Although temperatures continue to drop, snow storms are becoming more consistent and time inches further away from when that New Year’s resolution was set, many students are staying true to their workout regimens.
According to an article found on The Wall Street Journal’s website titled The Week Your New Year’s Resolution to Exercise Dies, resolutions involving exercise are about as expected as the arrival of January first itself.
The article says about a third of New Year’s resolutions involve weight loss plans as a primary goal and about 15 percent aim to begin an exercise program.
Many people want to be in better shape and what better time to begin one’s journey toward better health than at the start of the New Year?
The answer is any time is better.
Based on the information provided by another article in Time Magazine, 60 percent of people with fitness resolutions, often referred to as “resolutioners,” will stop working out by mid-February.
The article says that this is mainly due to difficulties in making the new habit stick.
In order to form a habit, according to the article, one needs to stick to their plan for at least 66 days.
So whether someone begins their workout regime on January first or May 27, it will take them 66 days for it to become habitual.
For those who made resolutions at the start of this year, this 66-day mark would be March 7–only two weeks away.
With that being said, there are many who are on their way to surpassing, or have already surpassed, the 66-day hurtle, like KSC junior Samantha Provencher.
“I decided to start making exercise a consistent part of my weekly routine at the beginning of freshman year in order to not gain the freshman fifteen,” Provencher explained.
She continued, “After realizing the benefits of consistent exercise, there’s no way I could not do it anymore.”
“It makes me feel better and overall makes me a happier person. Exercise releases endorphins and it gives me a runner’s high,” she said.
“I like to stay in shape because it brings the whole quality of life up, like my confidence, my energy, my personality, the way I feel — it improves all of that,” Provencher added.
Tracy Mallozzi, a KSC junior, is about halfway to the 66-day mark, having started making changes toward a more active lifestyle at the start of the new year.
“I decided to make a resolution regarding working out because it’s something I really want to achieve. I have seen so many of my friends benefit from working out not only on a physical level but on a mental one as well and I wanted to experience that,” Mallozzi said.
“My exercise routine consists of working out three to four times per week, my favorite is the yoga classes here at Keene State [College],” she added.
“I’ve already noticed that from combining yoga and cardio I have a much more relaxed state of mind while still feeling physically energized, if that makes sense,” Mallozzi stated.
Mallozzi’s advice for other resolutioners is simple–just keep going.
“I know how difficult it is to get to the gym sometimes but it’s so worth it post-workout. Basically I’ve realized that the days you want to go the least are the days that you should go the most,” she explained.
“It’s such a good feeling being able to prove that negative voice in your head wrong,” Mallozzi explained.
KSC senior Brenna McCabe agreed with Mallozzi in that motivation begins and ends with “you.”
“You have to use yourself as motivation, not other people, in the sense that you should try to be better than you were the day before,” McCabe said.
McCabe said she has been consistently exercising since high school when she played sports for the school team. Since attending college, she said she has made overall fitness a bigger part of her life by working out around five to six times per week.
But McCabe’s routine doesn’t solely depend on attending the occasionally overcrowded KSC gym, she said she relies on the space of her own apartment. She said she uses the T25 Workout, a 25-minute cardio-focused program, along with Kayla Itsines’ Healthy Bikini Body Guide workout and meal plan.
“An advantage of working out at home is it allows you to workout whenever you want and however long you want. Working out at home is on your own terms, which is nice,” she continued.
“Another advantage is if it’s winter time or pouring rain, you can stay at home and get the same quality of exercise that you would if you were at the gym,” McCabe stated. Based on the information provided by the article The Week Your New Year’s Resolution to Exercise Dies, there is one factor that proves to be crucial in a person’s success of maintaining a long term exercise routine: creating specific goals that are reasonable and coincide with the person’s own abilities. Other ways to ensure the resolution will stick are to make a detailed plan, track progress and keep a positive attitude, according to the article.
McCabe’s fitness goal is to form a leaner, stronger body. Mallozzi said she hopes to be able to run three miles without feeling winded.
Provencher insisted that for all of the fitness resolutioners out there who are beginning to feel hindered by the two-week hump, “create a goal and don’t stop until you reach it.”
Amanda Lashua can be contacted at alashua@keene-equinox.com
