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Sharon Zarabi, a personal trainer and registered dietician in New York, has found that setting SMART goals helps her clients. All of this may seem daunting, but those within the industry have discovered ways to approach it. You must battle laziness and get out of bed of your own volition, take yourself to the gym and then find a way to stay focused on the exercise at hand. People tend to have trouble getting into exercise-related habits because it takes effort to begin. Whatever the reason, one should always remember their motivation for setting these goals in the first place. It’s truly in your hands to take the initiative to go, which is where the lack of motivation starts to appear.Įverybody has their own reasons for choosing a fitness-based resolution, whether it’s to become healthier, gain muscle or strength or for appearances. As Hofstra students, we have an on-campus gym that is open from 7:30 a.m. There are upward of 2,000 Planet Fitness locations across the country, which means there should be a commercial gym that charges as little as $10 a month and is open all day somewhere nearby. Whether it be bodyweight calisthenics such as push-ups, jumping jacks or sit-ups or a weightlifting regimen in a private or commercial gym, there’s always an option. Granted, a nine-to-five is quite a grueling schedule, with most of the day being filled with work, but there’s always a way to exercise. So, with merely an hour of time needed for an productive workout, it isn’t an unrealistic goal. Whether the issue truly lies in time management or being able to take an easy way out of one’s resolution isn’t clear, but Healthline studies show that weightlifting exercises can be effective with only “45-60 minute sessions” while cardio or calisthenics only need “30-60 minutes” to be effective. The thought is that working out takes an inordinate amount of time, and many who work a nine-to-five claim there’s no time that works for them. Scheduling conflicts or “little to no time” are common excuses used to justify not sticking to one’s resolution. Harvard researchers found that “people who followed the minimum guidelines for physical activity – 150-300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity, or 75-150 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity – reduced their risk of early death by as much as 21%.” However, sticking to a new habit of exercising can be extraordinarily helpful in the long term. This is caused by a plethora of things, including scheduling conflicts, lack of motivation or knowledge of exercise, laziness, fear of embarrassment and few immediate results. This is a common resolution, but one that is often met with skepticism and doubt studies done by Healthline show that a majority of such resolutions go unresolved. Photo courtesy of Danielle Cerullo on UnsplashĪs the new year begins, one thing is certain: the gym is filled with plenty of New Year’s resolutioners looking to better themselves this year.
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