On January 1 each year, millions of people resolve to improve their health and wellness. Some will join a gym. Others will change their eating habits. But about 20% of the population will decide to use outdoor fitness equipment and participate in other outdoor activities.
Less than half the people who make resolutions keep them all year long. We asked GameTime's outdoor fitness ambassador Yancy Culp for some advice on making your fitness resolutions stick. Read on for our Q&A with Yancy on turning resolutions into healthy habits for a lifetime.
Q&A With Yancy Culp
Yancy Culp is GameTime's Outdoor Fitness Ambassador
Q: What are some tricks or tips for people who struggle with keeping their New Year’s resolutions, particularly those centered around fitness and health?
Refocus on the resolution. Every person reading this right now, or that will ever read this, is either respecting their body in some form or fashion disrespecting their body consistently. You gotta ask yourself this question: Are you consistently respecting your mind and body, or are you consistently disrespecting your mind and body?
So first off, let's be real. Wherever you are right now, it's okay. If you try to dive in seven days a week, trying to nail your nutrition to fitness, you will fail 100% of the time.
I'm a firm believer that you can and should enjoy the process. Even when the process is maybe trying to lose 80 pounds or run a marathon, I still think you can be in a program where you enjoy the process.
Instead of jumping into these radical diet and exercise programs where you’re working out four to five times a day, I think it’s important to mesh fitness into your life and form healthy habits gradually. Your fitness regimen and diet shouldn’t consume your life. That’s just not a healthy long-term approach. Gradually working fitness into your lifestyle is much more sustainable, and it allows you to stay motivated 80 to 90 percent of the time.
Make physical activity part of your daily life, but set realistic goals that are attainable and sustainable.
Q: Can you elaborate on setting realistic fitness goals?
I suggest using the 90/10 principle. 90% of the time, live your life in a way where it's that “win” mantra. If I go a couple of days without exercising, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'm not going to be hard on myself, I'm not going to talk about it, and I'm not going to post about it.
Enjoy those couple of days off and then get back on track. Enjoy the times when you're having fun foods or taking a break from exercise.
As far as fitness and nutrition is concerned, ask yourself, "are you happy with how you're doing, or are you miserable every day?" Are you going to wake up when you're 50, 60, 70 and say I enjoyed how I worked that into my life? Focus on living a life you can enjoy.
Q: What’s your advice for people who have trouble maintaining a high level of physical activity in their life?
No matter your level of fitness, you want to keep something on the calendar. It might just be something really basic, but it should be something that kind of keeps those butterflies ruining your stomach. There’s a greater chance that you’ll stay focused on meeting your goals.
Personally, I always keep something brutal tough on the calendar. I'm not saying others should do that, but even something simple and basic on a calendar keeps the goal in front of you.
The key thing that I tell people is not to get too radical. Whether it's nutrition or diet or exercise, I’ve seen people get real radical with it, and they get themselves on a roller coaster ride. You need to take baby steps, and along the way, you have to ask yourself, “is what I'm doing going to fit into my lifestyle long-term?”
Outdoor activities like GameTime's Challenge Course are fun ways to incorporate more physical activity into your family's daily life
Q: What’s your approach to setting goals for mental health?
What I'm about to say is not debatable. Every human walking the planet spends most of their time on one of three platforms. We're talking about Platform A, B, or C.
Let’s start with Platform A:
- You are positive
- You're uplifting
- You bring positive energy when you're around others.
- People like being around you
- You have a healthy personality
Now I'll go to the opposite side of the platform, and that’s Platform C.
- You're basically a pain in everyone's side
- You've got negative energy
- People don't like being around you
- People on Platform A avoid you
Then there is Platform B - mediocrity. You're just semi-getting through the day.
So every morning you have to make a choice. Before your feet hit the floor, you have to say to yourself, "I'm going to spend my time on Platform A today. I'm going to be the best version of myself."
When you're living on Platform A, you hang around with other people that like to be on A. When I fall off of A, they will reach down and pick me back up.
If you find yourself around the B and C folks, you have some choices to make. You can ignore them, join them and roll around in the mud with them, or you can try to serve them and help them up to Platform A. That's what leadership is all about.
You can be the leader of a team, a family leader, or a leader of your own life. It all starts with you deciding to spend your time on Platform A. You will not be perfect, but A is always your focus.
Refocus, Reset, and Resolve
If your New Year's Resolutions are beginning to look smaller and smaller in your mind's rearview mirror, it's not too late to get back on track. Refocus on your resolution and make sure it is attainable and not so radical or difficult you'll never achieve it. Set some goals and put them on your calendar where you can see them every day.
Creating new habits and achieving fitness goals is largely a mental exercise. Make a decision every day to be a positive, uplifting force in the world. Encourage others and help them achieve their goals, as well.
If your community is looking for ways to create opportunities for families to be more active and healthy, we would like to help. Contact the GameTime fitness expert in your neighborhood. Together, we will create a plan for outdoor fitness and activity for all ages and abilities.