The New Year marks a time for a new beginning, a fresh start, a clean slate. For many people, this is an opportunity to make resolutions for personal improvement. We set goals to lose weight, tone up, work out a certain number of days per week, or generally improve our health and fitness. 

Of course, making resolutions is easy-keeping them often proves difficult.

One man who had made a long list of New Year’s resolutions felt pretty good about his progress. He thought to himself, “So far, I’ve stuck to my diet, I haven’t lost my temper, I’ve kept to my budget, and I haven’t once complained about the neighbor’s dog. But today is January 2 and the alarm just went off and it’s time I got out of bed. It’s going to take a miracle to keep my streak going.”

Starting Over

A fresh start is an incredibly hopeful idea. Probably all of us, at one time or another, have wanted to start over with a clean slate.

We all know the feeling of purchasing a new computer with a clean hard drive. For a time it works quickly and perfectly. As time passes it becomes cluttered and bogged down with programs and files. Eventually it becomes sluggish and fails to perform. Sometimes the best thing is to reformat the computer and start over.

Human beings can likewise become cluttered and bogged down with fears and doubts that slow us down and hold us back. These fears and doubts cause unproductive thoughts and actions that make it difficult for us to get started.

The Best in Ourselves

Setting goals is a commendable endeavor. Our personal goals can bring out the best in us. However, one of the things that can spoil our efforts in making and keeping goals is procrastination. We sometimes wait for the perfect moment to start-the first day of the new year, after the kids go to school, when we’re not so busy. We sometimes waste years of our lives waiting for the perfect moment to begin.

You don’t need an invitation to start moving in the right direction. You don’t need permission to become the person you are designed to be. You don’t need to wait to commit to a healthier lifestyle.

With every new day, a new sunrise comes-not just for the earth, but for us as well. Each day brings a chance to begin again.

But What if We Fail?

Sometimes fear holds us back. We’re afraid we won’t succeed, that we will succeed, that someone will laugh at us, or that success will change us.

So we wait. Or quit.

We need to remember that failure is part of life. We almost certainly will fail-at least in the short term. Rather than be discouraged, we can be empowered because this understanding removes the expectation of being perfect immediately. Because we know up front that we sometimes will fall short, we should not be discouraged at small setbacks.

Consider one bad day as an opportunity to do better the next day. When we approach our goals this way, failure does not have to limit us. Short-term failures can contribute to long-term success, if we allow them to.

If we overcome obstacles this way, we will have made progress along the road of success. Even though we might fall short of our finish line, just continuing the journey will make us better than we were before.

Now is the Best Time to Start

An old proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”

It is empowering to know that we can move forward with our goals at any time. Now is the time to become our best selves-not only for now but also for our entire lives.

Fit Gym’s Goal is to Help You Achieve Your Goals

The Fit Gym staff is here to help you achieve your health and fitness goals for 2014. Whether it be through group exercise instructors, personal trainers, or the knowledgeable fitness team members, be sure to take advantage of our expert resources! If you ever feel discouraged, we want to help you overcome your obstacles. We’re here to help you!

Happy New Year, and best wishes with your 2014 fitness goals!

Fit is excited to announce our brand new child care room with expanded space and fun kids’ activities! We have always been proud of our top-notch child care providers, and our new room will only add to the fun. Parents-you can park behind the building and walk straight into the new facility without bringing your children through the gym area. We hope you enjoy the new features, like a separate baby/toddler area, basketball hoop and study area for older children, and lots of space to run around.

Here’s a photo essay so you can see the transformation.

 

 

 

 

Want to boost your memory? Slow age-related memory loss? Decrease the symptoms of depression?  Exercise may be the best way to do so.  Researchers at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego reported that physical exercise offers a wide range of health benefits to the brain. This new study fits into a growing body of interdisciplinary research that documents the benefits of regular exercise on brain health.

Exercise benefits the brain because it requires the brain to coordinate complex movements. In other words, the brain has to multi-task to move the body during exercise. We can think of the brain as a muscle, and cross training it helps it stay strong.

Brains of all ages can benefit from exercise. For children, exercise enhances memory and learning, which may improve school performance. For aging adults, exercise increases brain volume, improves memory, and aids in decreasing the effects of brain-related illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. Even newborn babies have higher level of brain activity if their mothers exercise while they are pregnant!

What are the best exercises to improve brain health? Aerobic exercise, including walking, running and cycling increase oxygen to the brain. Strength training and stretching are important components for brain multi-tasking. Group exercise provides an added benefit: it activates parts of the brain associated with social connections.

What’s the bottom line? Exercise no matter how old you are. It’s good for your brain!