20 New Ideas for the New Year

The New Year is a new opportunity to learn and incorporate new ideas that keep you moving forward and achieving new benchmarks with your health & fitness. Okay, so “idea” is a pretty broad term…but that’s the point! A “new idea” can be anything that keeps your workouts and every day activities interesting, motivating and progressing you to your weight loss and fitness goals! Whether that means incorporating a new group fitness class into your workout routine, making an effort to increase your daily activity — #MoveMoreBurnMore — or finding new sources of motivation; new ideas can  spawn new results!

Let’s kick off 2014 by incorporating some NEW IDEAS into your #MoveMoreBurnMore lifestyle. Check out the gallery below and try a few that you could see yourself benefiting from in 2014…and beyond.

1. Make ONE and only ONE resolution – Focusing your efforts on ONE resolution will help you achieve it.
2. Exit your comfort zone! – Getting “too comfortable” in your routine can lead to plateaus in your results. Make an effort to switch up your exercises & intensity levels this year.
3. Train at the right intensity – To reap the most health benefits from your workouts, try to exercise at a moderate to vigorous level. Of course if you’re just getting started gradually work your way up!

   Light exercise intensity: 40 to 50 percent of your maximum heart rate.

   Moderate exercise intensity: 50 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.

   Vigorous exercise intensity: 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.[i]

4. Ask our dietitian a question – If you have diet and nutrition questions that you want answered, send them to nutrition@lafitness.com and keep up with our blog Q&A [http://bloglafitness.azurewebsites.net/category/ask-our-dietitian/] for other answers to common dietary questions.
5. Increase your flexibility with yoga – Flexibility should be a point of emphasis for any fitness routine, and yoga is an amazing way to improve your flexibility! Find a class to attend here: http://lafitness.com/Pages/AerobicClasses.aspx
6. Focus on TODAY – Enjoying your workouts and finding motivation in your daily accomplishments can help you sustain your motivation over the long-term.
7. Always be active – How active are you throughout your day? Increase your daily activity — #MoveMoreBurnMore — with little things like taking the stairs rather than the elevator! Check out more ideas on how to stay active HERE: http://wp.me/plvU-1lR
8. Good support = good results – Keep positive people around that will help encourage and motivate you! Whether it’s an upbeat gym buddy or a supportive spouse, the people in your life make a significant difference.
9. Focus on your weaknesses – Focus on your weaknesses as much as your strengths! Your weaknesses aren’t always the most fun to train, but focusing on them is important for overall fitness. If you’re strong and not very flexible, make a point to stretch. If you have amazing endurance but limited strength, incorporate weight training into your exercise routine.
10. SHARE your progress Tips – How many days have you gone to the gym so far? How much closer to your goals are you? “SHARE” your progress with your friends on your favorite social network with this article using the icons below to receive some well-deserved props, and add the hashtag #MoveMoreBurnMore. You’ve earned it!
11. Get Premium Fitness Tips – The official LA Fitness YouTube channel is packed with fitness tips that are available for you! All you have to do is follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDB19804724B19D81 You can also subscribe here for updates when new videos are released: http://bit.ly/1hJNo81
12. Plan for setbacks – Setbacks that threaten to throw off your routine can pop up any given day. It is important to remember that when things go a little haywire, do not get frustrated. As long as you have a firm plan in place you should be able to pick up right where you left off!
13. Crank up the beats! – Listening to upbeat music during your workouts can increase your intensity and speed while working out[ii].
14. Create a “things I accomplished” list – Make a daily “things I accomplished” list to provide positive reinforcement and reflect on all the things you accomplished that day.
15. Try new exercises – Variety is the key to progress when it comes to fitness. Keep things interesting and to continue to evolve your fitness knowledge. Also, knowing exercises that can substitute for others can keep your momentum going when you are having an awesome workout. For instance, when you walk in to the weight area, and the squat rack is occupied, you can do cable squats instead.instead. For help learning new exercises check out our TOP TIPS section here: http://bloglafitness.azurewebsites.net/category/la-fitness-blog-top-tips/
16. Drink plenty of H2O – In case you haven’t already heard, water has a plethora of benefits! It energizes your muscles[iii], decreases food cravings and it has even shown to increase the amount of calories your body burns[iv]. Drink about 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise[v] and keep a water bottle by your side throughout your day to stay hydrated.
17. Reward yourself – Give yourself a little reward when you reach specific milestones — For example, new clothes, a pair of shoes, headphones, etc. Make it something that will motivate you!
18. Listen to your body – Finding a balance between working out hard and avoiding over training is important. Workout hard but also know when you need rest.
19. Bend but don’t break – Not in the mood to work out? Go anyway! If you decide you need to cut it short after a few exercises or “bend” a little then that’s ok…just don’t skip out altogether.
20. Keep your Momentum! – Once you’ve accomplished your resolution, use that success as motivation to keep working hard. That means setting a new goal for yourself and working just as hard as if it were January 1^st all over again.

It’s important to consistently evolve your approach to fitness and health. These are just a few ideas to get you started and reinforce the importance of variety and growth, but there are endless amounts of ideas out there in the LA Fitness community. If YOU have a helpful idea SHARE it below in our comments section to help others continue to progress and keep LIVING HEALTHY!

Also, we have a whole bunch of resources for new ideas at your disposal on our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages!