Tips to get your workout goals back on track

It's been too easy to put workouts aside this year. But it's almost time to turn that around with your New Year's resolution. "Life Time" personal trainer Jordan Albright joins FOX6 WakeUp wiht tips to get your workout goals back on track. 

2020 has been a challenging year for many of us, especially when it comes to our fitness goals and exercise routine. Thankfully, it can be easy to get back on track with your fitness goals, even before the New Year hits! Joining us now to talk about that Jordan Albright, Personal Training Manager at Life Time in Brookfield.

Have you been noticing more people gaining weight or falling off track because of the pandemic and challenges this year?

•    Absolutely, this has been a tough year for a lot of people when it comes to staying in shape.
•    Spending more time sitting while working from home has made us more sedentary. Recent studies have shown that there’s been a 32% reduction in physical activity this year and another poll says 53% of people have struggled with their mental health due to the pandemic.
•    At Life Time, we’re firm believers in the power of movement. Exercise can reduce stress, boost your immune system and benefit your mental health right now, which a lot of us need!

Five tips for people looking to get back on track.  

•    The first tip I have is to revisit your goals and determine the "why" behind them
•    If you made a goal at the beginning of the year to lose 15 pounds, why did you want to do that? Once you find that why, write it down on a post-it note and put it somewhere where you’ll see it each day for motivation.
•    My second tip is to find some sort of accountability!
o    Find a personal trainer or exercise with a friend. This makes it much more likely you’ll follow through. We find this is very true with our group fitness and small group training offerings at Life Time. 
o    There are also groups and communities online on Facebook, or on apps like Strava

Should we jump back into our routines if that was working for us before?

•    Be sure to ease back into your routine. If you’ve been out of your health club for weeks or months, you can risk injury if you go straight back into what you were doing
o    Do this by focusing on your breathing, form, and control of movements you haven’t done in a while
o    If it’s been several weeks since you’ve done barbell movements, approach your first session with reduced loads and renewed attention to technique
•    Another tip I’d have for people returning to their routine is to let consistency reign over intensity
o    Decide how many days per week you’re going to exercise, and then do it — even if it’s only 10 to 15 minutes or four to five sets
o    Something is better than nothing. We’re creatures of habit, so if you can get yourself into the routine first, you can then build the intensity over time

When it comes to setting new fitness goals – should people start with big or smaller goals?

•    At Life Time we emphasize starting small with specific and measurable goals.
•    Every year at Life Time on January 1st, we encourage all our members to take one positive action toward their goal as part of our Commitment Day celebration.
•    So, instead of big and vague goals – aim for something more specific. "Work out three times a week" or "meditate for five minutes a day" – those are much more helpful and achievable. )

5 Tips for Getting Back on Track with Your Fitness Goals 
1.    Revisit your goals and determine your "why"
2.    Find accountability
3.    Ease back into your routine
4.    Let consistency reign over intensity
5.    Make one change at a time vs. doing too much at once