In a perfect world, we’d all maintain our regular fitness routines and healthy ways of eating through the December holidays.
Nobody would gain an ounce and gyms wouldn’t be any busier January 1st than they were the week before.
Fitness professionals wouldn’t need to launch new programs aimed at ‘resolutioners’ and nobody’d be looking for Boxing Day sales at Lululemon.
In reality, the average North American will have gained 5-7 pounds during the month of December and be looking for ways to take it off and improve their fitness come New Year’s Day.
But starting and sticking with a new fitness and nutrition program is never easy.
Not only does it require persistence and perseverance, but preparation of the mental kind.
If you’re planning on heading back to the gym next week and want to maximize your chances of success, you’ll want to read the following posts. Particularly if you’re a midlife exerciser wanting to avoid injury and frustration because you’re not seeing results as quickly as you’d like to.
Get your mindset right, your expectations in check and you can’t help but reach your goals!
5 midlife fitness posts you need to read before January 1st
- Seven steps to midlife fitness success > What traits do successful long-term exercisers embody? Start working on any that you lack before you hit the gym.
- 5 moves to master in midlife: exercising for form and function > Choose a strength program that includes bang-for-your-buck exercises. Working efficiently (not necessarily longer) is paramount in midlife.
- Create a flexible fitness plan > Given that the gym is likely to be a busy place for the next month or two, give some thought beforehand as to how you might have to adapt and modify your program if space is tight and equipment unavailable. You’ll be less likely to ditch the gym if you have a backup plan in place.
- A pre-workout warmup for midlife exercisers > Bodies need a little more time to warmup as they age. Here’s a video warmup that will help to reduce your risk of workout-related injuries.
- Essential stretches for midlife exercisers > Stretching is really just another component of a comprehensive fitness program. Spend as much time stretching post-workout as you do warming up pre-workout. Heading to a group fitness class? Don’t duck out before the instructor finishes with ‘mat time’ 🙂