Set Your Sails for Better Fitness in the New Year

The Steps to better fitness are quite like the steps you would take in most any endeavor.

Decide what you want:
Write down your goal. Get a picture of what you want to look like. Put a picture of your favorite beach on your dresser - make it the first thing you see in the morning and the last before you settle in at night. Keep a picture of the perfect, ideal body on your fridge - or on your desk. Constantly reinforce your desire.

Put together a plan:
Break your goal into small, manageable tasks. Like walk 20 miles a week by February 1. ( That's only about 3 miles a day - a Very reasonable goal! )

Do three sets of ten push-ups every other day by March 1.

Same for crunches on your exercise ball ( you get more out of your crunches when you do them on the ball!

Swim for 20 minutes twice a week.

Jog for 20 minutes 3 times a week.

You get the idea.

Focus on taking the steps required. Act upon your plan. Every day! Do something towards the completion of your goal(s). Hard work wins out here! You can't delegate anyone to run your laps or do your strength training!

Get feedback. Assess your results each week. Each month. Are you hitting your targets? If not, maybe you can adjust the plan accordingly. Shoot for the moon - wherever you land is way better than where you were when you started!

Keep after it. Never give up. Perseverance helps you reach your goal. Keep focusing on the daily action steps towards your goal!

All these steps are much easier if you make it fun. Do your workouts with friends. Vary your routines. Play a variety of sports. Whatever you find most fun!

If weight loss is one of your goals - the quickest way to lose weight fast (and keep it off) is with daily exercise.

Do you want to look good on Spring Break? Or at the beach this Summer? Start now! Make a little progress each day. Those little bits add up to a whole lot! And don't forget to keep eating healthy foods. You can have a much leaner body before Spring Break - and a tighter tummy by Summer! The choice is yours! Go for it!