reach them.

I advise you to draw up a schedule and block the slots reserved for your customers in advance. sports sessions in your agenda.

And above all, stick to it. These time slots shouldn't be an adjustment variable. Has a friend asked you out to dinner or a movie? Decline the invitation, or arrange to work out before or after.

The ideal rhythm would be to start with 2 or 3 training sessions per week of an hour or so, depending on your abilities. There's no point in overdoing it from the outset, or you'll quickly give up on your sporting resolution.

It's best to build up gradually, increasing the volume of training over time.

3. Find a training partner or a sports coach

To maintain your commitment, there is nothing like find a partner.

Training several times a week with another person will help you stay motivated. In fact, exercising with someone else helps to limit sluggishness.

Feeling a little tired or feeling like staying at home? Your partner will know how to motivate you so that you don't miss training... And vice versa!

You can also call in a professional. The sports coaches are trained to help you resume physical activity.

They will design a sports program adapted to your abilities and your goals. You will get results faster, which will increase your motivation.

4. Track your progress

Athletes who achieve their goals are those who track their progress over time.

First, observe your physical change in the mirror. You can take pictures of yourself at regular intervals to better perceive this transformation.

Similarly, if your goal is to lose weight or gain muscle, don't hesitate to weigh yourself. This will give you precise indications of your progress.

To go further, discover my 5 tips to measure your progress in weight training.

Finally, don't forget to discuss your sporting resolutions with your environment. They too will see the changes and point them out to you.

5. Celebrate your successes and stay positive

Finally, celebrate each of your victoriesNo matter how small, rewarding yourself with something you love.

Have you completed the three weekly sessions scheduled in your training plan? Have you managed to lose your first kilo? Broken your personal bench press record? All these moments are milestones in your progress.

Of course, that doesn't mean you have to succumb to fast food every time. But simply give yourself a well-deserved treat.

This will also help you to put into perspective the chess. These are an integral part of a sportsman's career. So it's perfectly normal to experience them. Stay positive and keep moving forward to achieve your goals.

To conclude

Thanks to these tips, you now have everything you need to keep your New Year's sporting resolutions and improve your performance. physical condition. To maintain your motivation over time, don't forget to set realistic goals and implement a concrete action plan. It's up to you!