A recent survey revealed that the top three New Year’s resolutions that Americans set for 2022 are focusing on financial health, improving health and wellness holistically, and focusing on self-care or body positivity when it comes to their body image.
However, it’s well documented that around only 10% of U.S. adults stick with their resolutions, and nearly half of all resolutions are broken within the first month. That’s why many Americans are taking a different approach to New Year’s resolutions for 2022.
This year, the majority of American adults who set a resolution plan to incorporate small changes into their daily lives throughout the year, set goals that help build healthy habits, and celebrate small victories along the way.
So, if one of your goals for 2022 is to exercise more often, we’ve got you covered with several strategies that will help make it easier to stick with an exercise habit in the New Year.
Usually categorized as good or bad, habits are routine behaviors that we carry out almost subconsciously.
The psychology behind habit formation is what allows us to create new healthy habits. It’s also what allows us to break any bad habits that we may have.
1. Make Exercise A Daily Habit
The more consistent an action is, the more likely it is to become a habit. So, if you typically workout three to four times per week, consider adding active recovery days to your workout regimen in order to make exercise a daily habit in 2022.
Active recovery between exercise days will help you balance out your week, allowing you to do medium to high-intensity training, as well as low-intensity training for recovery.
For instance, if you typically do strength training exercises four days each week, your weekly workout schedule may look like:
Monday: Strength Training
Tuesday: Strength Training
Wednesday: Active Recovery
Thursday: Strength Training
Friday: Active Recovery
Saturday: Strength Training
Sunday: Active Recovery
On active recovery days, you can perform light cardio exercises using a piece of cardio equipment at the gym like an exercise bike, rowing machine, or an elliptical. You can also do a low-intensity movement session such as yoga.
When setting goals, it’s important to be specific. This way, you have a concrete goal to work towards, and you can track your progress along the way.
That said, while measurable goals are important, an expert on habits, decision making, and continuous improvement believes that you should focus on the habit first and the results later when it comes to making exercise a habit.
The reasoning behind this thought process is that establishing a new normal and building a new routine that you will stick to is what matters most in the beginning, not the results that you get. The belief is that once you become the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts, then you can focus on achieving your fitness goals.
It’s also important to be patient with your results since strength and performance results can fluctuate over time. For instance, you may be able to achieve some results pretty quickly early on, but then it may take you longer to accomplish some of your other fitness goals. The key is to stick with it and not give up.