A new year brings to us the opportunity for a fresh start, and the areas of exercise and wellness are no exception. The fresh, new year is a great time to commit to a healthier lifestyle, and that doesn’t have to mean resigning yourself to time in a crowded gym with tons of other well-meaning people. The goal is to work out attainable fitness resolutions you can easily make time for, no matter what your lifestyle is currently like.
This last year has proved to be difficult for a lot of people. With stay-at-home restrictions, social distancing, work from home practice, online classes, and a very quick, unprecedented change into the ‘new normal’, really left all of us struggling to keep our bodies and minds in their best shape, and our overall wellness compromised. As the stress of the pandemic increased, and physical activity reduced due to COVID restrictions, it has left both mental, and physical health in shambles.
However, various vaccines against COVID-19 have proven effective and safe now, and public vaccination in parts of the world is also in process. With hopes that we may be able to bring an end to the pandemic soon, it is important to bring back our physical and mental health to the best state possible.
Tips to Maintain Holistic Wellness and Overall Health
- Walk More – Walking is an excellent exercise that tends to be overlooked until you’re doing more of it. Whether it’s by taking your dog out for longer regular walks or walking to the store that’s just a few blocks away instead of driving, every bit counts.
- Get More Sleep – Always easier said than done, but the benefits of committing to getting better sleep, from having more energy to boosting your immunity, are endless. Take steps to get to bed earlier at night, from winding down with yoga to banishing electronics from your bedroom.
- Stay Hydrated – Drinking water is essential for the human body to function. However, we often tend to ignore the importance of drinking enough water, especially during the winters since we do not feel as thirsty. Make it a point that you drink at least 2-3 litres of water every day, and you will start to notice a difference in your health in just a few days. In addition to staying well-hydrated, drinking surplus water everyday will help you get clearer skin, feel more energized, and lose weight. Start by simply bringing a refillable bottle to keep at work, and opt for water when dining out.
- Eat More Fruit – Eating more fruit is always less challenging than committing to eating more vegetables. Fruit can more easily replace refined sugar when cravings hit, so start stocking up your fridge and getting your blender ready.
- Enroll for a Fitness Class – Be it aerobics, weight training, or just a local yoga class, commit to trying it at least once. As an added bonus, some gyms and studios let you try your first session for free.
- Start Working Out in the Mornings – Everyone knows evening workouts are much easier to bail on, especially if it’s dark out or if something more appealing, like happy hour, pops up. By getting up in time to work out with the morning sunrise, you’ll set the stage for a successful day and can enjoy evening social commitments guilt-free.
- Spend Some Time with Nature – You can kill two birds with one stone by ensuring that you spend more time in nature. Not only does it improve mindfulness and help take control of our mental health, but spending time in nature can also mean more physical activity. Ensure that you spend at least half an hour outdoors, whether it is playing a sport, running, or just taking a walk. For best results, try to disconnect from your electronic devices while you are at it.
- Make workouts fun – The pandemic has drastically changed the way we used to exercise. From exclusive gym memberships, it has brought us to home workout routines. However, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If home workouts have become monotonous, you can switch them up by changing exercises, making workout videos and motivating your social media friends to join in, or by including your family in your workout sessions.
- Train For a 5K – No matter how fast or slow you might be, anyone can take up running; you just have to give it time. Even if you’re new to running, this is a realistic goal to go after with a beginner-friendly, run-walk approach like Couch to 5K.
- Hold a Plank – If you’ve been longing for a stronger core, planks are the way to go. With consistency, you can build up to a 90- to 120-second plank, and visible abs will be yours in no time.
- Spend Some Time Unplugged – With work from home practices, online classes and other virtual ways to conduct activities, people have become hooked to their laptops, phones, and other screens. From when they wake up to when they sleep, people are not only looking at their phones but also have work-related activities on their mind. This is not healthy for their mental health and can lead to excessive stress.
- Keep a Health Check – Regardless of age, we must stay actively involved in keeping our health parameters under surveillance. Frequent blood tests, tests for common diseases and conditions, especially those running in the family must be conducted in order to prevent them, diagnose them early, and get the right treatment to avoid complications.
It isn’t possible to reach your fitness goals all at once. It will take time and a lot of work to reach them. You have to be patient and understand that you may not see immediate results. You also need to be forgiving of yourself. We are all human. We all mess up. You will experience a few setbacks along the journey, but you can’t let them bring you down. You just need to understand that they are a part of the process.
Set smaller, more attainable goals while you steadily work towards big ones. You aren’t giving up on your initial resolutions, but you are giving yourself a chance to accomplishment plenty in the long run. With 2022 swiftly approaching, millions of people across the country will be setting fitness New Year’s Resolutions. Even though many people set goals, most of them fail. We want to help you hit every goal you set for the new year. If you need any help reaching your goals, join the ENHAPP community today.
