Every December, along with enjoying the festivities, you may also start reflecting on the past 12 months and thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for the coming year. Whether it’s hitting the hay a half hour earlier each day or reeling in that soda habit or losing weight, the New Year is a time for fresh starts of many sorts.
But it’s a well-known fact that many people don’t end up seeing their resolutions through—41 percent of Americans set goals for the New Year, but only 9 percent report feeling like they’re successful at actually making them happen, one study found.
Turns out, fitness goals can be especially challenging to hit, and January 19 was the day that most people quit their resolutions, according to fitness tracking app Strava, which tracked 98.3 million users in 2019.
That doesn't mean you're doomed to fail, though. Here, eight women who made their resolutions in 2022 a long-term reality share their tips on how you can do the same in this brand-new year.
"Do your research and come up with a game plan."
Brittney Penn (@fit.brit_runs), 36, resolved to run her first ever half and full marathons in 2022. "Running makes me feel like I am capable of anything. I feel powerful when I'm running," she says. Penn accomplished her first goal in April 2022 and did the longer race in October 2022.
"The biggest thing that helped me was research and training. I learned marathon training is so much more than just getting out there and running the distance," she says. For example, since Penn had never run further than 10 miles before, she didn't understand that you had to fuel your body properly to be able to run longer distances. "The first time I set out to run 15 miles for marathon training, I was to the point of nearly fainting," she recalls. "I felt so discouraged because I knew that if that was actually race day, I wouldn't have finished."
The quality-assurance manager began looking up what she needs to do. "I realized I needed to carb load. I researched carb loading and foods you should eat to sustain long distance runs before and while you're running. I also never used energy gels, which were very helpful during long runs," she says. "You really learn a lot about your body and what it needs to sustain that distance mentally and physically."
"Set a time limit for yourself to try—and fail."
Post-pandemic, Kari (@aspire.rise.achieve), 34, was struggling to find the passion and enjoyment that she had previously found in fitness for years when she lost nearly 100 pounds 14 years ago. Workouts at home were a struggle for her when she had previously thrived in an environment where there was a fitness community of many others who were passionate about the same types of workouts.
The Nova Scotia-based disability support worker decided she needed to try something new and reconnect with a fitness community. Even though she found it scary and intimidating, she signed up at a CrossFit gym. However, she didn't end up doing much CrossFit because she stumbled upon Olympic weightlifting and immediately it sparked joy and motivation in her.
"I joined late 2021, but I told myself: 'Give it a full year of awkward learning experiences.' This way, I could see if it was something I'd pursue long-term to find that passion and spark for fitness again rather than going through the motions," she says. "I also wanted to see what I could learn in a year."
Kari was encouraged by a coach to set goal numbers for her lifts. In January 2022, she wrote down her first big goals: to lift a 110-lb./50-kg snatch, then 130-lb./59-kg, followed by a 140-lb./63-kg clean and jerk.
Well, Kari has achieved and surpassed both, at 160-lb./72-kg as of November 2022. "I can't wait to see what's ahead," she says.
"Start slow and stick to a consistent routine"
Maggie Gehring (@_maggieg), 38, wanted to build muscle and become a stronger version of herself in 2022. The mom-of-one chose to pursue this resolution as a way to challenge herself mentally and physically, with the added benefit of increasing her overall health and wellness.
"All too often, people jump in feet first with unrealistic expectations or goals or want immediate results, then get discouraged when it takes longer than it should and end up sabotaging their progress by giving up," she says. "Once I was able to be consistent with my workouts and have a solid routine in place, I began to adjust my diet. I began making healthier choices to my meals—I cut out soda and unnecessary calories from beverages and increased my water intake."
It took her all year in 2022 to see steady progress from establishing the lifestyle as opposed to seeking quick, temporary results. "As a single parent, I encountered more challenges to my routine this last year than I ever had before. Without a routine, it would have been so easy to fall off track and make excuses to not show up. A consistent routine doubles as an accountability piece," she says.
"Good influences make all the difference."
Sunny Wilson (@sunnywfit), 23, decided her New Year's resolution for 2022 was, simply put, to find consistency. Every few months she would fall back with either her mental or physical health, and she wanted to change that.
"I believe it took me six months to complete my goal, to truly find consistency in my life, to be consistent with my exercise routine, my organization, and doing whatever it is I said I was going to do," the personal trainer says.
A big help? "I surrounded myself with people who had similar goals," she says. "When you have good influences around you, it makes all the difference." In return, Wilson points out, this process also can make you a good influence on your friends and family and encourage them to complete their goals or resolutions. "Learning to do this made me a very reliable person, as a friend, a wife, an employee."
