It happens every year and I always get a laugh about it when it happens. It seems as though a large percentage of the world decides that they are going to have some sort of New Year New Me moment and one of the primary candidates for that particular decision is to start some sort of physical fitness regimen.
For many people the primary method of getting this resolution done is to join a gym and the memberships absolutely soar during the holiday season.
For the past 2 years I have been a member of a gym after I decided one day that I was tired of being a fat ass and wanted to do something to better myself. This did not happen on January 31st and I always find it amusing that so many people, year after year, choose this auspicious day to make that change and of course, a vast majority of them totally fail.
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One thing I have noticed from the various fitness clubs that I have been a member of over the years is that at some point during December all of their promotions magically disappear. Now why do you think that is? It is because they are very aware of the fact that people are all going to sign up for a gym membership and then likely lose interest once they realize that going to the gym is actually pretty tough, especially if you don't have any idea what you are doing in there.
While it might not be as much of an issue this year, particularly in the west because of Covid, I would imagine that there are going to be a bunch of unrealistic goals that people set, quickly realize that it is a lot harder than they thought i would be, and then they give up and return straight back to the bad habits that they had before.
I also find it very amusing and a bit sad when I hear people make unrealistic and vague goals such as "I'm gonna lose 10 lbs" yet they have zero plan as to exactly how they are going to accomplish that. I have never heard of anyone that said something like that and then actually succeeded in doing so.
When I started my journey from being a fat ass to getting into pretty fantastic shape both in a cardio and muscle sense, I made the easiest steps first: Diet. Most people seem to think that getting out there and running or going to the gym 4 days a week is going to result in rapid weight loss when the reality of the situation is that if you are not achieving a calorie deficit, you are not going to ever lose weight no matter how much you go running.
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My first week was to eliminate sugar and carbs from my diet and limit my daily intake to 50 grams of carbs or less. Once I actually had a plan I found that this was actually a lot easier than I had planned and then a bit later on I started to incorporate just walking into my daily routine. Then after a weed of that I would jog and walk...but still mostly walking. Here we are nearly 2 years later and I am 50 lbs lighter and I run 5km easily and with some level of planning and focus I can also do 10km.
While this is not anything super spectacular (as far as the running distance is concerned, I am actually very proud of the 50lbs thing) it is leaps and bounds ahead of the zero cardiovascular capabilities I previously had.
Basically, I think that New Year's Resolutions are stupid and this is especially true when it comes to gym memberships. The gym is going to be packed in January and this will just be one more demotivating aspect of the entire process that will quite possibly frustrate you out of continuing to attend. So now you have failed at your weight loss goal and you probably wasted $80 or so.
So instead of setting a vague and difficult to stick to goal, how about your January change could be something a lot easier such as cutting out carbs and going for a 30 minute walk 6 days a week? With podcasts being what they are these days you could even use this time to actually learn something at the same time and that is just an added bonus.
So get out there on New Year's Eve and have a great time but when January 1st and the inevitable hangover begin, let's not try to have delusions about how we are all going to be running marathons by the end of the month. Instead, set small, manageable goals that you are going to be likely of actually accomplishing. You can always step it up later. Almost no one can go from "zero to hero" but nearly everyone is capable of just a tiny push in the right direction.
From athlete, to fat ass, and back
I think a lot of people will pile on the pounds over Xmas. Better to start the diet a bit earlier to keep it under control, but still get some activity. I would hope my running has compensated a little for all the chocolate I've had lately. I am taking a day off today as my legs are feeling it. May just take a walk instead as I still need to get out of the house.
yeah my first serious post excessive holiday food run resulted in my knees taking a beating as well. I need to remember my own rules about easing into things.