The most common New Year’s resolution is to embrace a more active lifestyle, according to Nielson research. However, statistics also confirm that 80 percent of people abandon their fitness resolutions within just a couple months. If you want to make healthier choices for 2017, but have a track record of quickly losing interest, then it’s time to find a different approach.
One of the best ways to stay on track is to have someone who will hold you accountable, and encourage and motivate you. That person is your significant other, and after reaching your health goals together, you’ll be closer than ever.
Don’t wait until the last minute to get started. Use the following tips to jump-start your joint resolution to get healthy so you’re ready to go.
Prep Your Supplies
One of the best ways to get motivated for exercise is to buy new workout clothes. Head to the store together to pick out some new fitness gear, and make it fun by choosing outfits for each other.
While you’re at it, head to the grocery store and buy ingredients for healthy meals you can make together. When you know what healthy food each other likes, it’ll be easier for one of you to do the grocery shopping while helping the other stay on track.
Get a Gait Analysis
When you’re out buying new gear, find a shoe store that offers a free gait analysis. While this may not seem necessary, it will help you discover any potential problems with your mechanics or even the shoes you already own, that could lead to injury and de-rail your goals.
This is especially true if you plan to start running. “Running shoes are structural and functional extensions of the foot. Chosen correctly, they can improve your running. Chosen incorrectly, they can amplify biomechanical and functional flaws, increasing your risk of injury,” according to experts at Fit2Run.
The analysis is almost always free, and you’ll be better prepared before you hit the road for your first run.
Find Activities that You Both Enjoy
Pursuing a shared interest together not only enhances your appreciation for each other’s company, but it also ensures you’re both enjoying yourselves. When you like working out, you’re more likely to stay on track.
Brainstorm workout options that you both love, and can do together, whether it’s going to the gym, doing boxing or taking a swim. Most gyms provide members with free classes, which can be another fun option for you and your S.O.
Don’t be afraid to go at it alone every once in a while as well. If one of you likes rock climbing while the other prefers yoga, agree on one day a week that you’ll go separate ways for that activity.
Pick a Motivational Mantra Together
Achieving a healthier body requires a focused, composed and determined mindset, allowing you to push past the challenges that you’ll inevitably come across. A great way to stay in this mindset is to create a mantra, which has been used for centuries as a way to free the mind:
“The Sanskrit word mantra is derived from the root of man which means, “to think,” and tra from trai which means “to protect or to free from bondage” or “to free from the mind’,” explains Amarjit Singh, yoga teacher and coach.
Create a shared mantra that you can say together or alone, and use as motivation when the other person is struggling. Check out these 25 inspiring health and fitness mantras to get your creative juices flowing.
Set Your Goals and Get Competitive
Fitness is more effective and sustainable when you approach circumstances from a driven, goal-oriented perspective. Choose your goals together, perhaps having a shared goal between the two of you, and a personal one for yourself. Treat the shared goal as a competition—who can hit it first?
Reaching new milestones together will be rewarding, and having someone to compete against may be the motivating factor you’ve been missing in years past. Sometimes being the “winner” is the only thing to get you through a workout—and that’s okay.
Help your partner get fit in the New Year while building a healthy lifestyle for yourself as well. Use these ideas to get a jump-start on your goals so you’re ready to get moving right away.
