06 Jan A year’s worth of fitness tips for 2010

Everybody knows there are 12 months in a year, and that’s a lot of time to make yourself look and feel better in 2010?
Here are random fitness tips for each of those months to make this a better year for you.

1 Make fitness a top priority – You’re careful to be a good worker, go to doctor’s appointments, get the kids where they need to go, not forget relative’s birthdays and everything else under the sun, but do you put yourself first enough?
Make fitness a priority this year. Write down your workout results as carefully as you keep track of other stuff. It’s just as important.

2 Understand your scale – A lot of people start a workout program and a month or two into it suddenly get very discouraged, even if it seemed to have been going well. Why? They look at the scale and don’t see much weight loss. Some may have even gained a pound or two.
That can be OK because muscle weighs more than fat. If your belly has gone down, muscles feel toned and clothes are fitting better, that’s a lot better indication of progress than the scale.

3 Make stretching a priority – Stretching will help prevent injuries and assist with a cool down.

4 Schedule visits with friends based around fitness – Instead of women meeting at a coffee shop, or men getting together at the Chicken Wing Shack, plan to meet for a walk/hike, bike ride, play a sport, etc.

5 Only do exercises you enjoy – This isn’t high school when a gym teacher or coach can punish you with suicide sprints or asking you to climb a rope to the ceiling. Pick exercises you enjoy because you’re a lot more likely to stick with them.

6 Reward yourself – Set an exercise goal for yourself, or with a spouse or workout friend, that has a reward at the end of it. If you meet it, agree to buy something you’ve been wanting or take a vacation, etc.

7 Pass out compliments – If you’re working out with people, compliment them occasionally on a job well done. Being positive to others makes them see you as a positive person.

8 Buy a new piece of exercise equipment – This will help change up your workout and reward you for choosing a fit lifestyle.

9 Write it down – Your workouts will go a lot better if you write them down. It will help motivate you, set goals and track progress.

10 Try to find a workout buddy – This will really help you both motivate the other by having someone you’re accountable to.

11 Support your significant other – Make an agreement with your spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend that you both get to set aside one hour a day to work out. Help each other make that possible.

12 Be grateful – Be appreciative of what you have and say one thing out loud that you’re grateful for each day. It can make you feel a lot better.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com