“MisFits” Misfires
I usually enjoy the “MisFits” column in the Washington Post. Authors Vickie Hallett and Lenny Bernstein have an obvious enthusiasm for health/fitness. But I found this short notice annoying:
Get Fit in 2010
Monday, November 23, 2009; 7:03 PMNew Year’s resolutions: It’s not too early to think about next year’s fitness goals! Send your New Year’s resolutions, including how and why you intend to stick to your routine in 2010, to [email protected], and we’ll print some of the best in early January. We may even help you reach those goals.
Reality check time: January 1 is a completely arbitrary day on the calendar. If your goal is to get fit, then there’s zero point to waiting another 5 weeks – start NOW. After all, you will still be the same person you were on Jan. 1, that you were on Dec. 31. Even worse, you will have spent the preceding weeks reinforcing the habits you presumably want to change. This isn’t a recipe for long-term success, which may be why New Year’s fitness resolutions tend to fail abysmally.
So get moving – as of yesterday! If you make a fitness resolution for 2010 at all, it should be to continue what you’ve already started.
November 30, 2009
I think this is a human nature thing. It seems like most people need an excuse to start a fitness plan. They won’t do it because they need to, they’ll just do it because they know they should.
It seems like every Jan 1st thats the thought. To start their “diet” and “fitness program”. I think most people think of that day as a “fresh start” for them. Most I think just fail miserably.
Part of their reason for their failure is the same reason they set Jan 1st a their “new begining day”. Most people who are and will remain serious about training and diet, won’t need an arbitrary “start date”.
Those who do, I’m afraid will fail. I hope they don’t, but my faith in people (when it comes to “diet and fitness”) is dwindleing.