New Year, New Health Routine
The New Year is synonymous with new routines and healthy habits. Many people set goals for health and fitness in the new year, and while the intentions behind these goals are good, sticking to them can be challenging.
If you want to elevate your health in the new year, it's important to find the right health routines, set the right goals, and give yourself the right support to start the year strong and stay consistent through 2025.
What is a Health Routine?
A health routine is the activities you do throughout the day that promote physical, mental, and psychological well-being. A routine can include working out, cooking healthy meals, sticking to a bedtime, reading, or journaling.
Everyone engages in different activities to promote healthy routines. However, according to Northwestern Medical, instilling a health routine provides many benefits, such as decreased stress, better sleep, more nutritious eating habits, and improved physical activity.
What to Consider in Your Health Routine
If you’re tired of making New Year’s resolutions that don’t stick, consider these tips to help you set the right health goals and stay consistent throughout the year.
Health and Wellness Goals
Before you start a routine, it’s helpful to identify your general health goals. What are you trying to accomplish? What would you consider success in terms of your routine? What health benefits are you hoping to achieve?
Once you have your general health goals, you can identify what activities or routines will help you achieve them. Try picking three categories or types of routines to implement in the new year. For example, prioritize sleep, exercise, and nutrition if you want more energy throughout the day. To lower stress, consider journaling, low-intensity movements, and proficient sleep. There are no right or wrong goals, but pick things that you think you’ll enjoy, and that will also challenge you.
Once you have your categories, write actionable steps for each goal. For example, an actionable step could be 30 minutes of movement three days a week if you want to increase your fitness routine. Keep these action steps to two or three per category or goal.
Starting Point
People often have difficulty sticking to resolutions and routines because they try to do too much, too fast. Instead of overcommitting to your goals, start with one action step you want to incorporate into your routine.
Pick one actionable item for you to focus on in January from your action steps and goals list. What’s the one thing you’re most excited to do or the item you feel will most positively impact your health? Whatever you choose, make that the focus of your first month. When February comes around, choose a second action step to add to your routine.
Adding steps one by one gives you time to commit a small change to your routine, making it easier to stay consistent and not get overwhelmed.
Accountability and Support
Accountability and support are missing pieces in many people’s health routines. The two can often go hand in hand, helping people stick to their goals even when not motivated.
Enlisting the help of a friend, coach, or personal trainer is a great way to add accountability and support to your health routine. Sharing your goals and action steps with someone else means there’s another person who can help you reach your goals. They can also motivate you by joining you for workouts, helping you find healthy recipes, or offering guidance when you get stuck or are in a rut.
Building a New Health Routine with Movement Med
If you want to elevate your movement journey in the New Year, the team at Movement Med would be happy to help. We have an amazing team of fitness and wellness professionals who can help you build and stick to a healthy routine.
Our movement training isn’t just about improving your physical health. Movement Med is a pioneer in pilates-based rehabilitation, offering a sanctuary for healing and strength. Our skilled team of professionals brings a wealth of experience in Pilates, personal training, and rehabilitative therapies. We design each session with a bespoke, evidence-based approach for each client, focusing on individual goals and holistic improvement.
Reduce your chances of injury.
Perfect for all ages.
Great for individuals with medical conditions.
Our studio is open to all individuals interested in trying a Pilates-based approach to fitness in the new year, regardless of fitness level or medical history. View our schedule online to sign up for your first session, or contact us with questions.