How to Keep Your New Year’s Fitness Resolution on Track

No matter how you choose to bid farewell to 2022 and ring in 2023, one thing many of us have in common is the resolve to make positive changes in the new year. With origins that date back 4,000 years ago, the Babylonians are said to be the first people to make New Year’s resolutions. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year, though for them, the year began not in January but in mid-March when the crops were planted. During a massive 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, the Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king. They also made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. These promises could be considered the forerunners of our New Year’s resolutions.

The 12-day New Year’s celebration may be long gone, but people from all over the world are still making resolutions every year. In fact, a few years back, Google created a website recording peoples’ New Year’s resolutions from different countries. They sorted these goals according to the most common topics: health, love, career, finance, and education. Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, health was the most popular goal for people in the United States. From exercising and eating healthier to losing weight and quitting smoking, health-related topics are still consistently at the top of almost everyone’s list.

While most people start the new year strong, as the days and weeks go by and the stresses of daily life creep back in, New Year’s resolutions are often put on the back burner or abandoned altogether. And when it comes to failed resolutions, those related to working out and weight loss are often the first to go. But rather than let your setbacks derail your goals completely, experts suggest shaking things up and being open to trying something different.

So if you find yourself in need of some motivation to get your fitness goals back on track, give one of these options a try.

• ClassPass – Your fitness routine will never get boring with ClassPass. This monthly membership program gives you access to thousands of studios, gyms, spas and salons in over 2,500 cities worldwide. From boxing and yoga to manicures, facials and more, when you sign up for a ClassPass, you receive credits each month to book classes and appointments. It is a great way to try different types of exercise and fitness classes locally, as well as provides great options for when you are traveling.

• Virtual Reality – Believe it or not, virtual reality (VR) workouts can burn just as many calories as other workouts, and they add variety to your routine. In fact, some games make you forget you’re even working out. From slashing music notes in Beat Saber to climbing mountains in The Climb app, VR workouts have gotten a major upgrade. With a VR headset, you can transport yourself to any location and participate in various activities, from rock climbing to racing. You can even turn your living room into a dance club or yoga studio!

• Tabata Training – A high-intensity interval training (HIIT) method that is becoming increasingly popular, Tabata training is a form of interval training that alternates between 20 seconds of intense exercise and 10 seconds of rest. This type of workout can be adapted to any fitness level and is an effective way to improve cardiovascular health, build muscle, and burn fat. It can be done with any exercise, but it is particularly well-suited to HIIT workouts. Not only are HIIT workouts short and intense, making them perfect for people who are short on time, but they can also be as effective as longer workouts in improving cardiovascular health.

• Hot Yoga – Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years, and it’s finally starting to catch on in the mainstream – in the form of hot yoga. Hot yoga can refer to any yoga class done in a heated room. The room is usually maintained at a temperature of 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit and taught by a teacher at the front of the room. In such a heated room, this usually results in a vigorous, sweaty workout and a well-warmed body. While yoga certainly isn’t a fad, hot yoga may well be. Regardless, the benefits yoga provides, whether that be physical, mental and/or spiritual, are endless.

• Exercise Snacking – If you think snacking sounds unhealthy, think again. Small bite-sized snippets of activity are renowned as one of the healthiest ways to integrate fitness into your life. By peppering your day with short moments of movement, it can change your mindset around exercise. No longer an onerous task that you need to schedule; instead, you start to enjoy the benefits of exercise, most notably the endorphin rush, multiple times a day whenever you get a spare minute.

• Biophilic Fitness Experiences – With the trend towards more holistic exercise experiences remaining strong, green activity is set to flourish. Biophilia training sessions (nature-based workouts) deliver a holistic sensory experience – giving you a chance to take in the scenery, move in the breeze, feel the earth underfoot, and smell the grass and flowers. There are numerous benefits of exercise in nature, and purposeful outdoor activity has been shown to significantly improve well-being. While biophilic workouts are ideal as they combine the calming qualities of nature with the benefits of exercise, activities such as spending time simply sitting in nature are also growing in popularity. The practice of forest bathing is gaining momentum, with participants lowering stress levels and boosting their mood in as little as 20 minutes. 

A Few New Listings