More often than not, new year's resolutions are commonly associated with fitness aspirations to the point where we can seem a little overdone, but if there’s any time to get into shape - now is a better time than any. With 2021 starting with much uncertainty due to the epidemic, lockdown can return at any time, and staying healthy through it all can provide a huge boost in confidence and mood. Here are a few tips on how to reach your fitness goals in 2021.

How to reach fitness goals for beginners

Decide What Kind of “Fit” You Want To Be

Being healthy has so much to it and people decide to begin their fitness lifestyle for drastically different reasons. Whether it’s for dopamine release in the form of jogging or getting cut to impress your friends - the regime that you’ll commit to will vary dramatically. For those who are keen on long-distance exercises like running, swimming, or cycling; it’s important to note that endurance doesn’t come overnight - especially for beginners. Conditioning the body will take time and dedication, which starts with untimed distance milestones.

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On the other hand, if you’re looking to put on muscle - bodyweight exercises and weights are your go to. The troublesome part about embarking on this journey is the possible expenditure on equipment to diversify your routine as much as possible. It doesn’t have to be fancy by any means, but having a solid plethora of options can help you mix it up every few weeks.

Alternatively, just wanting to be active is a far simpler goal that can easily be achieved with fun activities. Picking up sports like basketball or football are classic pastimes that enables you to bring people together (keep safety distancing rules in mind). Learning a brand new skill set on top of working on stamina is a stellar option to ease into fitness.

Easing into an Active lifestyle

More applicable to beginners, easing into fitness can be initially intimidating. It is difficult to compartmentalize exercises to JUST being a hobby, as result-oriented activities almost always require practice. With you’re tight for time, classes are a good way to start because you will be guided by experienced instructors, and booking classes will make it harder to cancel! Ideally, training between three to four times a week will condition your body to adapt, even if it is tough at the start. If the frequency is too much to handle initially, HIIT workouts are a great start. Even if done twice a week, HIIT guarantees intensity in small sessions that last between15 to 45 minutes. Although not optimal, it is something to consider if you are drowning in other responsibilities.

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Unfortunately, dieting is a vital component that goes hand in hand with fitness and training. For weight loss and even staying in shape. It’ll help with muscle building and weight loss dramatically. If it’s difficult to go cold turkey, we recommend trying to ration out junk food to one meal every two days to start with and slowly transition to having junk food only on weekends. When you are comfortable with your new meal plan, the ultimate goal is to condense all the unhealthy delights to one dedicated cheat day (or even meal). Dieting is half the battle and even mild alterations in fitness and in food intake can give you results in a few months.

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Maintaining the Active Lifestyle

Once you’ve settled into a relatively consistent workout schedule and make some changes to your diet, it’s inevitable that you’ll lose some steam in a couple of months. One of the most effective ways to avoid this is by switching up your workouts ever so often to keep things interesting. If you’re going for weight loss, long-distance workouts can turn into HIIT, yoga, sports, and more.

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Having a training partner is another way to keep your head in the game. Nothing beats solid accountability from a partner when procrastination starts to hit. The tricky part about this strategy is if either party decides to postpone, rescheduling will start to snowball if all workouts are meant to be done together. Once again, being committed to classes is a slightly safer way to avoid straying away. Lastly, clever scheduling can bring you far if there are certain hours in the day you could slot your workouts ineffectively. Sacrificing precious time you could spend with loved ones may sting a little at first, but is necessary for a long-term commitment. It is advised to go for alternate days of exercise to let your body have the rest it needs.

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