"Make a small, consistent commitment each day."
After losing 240 pounds over the past four years, Erin McMichael (@erin_shrinking), 36, was left with a large amount of loose skin. She was gifted a lower-body lift to remove the excess skin on her body, and she had a year to prepare for it, so she made it her goal to go into surgery in the best shape of her life. "I had already maintained my weight loss for a year at this point, so I just needed to continue to maintain and consistently push myself in the areas I was working on," she says. "I did this through learning to do a handstand every day until surgery."
The life coach wanted her core and upper body to be strong and do something that would be really challenging for her. "It took me four months of consistently planking and doing headstands before I got up the courage to see if I could hold myself in a handstand. I failed, fell, and cried a lot, but I didn’t give up!" she says.
It was five months before McMichael could finally flip up in a handstand, and she continued to work on this skill right up until the day of my skin removal surgery. "I fell in love with my body and what it was capable of."
She credited her success to practicing every day. "If I set a goal to work on this every day, then I needed to do what I said I was going to do. So I practiced about eight to 10 minutes a day," McMichael says. "Did I always feel like it? No! But I know that disappointing myself isn’t something I’m willing to do anymore. So from January 1, 2022, until I had my skin removal surgery on November 1, 2022, I was upside down every single day."
"Schedule time before your workday begins."
For 2022, Lacey Crowe (@lacey_crowe.bh), 35, resolved to increase her flexibility. "I came across a photo on Instagram of a contortionist doing her thing, and although I was never contortionist-level flexible, I remembered how great it felt to be able to bend in half when I was a rhythmic gymnast/dancer. I wanted to challenge myself and see how much of it I could get back," she says.
The strategy that helped her most was scheduling time to work on it before her work started. "When I first began, I would try to get my flexibility training in after my workday ended, and several times I let hunger or tiredness or evening plans get in the way. I don't have these excuses in the morning," says Crowe, who is a vocalist in a band. "I had to change my sleep schedule to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier in order to fit my training in. If I'm on the road, filming, or in the studio, I have to fit my training in whenever and wherever I can.
In flexibility training, consistency is very important for improvement, she notes. "Not caring about how I look or who is watching helps me stick to my goals too."
"Get an accountability buddy and take progress photos."
At the end of 2021, Taylor Bunker (@taybunker), 29, wrote down three fitness goals: squat 250 pounds, bench press 100 pounds, and deadlift 250 pounds. It took her until the end of November 2022 to complete all three goals. She also noticed she had gained some weight toward the end of the year and knew she wanted to feel better.
"It's important to take things slow—avoiding injury was my goal too. During my workouts, I'd try to add five to 10 pounds for a single rep, or doing more reps of the lesser weight to add strength," says the Indiana-based mortgage closing specialist. "It's also important to note that I had someone I trusted spotting me. He didn't let me fail and also was a huge hype-man when I needed it!" Bunker reached her aesthetic goal in October, but by July, she had even surpassed her goals.
Another strategy that helped her: taking progress photos. "Put on a swimsuit or sports bra and shorts, then take front, side, and back pictures. Try to get your full body in the picture if possible. Compare your photos each month. Looking at my photos from January to now, I am so proud of how far I've come! Having the pictures has definitely boosted my confidence, especially in months where I feel like motivation is low, I've failed at tracking, or my workouts haven't been great."
"Remember that just because your resolution didn't pan out doesn't mean you failed at it."
One of Rebecca Alexander's (@the.lanky.tank) goals was to prep for a bodybuilding show–the 26-year-old knew she wanted to be on stage. But she also wanted to focus on herself and give herself 100 percent, which was something she's never done before.
However, after 16 weeks of prep and some blood work that wasn't very promising, she recognized her body was telling her it was time to stop. Taking herself out of prep was the hardest thing she has ever done.
"My favorite way of thinking about goals that helps me put the big picture into perspective is one my stepmom told me when I thought I had failed my bodybuilding competition goal: 'Your best friend says they want to get their mile time down from 10 minutes to 6 minutes over the next six months, and they work their butt off every single day through the ups and downs. Then, at the end of the six months, they hit 6 minutes and 45 seconds. Would you say they failed? Or would you acknowledge all of the hard work they've put in and be proud of their accomplishment?' "
That "what would you say to your friend" mindset helped her appreciate how far she had come. "While I didn’t end up on a stage, I still hit a 16-week protocol every damn day like a lot of other competitors. I learned so much about myself and my relationship with food and exercise, and I'm so dang proud of that," she says. "Failure or success shouldn’t be determined by the outcome. It should be determined by everything that was accomplished between the start and finish."
Emily Shiffer is a freelance health and wellness writer living in Pennsylvania.
