One big thing for New Year health resolutions

As a New Year looms so do endless health and fitness New Year’s resolutions, but many of these are highly likely to fail due to one key problem.

Most people overlook the one big thing most likely to help them achieve their health, fitness and weight loss goals.

The most common reason New Year’s resolutions fail is that people choose an exercise they don’t like.

If there was one criteria for health and fitness success, it would simply be: pick an exercise you like. Choosing something that you enjoy doing is absolutely critical to your chances of staying with the new exercise regime and getting the most out of it.

If you enjoy the exercise then everything flows from there.

Unfortunately, many people choose exercise regimes that may be fashionable, or which their friends may enjoy, but which may not be suitable. People who have never run in their life will plan to start distance running the New Year, because their friends run. Or they sign up to a class in the latest fitness fad, not realising that they may hate the exercise.

The exercise is done out of obligation, not enjoyment, and guilt sets in once you miss a couple of sessions. Then it becomes too easy to quit. If you didn’t enjoy it anyway, it feels like no loss, though it’s a missed opportunity to become healthier.

Even people who don’t enjoy exercise will have a preference. Everyone leans toward certain exercises. Even if all your friends are running, you will know whether that appeals to you — if you’re not sure, you will find out quickly by giving it a go. If it’s no good, try something else.

Certain exercises will come more natural to you. For example, you may not enjoy running, but perhaps you enjoy swimming, golf, lawn bowls, rowing, martial arts, power-walking, cycling or yoga?

When it comes to health and fitness the world is your oyster — there are so many choices available which are going to challenge and reward you, and the best thing is that you can do it your way and go with something you like.

What New Year’s resolutions have you made? What exercises do you enjoy the most?