Successful fitness resolutions begin with small changes, experts say

At Deliberately Fit in Taos, owners Rosa and Brannon Badeaux have seen an influx of new members in the first weeks of January. Rosa said that this is the first time they’ve seen such an increase in January in their 10 years of running the gym. It is more typical for the bump to happen in February, but either group at either time is sure to include people looking to follow through on a New Year’s resolution to get in better shape.

At Deliberately Fit, people who join as members can access the gym 24 hours a day and design and implement their own fitness programs. There are also personal training clients, some of whom want help with designing an appropriate program, while others want help every time they work out to make sure they have the right form and intensity.

While people of a variety of ages are members, many of the personal training clients at Deliberately

Fit are adults in their 70s and above with about half the people being in their 80s. These clients often have lifestyle goals, like wanting to be able to undertake activities of daily living — picking up groceries or their grandchildren and wanting to see those grandchildren graduate.

“With the younger members, the goals are different,” Rosa explained. “Men generally want to increase their size through building muscle, while women more often want to lose weight.”

Rosa said achieving a New Year’s resolution to improve an aspect of one’s fitness is all about taking small steps on the way to a larger goal.

“The person who starts out small and works their way up seems to be the most successful,” she said. “A person who makes a commitment and starts seeing small changes is motivated to keep trying. They don’t get the same burnt-out feeling as the all-out person.”

The ephemeral nature of the New Year’s resolution

According to data from global polling company IPSOS, about 38 percent of adults in the U.S. make New Year’s resolutions annually, but 64 percent of those people give up on them before the end of January.

Less than 10 percent of those who make resolutions report actually keeping them and making real changes in their lives. What makes the difference for those who succeed?

In the U.S., the top three goals for this year were to exercise more, eat healthier and lose weight, according to Statista. These were also the most popular goals for last year.

What kinds of resolutions are successful?

Personal trainers and health coaches agree that general resolutions can fail if they don’t have specific steps. That’s why goals are more successful than resolutions, because they are often broken

down into smaller steps. One popular framework suggests making SMART goals — those that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific.

A large-scale study in 2020 looked at more than 1,000 people who made New Year’s resolutions in Sweden. The most popular resolutions were, again, related to physical health, weight loss and eating habits. Those who succeeded most often had goals that were approach-oriented, focusing on starting a new behavior rather than avoidance-oriented goals, like quitting smoking. The difference was 58.9 as opposed to 47.1 percent, respectively, reports science journal PLOS One.

The study participants who received some support, especially in the form of identifying a friend or family member to support them in achieving their goals, were more successful than other participants.

Resolutions more successful than wishful thinking

Goals can be set at any time, but the start of a new year is one when many people are most likely to think about their lives with a broader perspective that allows them to identify areas that need change.

Even though making a resolution certainly doesn’t guarantee success, it turns out that those who have a specific plan are more successful than those who only hope for change. The Journal of Clinical Psychology reported that those who made New Year’s resolutions were 44 percent more likely to succeed in that goal after six months than those who didn’t make a resolution but were hoping to make a change later.

Is it worth the effort?

Research has shown that getting regular exercise can help you lose weight if combined with healthy eating. Exercise can reduce your risk of heart disease, help your body manage blood sugar and insulin levels, help you quit smoking, along with improving your mental health, keeping your judgement skills sharp as you age, strengthening your bones and muscles, and many other benefits. Exercise can also help you live a longer life, according to many studies published in the National Library of Medicine.

Virginia Morgan, 83, has been working out at Deliberately Fit for the past 10 years. She said she is motivated to keep working out because she loves moving her body.

Although she doesn’t make New Year’s resolutions, she does set daily goals for what she wants to accomplish, based on what she feels she needs to do for her life. In addition to working out, she tries to walk 2 miles a day at Kit Carson Park.

“It works” she said. “I’ve always done something: been a runner, cross country skier and I just love it. It makes you feel good. It’s good for you. Exercise has a ton of benefits.” Morgan credits the Badeauxs at Deliberately Fit for supporting her in her specific goals and for creating a supportive place to work out.

“You have a spark in you. I have the spark in me,” she added. “And that spark motivates me. It keeps me going.” She plans to keep working out forever.