Can you even believe it?! After all that build-up, the 2016 holiday season is a wrap, and a shiny new year full of possibilities awaits us.
I’m torn between recommending total hibernation for the next two months and an immediate launch into your healthy 2017 resolutions. Fortunately,
I have advice for both!
After all of the hustle and bustle of December, I have a great January tradition that I can’t recommend highly enough. If you’re fortunate enough to have Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend off (but really, any weekend will do), I suggest a Christmas redo, but without all of the extraneous visitors, commitments, and urge to capture every single moment in photographic form. Spend the entire weekend as a family, in your jammies, playing with all of those new toys and games, watching those movies you got in your stockings, popping the popcorn you never had time to make last month, and focusing your attention solely on each other. Take a few days and just chillax. It will make up for the multitude of directions you were pulled in on Christmas Day, when you could barely find time to enjoy the opening of presents and the meal you worked hard to put on the table.
Then, when you’re recharged and ready to make some fitness resolutions, here are some tips that helped me in 2016. When I committed to getting back to the exercise classes I had once loved, but was no longer making time to attend (Jazzercise, in case you wondered, and not nearly as out-of-date as you might think!), it did wonders for my self-esteem to buy myself some new workout clothes, complete with new socks and shoes, and a cute new water bottle (perhaps you received some holiday gift cards that can be put toward these purchases). Every time you see these items around the house, you’ll feel motivated to put them to good use. Next, put your workout times on your calendar for the month, just like any other non-cancellable
appointment or meeting. It’s true that 90 percent of the work is getting through the front door of the class. Find a workout buddy, too. Nothing is better motivation than a pal who is expecting to see you in class, or better yet, waiting for a ride to class. I always look forward to seeing my Jazzer-buddy, Becky, in class. Finally, make sure to choose a workout that you actually enjoy. With so many options out there nowadays, you’re sure to find the one that gets your heart pumping and keeps you coming back for more. I have much room for improvement in the attendance department, but hope springs eternal in this bright new year.
Hey, did you notice anything different about this issue? It’s BIG! We had so much to talk about and knew that folks would be hibernating for the next couple of months, so we packed two months of great reading into one great issue! And be sure to hang onto this one – the calendar runs all the way through the end of February. Also, sign up for RFM eNews on our home page to keep up with us until March, when we’ll be back out with a new issue every month for the rest of 2017.
From all of us at RFM – happy, healthy New Year!
