In recent years, more and more people have been joining the gym and starting their new year with resolutions to work out a few times a week for the entire coming year. However, while setting goals to go to the gym 5 days a week for the whole year, people usually end up having a very rough fitness journey. This is because, in their excitement to produce and see the results of regular exercise, they don’t understand that the process is more complex than that.

Firstly, many folks tend to assume that they can simply set a goal to work out a certain amount of days a week and actually achieve that easily. The issue with this approach is that it doesn’t take into account the human process of developing a habit. If someone has never worked out before, they probably won’t start spontaneously now, because it is difficult to go from 0 to a 100.

It is important to start slow, even if that seems incredibly slow at first. Rather than aiming to go to the gym 5 days a week, it is better to simply aim at once a week, to see what you find easy and what is challenging for you, and adjust accordingly. It is also important to be specific with our goals. Instead of aiming to ‘go to the gym’, it is better to perhaps ‘spend 30 minutes on daily exercise’ which is more specific, but also flexible.

It is incredibly important to be flexible, because life is full of uncertainties. Although it may seem reasonable to set aside 30 minutes aside daily to go to the gym, perhaps you are feeling under the weather. On those days, a 30 minute walk in the park can be an alternative, ensuring that you get some physical activity in without pushing yourself so far that you become demotivated.