New year, know you

Game planning for a successful year

With a new year quickly approaching, plans are being made for fun parties, copious amounts of sweets, amazing dinners, time with family and friends, as well as where we want the new year to lead us.  With the winding down of the holidays comes the realization that you binge watched your favorite shows and ate an entire pumpkin pie in one sitting — which has led to your jeans now fitting like a pair of yoga pants or your once comfortable shirt now fitting like a smedium.  What’s next?  The new year and what we, at Science of Speed, dread the most:, New Year’s Resolutions.  This year we want to help you be successful with these key factors to consider as you decide what goals to set..

Track Record

Look at past years three years and make an honest assessment of what you have or have not completed.  Don’t base this solely off of one year alone.  What were your major goals in the last three years? Have you completed them? Whether you have or have not, use the next tip below to gauge if the reason behind your success or lack thereof.

Make it Quantifiable

Creating a goal that can be tracked is very important.  Saying “I want to exercise more” is very vague and leaves you with an easy out when it is cold, your bed feels very comfortable or you had a rough day at work.  Don’t just use your words, use your numbers. Changing this simple statement to something more defined like, “I am going to exercise three days a week for 30 minutes” or, “I will do my first 5k run in May.”  The other addition you will notice with statement is that it is not a desire –“I want.”  We have solidified the desire with the simple words, “I am going to,” and, “will.”

Incremental adjustments

Many goals that we set are not the kind that can be resolved overnight.  If your goal is long term and will take a fair amount of time to meet,have mini goals or benchmarks along the way that you will strive for.  For example:  if you want to lose 15 lbs, you know that you will not or should not lose this in one week. So, set a goal that you will lose 1lb a week,that you will weigh 8 lbs less by March 1st, and that by May 1st you will have met your goal..

Why?

One of the most important parts of setting a goal is understanding the motivations behind it. Internal drive can be a large determiner  of yours success.  By nature, people want to be liked and want to please others. We often do things that we do not enjoy or even want to do to gain approval.  Now is not the time to make your goals based on what others want for you.  Consider if your goal for the New Year is truly a personal desire, or if it  might be something that has been brought on by someone else.Ultimately, it is you that will put in the work and make the sacrifices. Make it it something you want!

If your New Year’s resolution involves getting fit, taking on an athletic event, improving your performance in your favorite endurance sport, or simply beginning to uncover the athlete that lives within you, we’d love to help you on your journey. Check out our coaching packages and training plans. Not ready to commit? Get inspired and get acquainted with our philosophy, by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.