Four tips to stay true to your New Year’s resolutions

Beginning of the New Year is the time to set the infamous goals to exercise more, quit sugar, get more sleep or to train for a marathon. Ever so often the start is fast and furious, and everything goes according to plan – until something happens. A relapse, a full week without any workouts or partying hard and getting too little sleep. 

Why is it that so many of us tend to quit when the first struggle comes along the way? Because eventually, it most likely happens.
 
Here are a couple of tips to help you to get back on track and stay motivated throughout the year.

1. Recovery is the new black

We all know it – how motivating it is to set ambitious goals and to imagine yourself in the shape of your life before summer is here. We commit to working out five times a week and give 100 % every single time. However, we can’t help to notice how the quality of our sleep starts getting worse and our muscles seem to be sore 24/7.

Every athlete knows that the secret to success is not only in your workout routine, but in your recovery. So keep record of what parts your routine consists of: What is the balance of aerobic and anaerobic workouts? Should I switch one high-intense workout to a walk in nature? Would a stretching session improve my flexibility and help my muscles to recover faster? Sports Tracker’s NEW workout diary (remember to update your app to get it!) helps you to construct a balanced routine that allows you to keep track of your recovery. And if you own a HR belt or a sports watch with wrist HR, following your heart rate is obviously useful.

2. See your progress as a journey

The amazing thing about tracking your workouts is that you get to look back and reflect your progress. In order to achieve your goals, it is important to see your progress as a journey with its ups and downs. See how well you did during the corresponding time period last year and reflect your achievements to that. Or in contrast to blaming yourself for not achieving every objective, commit a gentle reality check and look at the circumstances under which things maybe took a wrong turn.

3. Remember that every workout counts!

You finish an amazing workout and feel super good! Interestingly, the high lasts only for so long and you start planning for the next time when you definitely have to do even better and add half an hour to your session. However, maybe this would be the best time to embrace your accomplishes and remind yourself of the amazing workouts you have already done this year. Maybe you found a favorite sport or noticed that you really love the scenery in that specific jogging path. So track every work out (when possible), take photos, write notes and save it all to your Sports Tracker account. This helps you to remember what is already working and adds up to your motivation.

4. Share, share, share

What is the funniest thing about New Year’s resolutions – and relapses? Most of us have had them at some point of our lives. That is why it is important to get motivation and to give and receive support from other sportswomen and -men who are going through the same experiences. So take advantage of the amazing Sports Tracker community, and network, share your experiences and encourage your fellow trackers. And remember that maybe there are no relapses, just reminders that you are trying!