How to make your New Years’ resolution to ‘exercise more’ stick!
How long will you stick to your New Year’s resolution? Or have you already given up?
Multiple surveys say about half of Americans have made resolutions to exercise more in 2021. (1) (2) Not surprising, as most of us would like slimmer waistlines. 😉
However, research on the success rates of New Year’s resolutions is frightening!
One often cited study from researchers at Scranton University showed only 77% maintain their pledges for one week and only 19% were still going strong at the end of year two. (3)
But this shouldn’t be surprising. While many people say it takes 3–4 weeks to develop a habit, researchers from the University College London showed it takes an average of 9.4 weeks. (4)
That is 2–3 times longer than most people think!
And the time range for habit formation in this study ranged from 2.6 to 36.3 weeks. Maybe the best habit formers can do it in about 3 weeks, but the average person does it in about 10 weeks, and a lot of people take much longer than that.
So, adjust your expectations! If you thought your resolution to exercise more would be a habit by now your wrong.
But you can still be successful, and that starts with understanding why resolutions fail.
Why do resolutions fail?
It could be you are not ‘ready to change’.
The Scranton researchers found that readiness to change was a valid predictor of whether someone would keep their New Year’s resolution. (5) Surprised? You shouldn’t be. The start of the new year is a cause to celebrate, but there are 364 other days you could choose to make a change 😉.
It could also be you ‘don’t believe you can’ achieve the goal you set, or the goal is ‘unrealistic’.
The Scranton research also showed those who believed they could be successful were the most likely to keep their New Year’s resolution. Research on the effect of stretch goals shows these types of goals undermine goal attainment. (6) And researchers at Stanford found those who focused on smaller, sub-goals early in the pursuit of a big goal were more successful than people who focused only on the big goal. (7)
It could be the goal isn’t ‘specific’ enough. (8) (9) (10) (11)
And, a New Year’s resolution to exercise more really isn’t that specific. If you exercised zero times last year and exercised just once this year you would be successful. But I doubt this is the real goal when someone resolves to exercise more 😉.
Inadequate ‘planning’ is also cited as a common reason for failure. (8) (9) (12)
No surprise here. If you don’t know what path to follow how do you get from where you are now to where you want to be?
And a meta-analysis of 94 different goal attainment studies showed implementation intentions, where a plan was developed, had a medium to large positive effect on success. (13)
How to make your resolution a success.
Step 1: Start by testing your readiness to change using the questions below. I developed these using the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM), a well-established and widely used model of behavior change. (13).
Do you think physical activity is important (and be honest with yourself, don’t answer the way you think others expect you to answer)? If you said no or I’m not sure, you are likely in stage one of the TTM and not ready to change.
Have you identified the implications of being inactive, think it is important to be active, but are still not active? If you said yes, you are likely in stage two and still not ready to change.
Have you identified the implications of being inactive, think it is important to be active, and have started some physical activities? Maybe an occasional walk or trip to the gym? Bingo! If this describes you then you are likely in stage three and you are ready to change.
If you have been engaged in regular physical activity for less than six months you are in the action phase of change, and your focus should be to develop the right habits.
If you have been engaged in regular physical activity for more than six months you are in the maintenance phase, and your goal should be to prevent a relapse.
Step 2: If you are ‘ready to change’ select two goals, one outcome and one process related. Make sure they are realistic, specific, and combine both short- and long-term goals as research from the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology says these are the most effective types of goals. (11)
The process goal should be your short-term goal, say a week. For example, say you are walking 20 minutes 1–2 times a week for right now. A ‘realistic’ process goal in this situation may be to walk 25 minutes 3 times a week. I like process goals for the short-term goal because you have more control over them, they are easier to achieve, and they build self-confidence!
The outcome goal should be your long(er)-term goal. Goals that are too far in the future are demotivating, so use 4 weeks. (14) And it is critical that this goal be realistic! If you want to lose weight, setting an outcome goal of 1–2 lbs. in 4 weeks is realistic. (15) But, losing 10 lbs. in 4 weeks is unrealistic for most (and unsafe).
Step 3: Develop a plan. Write out your typical weekday and weekend day schedule. Identify the time slots where you can put your workouts. Consciously deciding in advance, and intentionally removing something to make room for workouts, increases your chances of success.
Next, select the exercises you want to perform. There are tons of resources for this online, YouTube being one of the best free resources. You can also check out Central Street Fitness’ exercise programs here or contact me and I will develop a custom program for you.
The most important thing here is to pick things you actually enjoy doing. Don’t join a running club if you don’t like running! Yes, running is great exercise and most people can do it. But if you don’t like running, you’re in for some suffering, depression, and likely failure as well.
For an additional boost of motivation tell your friends and family, the supportive ones 😉, about this plan. Then check-in with them weekly to let them know how you are doing. Their support will further motivate you to stick to your resolution.
