It is that time of year again – time for New Year’s Resolutions. Last year we talked about resolving to get active by setting realistic, specific, and measureable goals in our blog “Resolve to Get Active.” But did you keep those resolutions and achieve as much as you set your sights?

If not, you are not alone as it is estimated that more than 88% of those who make New Year’s Resolutions will not reach their goal.¹ Ultimately it is an issue of adherence, which is the process or condition of steady or faithful attachment to something. But the problem does not exist with just one area as you can see in the following:

• 76-82% of those who begin an exercise program will drop out¹
  • 50% in the first six months ²
• Between 75-80% of those who begin a diet will drop out¹
• Between 60-90% of those who attend a quit smoking program will start smoking again¹

So this year as you visit the idea of a New Year’s Resolution, start by taking a look at what is realistic in your life. As you think about what your resolution, ask yourself why are you not doing it now? Most individuals will find that there are barriers in the way of doing something, or they would already be doing it.

Barriers can be anything, real or perceived, that prevent you from accomplishing your goal. The four major barriers to exercise include: 

• Lack of time
• Lack of knowledge
• Lack of facilities or opportunities
• Fatigue

Once you have found your barriers, develop a strategy to overcome each of your barriers. Ways to overcome lack of time have previously been explored in blogs such as “Take 10.” Lack of knowledge can be overcome by signing up for the “Get Active!” program on the bottom right hand side of the Stand Up & Eat homepage. To help you work thru other potential barriers, check out the “Planning ahead for high risk situations” or “Detouring Physical Activity Roadblocks” downloads from the “What’s Out Library.”

Once you have found strategies to overcome the initial barriers, the next big step is creating a plan to stay on track. First and foremost to help stay on track would be to set goals using the process discussed in the blog “Resolve to Get Active” so you know where you are headed. Emphasize making goals that are truly obtainable for you. Research has found that “those exercisers who failed to attain their own exercise goals dropped out roughly twice as fast as those who did attain them.”³

People often say “I’m going to lose 30 pounds or exercise everyday,” when 10 pounds is more doable, or three times a week is more likely. (A Cooper Institute Certified Personal Trainer, Cooper Trained Wellness Coach or other professionals are often helpful in creating realistic, obtainable goals specific to your purpose.) So start small and build up from there.

As you set your goals, think of the intensity, or difficulty, of exercise you will be engaging. While we all want to start with a bang, research by Pollock et al. found individuals engaging in higher intensity exercise to be associated with lower exercise adherence.⁴ So again start small and build up from there.

Then to help keep you on track, create social support. Research has shown that subjects with spouses who actively supported their exercise habit were twice as likely to have good adherence compared to those who were either neutral or opposed. Support can also be found in your exercise partner as significantly poorer long-term adherence was found in those who exercised alone. 47% of participants in individual aerobic exercise programs were adherent as opposed to 82% participating in groups. ³ Studies have found the presence of a highly task-cohesive group to be the greatest influence on exercise adherence. ²

So as you start small and build your personal program towards adherence of your New Year’s Resolutions there will be set backs along the way. Read about Jeanie and Rich’s goal setting, setbacks and triumphing success in climbing an actual mountain in the blog “Climb Every Mountain.” But stick with your goal (it took Jeanie & Rich three tries to end up on top of their actual mountain) and you can end up on top too, as long as you adhere to your resolution!

So resolve today to create a different way of creating your resolution.

1. The Cooper Institute. Personal Trainer Course Manual. The Cooper Institute Department of Education.07-20-09:Behavior Change p.1-3. Available from www.cooperinstitute.org.
2. Estabrooks, P.A. Sustaining Exercise Participation through Group Cohesion. Exercise and Sport Science Reviews. 28(2):63-67, 2000.
3. Martin, J.E., Dubbert, P.M. Adherence to Exercise. Exercise and Sport Science Reviews. 13(1): 137-168, 1985
4. Pollock, M.L., Gettman, L.R., Milesis, C.A., Bah, M.D., Et. Al. Effects of frequency and duration of training on attrition and incidence of injury. Med. Sci. Sports. 9: 31-36, 1977.