As we approach the end of another year, we often will reflect on how our year has gone and start plans for making our next year even better, especially as it relates to our activity levels. Whatever your own goals may be, you’ll need a solid plan to reach them! Here are FITMOM’s top FIVE tips that you can use to help you live your healthiest life in 2018:

1. Find Something you LOVE

One of the most important gifts you can give to yourself is doing something you LOVE. If you don’t love it, you won’t do it. It’s as simple as that.

2. Schedule it and Find a Babysitter

Whether it’s a weekly class that you love or an evening run with friends, you need to put it in your schedule and block off the time. It can be really hard when you have small children to get out of the house in the evening, especially if your partner travels or is a shift worker. One of the best things you can invest in is a neighbourhood babysitter. Ask around and you’ll find lots of teenagers looking to earn some extra money through babysitting. Teach them the routine and have them try it out with you around first. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!

3. Make it Social

Find some friends and join a fitness class together. It’s a great way to stay in shape and keep up with each other! One of the biggest benefits of a FITMOM class is that, even if you join with a friend, you will always leave with many more. Knowing that you’re meeting a friend helps keep you accountable and gives you incentive to get out the door, even when you don’t want to.

4. Track your Progress

There are many ways you can measure your progress. If you’re running you can track how far you’re going and how fast you’re going. If you’re doing a bootcamp class, you can track how often you’re attending and how long it takes to recover each week. If you’re doing a yoga class, you can track how hard it is to do certain poses each week. You can also take measurements periodically. If you’ve set a goal that you would like to work out twice a week, then writing it down in your calendar will help you identify whether you’ve met your goal or not.

5. Make it Achievable

It’s never fun to fail at something, so when you set your fitness goals, keep in mind how your life is currently working. If your goal is to get out 5 times per week for 1 hour each day, but your job is very demanding and you tend to work many extra hours, this may not be realistic. Start by thinking about what you can realistically commit to. If it’s only once per week for 45 minutes, that’s a great start. It’s always easier to add things one at a time than to add many chunks all at once without a good plan to achieve it.

We hope you find these tips helpful in developing your own fitness plan for 2018! Leave us a note on Facebook to let us know how you’re planning to accomplish your fitness goals next year! And check out the FITMOM schedule to see if one of our classes fits your needs. We’d love to see you there!

New to FITMOM Durham? Try out our popular 3 Class Intro-Pass and see if FITMOM+Baby would be a good fit for you!