A Beginner’s Guide to Starting (and Sticking to) a Fitness Routine in the New Year

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1. Set Realistic Goals

One of the most common mistakes people make when starting a fitness routine is setting overly ambitious goals. While it’s great to aim high, setting goals that are achievable and specific will set you up for long-term success. Instead of saying, “I’ll run a marathon this year,” start with, “I’ll jog for 20 minutes three times a week.” Achieving smaller goals builds confidence and keeps you motivated. When I let go of the pressure and overwhelming thoughts like, “Oh my gosh, I can barely run a mile; a marathon feels impossible,” and instead break the goal into smaller, manageable steps, I find it feels achievable — and I’m more likely to follow through and take action.

2. Create a Routine That Works for You

A realistic routine is essential for sticking to your fitness goals. Consider your schedule and choose a time of day that fits seamlessly into your lifestyle. If you’re not a morning person, don’t feel like you need to keep up with the girls on social media who wake up at 5am before the crack of dawn to go to their over-priced workout class. You also don’t need to workout for hours on end to see results and you don’t have to go every single day of the week. If you’re new to fitness, start slow and plan to workout 3 days a week with active recovery on the off days. This could mean just walking the dog, cutting the grass, or even just stretching while watching your favorite show — anything that gets your body moving on those off days! From there, you can begin to increase either the workout intensity or how many days you workout each week.

Once you know the days and times that you’re going to workout, schedule it onto your calendar and planner just like you would with any other appointment or task. I personally love this acrylic dry-erase calendar for my fridge. I put all of my workout days on the calendar, as well any deadlines for my fitness goals and the progress I’ve been seeing throughout the month.

3. Invest in Good-Quality Shoes

Trust me, it makes a difference. I used to workout in whatever shoes I could find for cheap at TJMaxx and I thought I was doing great because they were all well known name brands like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok. But boy was I wrong. I started having foot pain, knee pain, shin splints, even hip and back pain. It wasn’t until I decided to invest in some OnCloud shoes that I noticed the difference. And while they were a bit more than what I would typically spend on any article of clothing (I’m a cheap skate okay), they were also the solution to my aches and pains. Since then I have branched out and tried a few different brands of shoes for different types of workouts and at different price points. My current favorite for any cardio based workout is the Asics Gel Excite10. They have a nice amount of cushion on the sole without it feeling like I’m wearing platform shoes, “ortho-insoles” for additional comfort and support, and all for a very affordable price tag of around $70. For days when I’m doing a lower impact workout, like weight lifting, I usually wear my NoBull Ripstop Runners or my OnCloud shoes. Both are about $120-$150 depending on the style and offer a less bouncy sole to provide more balance and stabilization, which is important while lifting. The last thing anyone wants is to be wobbling around in their shoes while trying to do a lunge and end up rolling their ankle.

4. Track Your Progress

Keeping track of your workouts can be incredibly motivating. Seeing your progress over time — whether it’s walking longer distances, lifting heavier weights or more reps, or simply feeling more energetic — will inspire you to keep going. Like I mentioned before, I write my progress on the calendar that’s on my fridge so I see it daily. Similarly, the Notes app in your phone is a great and simple tool to track weight loss and workout progress. There are also plenty of great apps you can download to help keep track of your progress. MyFitnessPal is a great one for storing progress pics and weight. It will show you a graph of your progress throughout a specific time period, and I’m not kidding when I say that seeing the progress on the graph motivates me more than simply seeing the numbers written down in my Notes app or even just on the scale.

5. Find an Accountability Partner

Staying consistent is easier when you have support, there’s no doubt about that. Whether it’s a friend, family member, or workout buddy, having someone to share your fitness journey with can keep you motivated and make the experience more enjoyable. If in-person accountability isn’t an option, consider joining online fitness communities or social media groups.

Not many of my friends are into working out or are on a fitness/weight loss journey, so I found it hard to keep myself accountable and honestly I found it to be quite isolating. But I branched out and met 2 friends from an online fitness community, and then met 2 more friends at a group fitness class. Three out of the 4 of these friends don’t live nearby anymore, but we still hold each other accountable by texting each other our scheduled workout days at the beginning of the week. And usually after we finish the workout we’ll text each other complaining about the workout but also say how we’re glad that we did it (and when I say “we” I mean “me” haha!). So your accountability buddies don’t have to be local, just someone you can reach out to when you need motivation, want to share an exciting achievement, or found a great new recipe you want to tell them about.

Final Thoughts

Getting in shape and reaching your fitness goals doesn’t have to be this big, scary, daunting thing that you dread working towards. All it takes is these 5 simple steps to get you started towards reaching those fitness goals! For some tips on how to stay organized and on track with your goals, check out my blog post: “Start the New Year Organized”.