New Year's Resolutions: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

One might think that the person who came up with the concept of New Year's resolutions was particularly malicious. At the darkest time of the year, after a Christmas holiday filled with fatty foods and other indulgences, you're suddenly supposed to become a new and better person. Maybe we should actually have Easter resolutions instead?

At the same time, research shows that the start of a new period can make it easier to develop new habits. This can be a new year, after a holiday, or even the beginning of a month.

Don't Set the Bar Too High

It's not easy to start making lifestyle changes. Believing that we can immediately transform into the perfect version of ourselves is one of the most common mistakes. In January, we start exercising as if we were going to run the London Marathon in April, when we haven't run since school gym classes. The key here is to set good goals for ourselves, and one of the most important aspects is having an achievable goal.

If you want to start exercising after a long period of inactivity, it's better to start small. Perhaps you can join a New Year's challenge? Naardic trainer Cathrine Wilhelmsen has a challenge that starts right after New Year's. "7 days, 7 minutes, 7th of January" which is perfect for those who need to get started.

Sign up to Cathrine's course here.

Choose a Goal You Actually Want to Achieve

Whether it's more physical activity or losing weight, behavior change takes time. The most important thing is to choose something you actually want to do. This could be taking a dance class every week, going for a walk in the forest every day, or something else that brings you joy. If we promise ourselves we'll do 100 burpees every day, we'll most likely give up after a few days.

Get Help from an Expert

Naardic has many experienced trainers who can help you get started through our one-to-one sessions. You can read about the different trainers and book sessions with them here. You'll get personalized training that can make New Year's resolutions easier to keep.

Perhaps you're actually planning to run the London Marathon in April? If you don't already have a new training plan to get started with, it might be wise to get help from an expert. Our trainer Rune Solheim is the perfect choice here, and in January he's holding a course that can help you. "Run Longer" is thirty days of intervals and injury-preventing strength training that will make it easier to start training for London.

Sign up to Rune's course here.

Smart Goals and Support from Friends

With New Year's resolutions, as with everything else, it's important to be smart. Or SMART, as it's known: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. "I will engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes every day until summer vacation" is better than "I will train more and get in super shape for the summer."

Additionally, you can get support from friends and family. You can tell the world about your training plan for January. Or maybe invite them to join your workouts? As a Naardic member, you can use the "invite friends" feature to train with others.

Our courses are also open to non-members and simultaneously give them access to all our classes during the course. A nice gift idea!

Have a Plan for When Things Go Wrong

Think of this as a mountain safety rule for your journey to new, better habits. Be prepared that something might go wrong, and have a plan to ensure this doesn't make you drop everything entirely. This is especially important if you're trying to make a big and important change, like exercising more.

Life is full of big and small obstacles. If a cold or a stressful work period gets you out of your good habits, it can be difficult to get back on track.

You can replace your training session by running up the stairs at work three times if you don't have time. Your Naardic PT can set up a training plan with "light" and "heavy" weeks, so you can switch between these. This is a great way to ensure that life doesn't get in the way of your training and New Year's resolutions.

It's Okay to Get a Head Start

Finally, it's important to remember that New Year's resolutions are not a competition. Therefore, it's okay to get a head start! You won't be disqualified, and it makes it easier to get going after New Year's. Twixstmas is the new New Year...