Step 4: Execute your plan. If you have made it to this point, and done the prior steps correctly, give yourself a pat on the back! You’ve already significantly increased your odds of being successful. In my opinion, there are two keys to success in this phase.
Track your progress. Use your fitness watch, use the fitness app on your phone, heck even using the old fashion journal works. Just keep track of what you do and how you feel. This helps you identify what works for you, what doesn’t work, and most importantly tells you when to celebrate because you achieved a goal.
Don’t get upset. If you miss a day here or there it is not a big deal. Lally’s research on habits showed a single missed day had little effect on forming long term habits. (4) However, missing an entire week will likely cause problems.
Conclusion
Many people may have resolved to exercise more in 2021, and many will fail to do so. You don’t have to be one of these people.
Research has shown us the most common reasons why people fail, which include: not being ready to change, setting unrealistic goals, lack of specific goals, and inadequate planning. Use these learnings and you can keep your resolution by 1) assessing your readiness to change, 2) setting specific and achievable short- and long-term goals, 3) developing a plan for when, where, and how you will exercise, and 4) tracking your progress as you execute your plan.
I wish you luck on your fitness journey, and if you have any questions or want some assistance you can contact me.
References
1. Jenik, Claire. America’s Top New Year’s Resolutions for 2021. Statista.com. [Online] Dec. 18, 2020. [Cited: Jan. 20, 2021.] https://www.statista.com/chart/23812/most-popular-new-year-resolutions-americans/.
2. Ballard, J. Exercising and sticking to a healthy diet are the most common 2021 New Year’s resolutions. today.yougov.com. [Online] 12 23, 2020. [Cited: 2 18, 2021.] https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2020/12/23/2021-new-years-resolutions-poll.
3. Norcross, J.C. and Vangarelli, D.J. The resolution solution: longitudinal examination of New Year’s change attempts. PubMed.gov. [Online] National Institutes of Health, 1988. [Cited: 02 17, 2021.] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2980864/.
4. Lally, P., et al. How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2009, Vol. 40, 6.
5. Norcross, J.C., Ratzin, A.C. and Payne, D. Ringing in the new year: the change processes and reported outcomes of resolutions. PubMed.gov. [Online] 1989. [Cited: 18 2, 2021.] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2728957/.
6. Gary, M.S., et al. Stretch Goals and the Distribution of Organizational Performance. pubsonline.informs.org. [Online] May 24, 2017. [Cited: 2 18, 2021.] https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/orsc.2017.1131.
7. Huang, S., Jin, L. and Zhang, Y. Step by Step: Sub-Goals as a Source of Motivation. gsb.stanford.edu. [Online] Jul 2017. [Cited: 2 18, 2021.] https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/step-step-sub-goals-source-motivation.
8. Abadi, M. A psychotherapist says there are 3 common reasons so many people’s New Year’s resolutions end in failure. businessinsider.com. [Online] Jan 1, 2021. [Cited: Feb 18, 2021.] https://www.businessinsider.com/new-years-resolutions-failure-advice-jonathan-alpert-2018-12.
9. Winch, G. 5 Common New Year’s Resolution Mistakes and How to Fix Them. huffpost.com. [Online] Dec 26, 2013. [Cited: Feb 18, 2021.] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-years-resolution-_b_4449214.
10. Self-Regulation Failure: An Overview. Baumeister, R.F. and Heatherton, T.F. 1, s.l. : Psychological Inquiry, 1996, Vol. 7.
11. Kyllo, L.B. and Landers, D.M. Goal Setting in Sport and Exercise: A Research Synthesis to Resolve the Controversy. Human Kinetics Journals. [Online] 1995. [Cited: Feb 19, 2021.] https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsep/17/2/article-p117.xml?content=contentSummary-6973.
12. Luciani, J. Top 10 Reasons You Don’t Stick to Your Resolutions. shape.com. [Online] Jan 3, 2012. [Cited: Feb 18, 2021.] https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/top-10-reasons-you-dont-stick-your-resolutions.
13. IMPLEMENTATION INTENTIONS. Gollwitzer, P.M. and Sheeran, P. s.l. : Advances In Experimental Social Psychology, 2006, Vol. 38.
14. Goal-proximity decision-making. Veksler, V.D. and Schoelles, M.J. 4, s.l. : Cognitive Science, 2013, Vol. 37.
15. American Council on Exercise. Personal Trainer Manual. 5th. s.l. : American Council on Exercise, 2014.
16. Attaining Personal Goals: Self-Concordance Plus Implementation Intentions Equals Success. Koestner, R., et al. 1, s.l. : Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2002, Vol. 83.
17. Gardner B, Lally P, Wardle J. Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice. British Journal of General Practice. 2012, Vol. 62, 605.
