I can sense the eye rolls already.
“Really, Tony? A post on New Year’s resolutions? How profound and unimaginably unique!”
Touche.
I can appreciate that there’s no shortage of similar posts you’ve undoubtedly come across in recent days. You’re likely thiiiiiiis close to introducing your forehead to the keyboard in front of you. What could I possibly have to say that’s any different or inspirational or less vomit-in-your-mouth(ish) that hasn’t been regurgitated ad nauseam already?
Read on…
I Promise This Will Be Different
To follow the lead of my coach (I.e., I’m just going to cut and paste), Sarah Moorman, who had some sage words to share herself on the topic:
Almost 40% of the population makes New Year’s Resolutions. From that number, a vast majority of resolutions are within the gravitational pull of health/fitness:
- Eating habits
- Exercise habits
- Building a pair of pecs that can cut diamonds
- You know, stuff like that
However, much like Sarah, I’m more of a fan of, actually…I’ll just let her say it:
“I’m largely in the camp of setting goals about consistency to help set new habits. For example, instead of a weight loss goal of a specific number of pounds, I advise you to hit your calorie or macro goals 6 days a week.”
“Why?
If someone is more consistent with hitting their calorie goals, their focus is on their eating habits as opposed to the weight on the scale.”
To parallel this viewpoint, the other day T-Nation.com memed me, which is always an honor.
I’ve long championed the 3×52 mentality.
Do something (anything) 3x per week, 52 weeks out of the year (preferably with an emphasis on lifting heavy things1), and something stellar is bound to happen.
Why THREE days and not:
- 4?
- 5?
- 6?
- 7?
Well, because for most people 3x per week is a number they can wrap their head around; it’s not intimidating.
It’s doable.
It emphasizes REALISTIC consistency.
Like I said, T-Nation made the meme and then posted it up on their IG account the very same day. I had to chuckle at a number of the initial comments:
- “6×52 is better.”
- “No days off!”
So on and so forth.
I have a hunch that if I made a Venn diagram and the circles consisted of:
1️⃣ I have zero kids.
2️⃣ I have no family responsibilities.
3️⃣ I am not a coach and/or I read a book on fitness, once.
4️⃣ I like to brag about my 225 max deadlift and/or my entire identity is tethered to how many followers I have on IG.
That that would pretty much represent the type of person who would end up right smack dab in the middle of the diagram and who would make such asinine remarks.
Listen, you’re not a Spartan warrior or a Navy SEAL.
Relax.
Being hardcore (or pretending to be online) doesn’t get results long term. It’ll work, for a bit. Maybe. And then you realize you’re NOT Rambo or Valentina Shevchenko.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons
Being a bit more realistic with the degree of consistency needed and more importantly, expectations one places on one’s self, is key.
It’s human nature to dive right in and to go from zero to 60 without really thinking things through:
- Says here this detox tea is legit. After 47 days my body will be cleansed of all these pesky “toxins” and I’ll be able to see sounds! Fuck my liver and pancreas. They don’t know what they’re doing anyway.
- I haven’t exercised since before the pandemic, so I may as well start with some German Volume Training.
We all think we’re more advanced then we are and that we can skip all the seemingly unnecessary & annoyingly rudimentary steps to go from Point A (where we currently are) to Point B (where we want to be) in the fastest way possible.
Can people attain their health/fitness goals in such a haphazard way?
Sure.
But it rarely sticks, because they fail to hone in on the necessary habits to make things click long-term.
So, with 2022 upon us I encourage you to consider reframing the way you go about making your resolutions. Instead of saying “I want to deadlift a bulldozer” say something like “I want to follow a strength training program 3x per week for the next 52 weeks.”
The latter will undoubtedly be more palatable and realistic.
