New Year, New You - yep, you’re probably fed up of hearing it every time January rolls around. We get it. But you also really want this year to be the one where you finally reach those fitness goals you’ve been putting off. You feel stuck doing the same old things without seeing results.
Fear not! We want to share with you 6 habits which will make your workouts more effective, more practical, and ultimately more enjoyable. Read on to learn the 6 healthy fitness habits we want you to try in 2024, that will ultimately help you create a consistent routine and lead to better results 👇
#1 Make realistic compromises
Starting off a fitness journey means adopting a healthier lifestyle. If you want to not only achieve but also maintain all your results, you’ve got to accept some compromises to finally reach your goals. The trick to doing this in the best way possible is to set realistic trade-offs.
Completely cutting things out and restricting yourself, very rarely works. For example, if you order weekly takeaways, it’s unrealistic to say you’re never going to eat them again - both at home and in social situations. Here’s how to do it:
Focus on frequency: rather than cutting out, say, your weekly takeaway, instead enjoy it monthly, and in social settings don’t always resort to the easy, unhealthier option. Make them something to look forward to, not completely off-limits.
Practice marginal gains: making tiny changes are much less intimidating than complete overhauls, but can also help you step up to greater change in the long-term. For example, try cooking more homemade meals, or adding more fruit and vegetables to your lunch.
Remember your “why”: in moments of weakness, look back at progress pictures and your earliest workouts to see just how far you’ve come. It’s why you’re making the compromise in the first place.
Don’t beat yourself up: guess what? We all need to treat ourselves, and as we said, it’s barely ever going to work if you give up everything you love! Be kind to yourself when you’re not 100% perfect, and instead focus on getting yourself back into routine rather than falling into a rut.
#2 Plan your weeks ahead of time
Consistent fitness progress doesn’t come from working out simply ‘when you feel like it.’ As a fitness habit, the more structure you put in place, the more organised you are ahead of time and the more effective you’ll train.
Plan out your week ahead, noting the days and times which you’re going to train and then when you’re going to have recovery days. Think about any commitments you need to work around and consider when you’re at your most energetic (i.e. are you a morning person?).
Aim for consistency - try to keep to the same pattern each week as it makes life easier and keeps your progress steady. In fact, you should also plan what your goal for the week will be, which could be as simple as squeezing in 5 extra reps on an exercise. It gives you extra motivation for the week in the form of an easy, bite-sized objective.
Plan meals ahead of time - it doesn't have to be an exact meal plan, but having a few staple meals planned in the back of your mind that you want to make, means you'll likely eat healthier, makes your food shops easier and saves time in the long run.
#3 Learn to build protein-rich meals
However strong your workout regime is, it needs to be backed up by a protein-rich diet. One of the greatest skills (and fitness habits) you can equip yourself with is learning how to build straightforward recipes of nutritional value:
Familiarise yourself with nutrition labels - this lets you quickly identify products which pack enough protein per gram. Online grocery shopping offers this too, as do certain macro-tracking apps.
Search recipes you can prepare in bulk for the week. These could be chilis, curries, stir fries, fillings for wraps… Having ready made protein rich meals means not resorting to easier, less nutritious alternatives.
When bulk prep isn’t an option, search recipes or buy cookbooks which are tailored around 15 minute meals.
To keep costs lower you can bulk buy many wholefood ingredients you enjoy which are protein-rich, such as legumes or lentils.
#4 Practice 'something over nothing'
Ever heard the phrase “showing up is half the battle”? Well this couldn’t be more true on the workout days where you’re feeling tired or pressed for time.
Rather than thinking every workout has to be perfect, just following some of your training plan is better than doing nothing and beating yourself up about it. You’ll feel better and it’ll be easier to slip back into full routine.
While you always want to aim for full workouts, on the odd occasion where it’s just not practical, here’s how to adapt:
Pick out exercises which target different muscle groups. For example, if you’re training with bicep curls, it’s not necessarily going to be worth squeezing hammer curls into your limited time. Choose a shoulder raise instead.
If you’re really cutting your workout short, focused on compound exercises to target multiple muscle groups at once - these include squats and pushups.
Don’t rush: trying to cram in every exercise means rushing your circuits, your sets and ultimately your reps. Rushing a rep risks poor form and won’t fully activate your muscles. It’s better to do less sets but with correct form.
Still push yourself, even if it means you find an extra 5 minutes to squeeze in another two sets of an exercise.
#5 Keep active outside your workouts
It’s very easy to fall into the trap of not moving from the sofa on a rest day. We’ve all been there, and it’s so, so easy to fall into bad habits and even use them as an excuse for an extra cheat day…
While your body will always need rest days to repair (and grow) muscles, we encourage practising active recovery. Starting this fitness habit means exercising lightly to help keep your body flexible and even reduce aches and pains. Here’s how to do it:
Pick an activity you love: maybe you’re attending a pilates class or taking yourself outside for a walk. You’ll look forward to doing it and many of these activities lend themselves to socialising.
Keep it on the lighter side: remember your body is still in recovery. Keep activities to 30 minutes, so you’re still active but not putting yourself under strain.
Focus on breathing: doing so in physical activity helps circulation to stimulate muscle growth and repair your body needs.
Listen to your body: there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a true rest day once in a while. Paying attention to your body and your energy can tell you when you do just need to switch off from fitness, as long as it’s not every time.
#6 Improve your mobility
We say this A LOT, but if there’s one fitness habit to start in 2024 it’s to establish stretching routines in your workout plan. Improving mobility with stretching is crucial to any fitness journey, you’re boosting your range of motion and flexibility which means:
Improving form: a range of motion means being able to improve posture and perform exercise with better form. This means you can move your muscles more freely and truly maximise each rep. This in turn can help to prevent strains and injuries.
Improves day to day performance: being more flexible means being able to take on more of what your day throws at you. Feeling less strained by everyday activities means having more energy to perform your best during workouts.
Boosts circulation: as we mentioned in tip #4, better circulation means better blood flow to your muscles, which in turn means better recovery.
Here’s how to do it:
Set aside 10 minutes at the end of your workout to stretch.
Ensure you’ve got free-moving space either at the gym or in a dedicated home workout space. This might mean buying an exercise mat if you haven’t already.
Choose the stretches related to the muscle groups you’ve been training. Target different muscle groups - they’ll all be feeling a little sore and in need of a stretch!
Did you know: the trainn app has hundreds of easy follow-along stretch- and mobility routines you can start today. Click to download the app
#7 Workout with a proper plan
While it’s amazing to have so many online resources offering thousands of different ways to train, it’s like falling down a rabbit hole. It can be pretty overwhelming, especially when the info starts to conflict and lose relevance. This is where working with a personal trainer comes in - they have the expertise to tailor advice for you rather than thousands of other readers. But we know this isn’t always affordable.
We recommend working the trainn app into your fitness journey in 2024. It’s the affordable personal trainer in your pocket - building a personalised training plan which adapts with you as you grow and change. You’ll have an in-app personal trainer at a fraction of the cost, giving you the expertise to take the guesswork and confusion out of finally achieving your goals.
There’s no better time to sign up, click the button below and you’ll be ready to make healthy fitness habits a reality in minutes:
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