“I’ll start running after the New Year”: how not to make false promises to yourself

“Right after the New Year, I’ll start exercising!” – is a phrase familiar to many people. And each of us knows how often such promises are broken – the energy disappears after a month and a half or two months, if not earlier. Psychologist Nadežda Požarova and fitness trainer Alexander Karpov tell you how to stop fooling yourself and really start exercising after the New Year.

When should you start?

At first glance, the idea to start exercising exactly after the New Year seems logical. Why go to a fitness club when the holidays are coming up and you’ll probably want to take a break? It is better to start working out immediately and thoroughly, but next year! In fact, this position is destructive and wrong.

Alexander: It is better not to postpone what you have planned for “tomorrow”, “from Monday”, “after the New Year”, but to start as soon as possible. Otherwise, motivation fades and other reasons for postponement appear. But before you start, I would advise you to check your health, choose the right shoes and watch training videos for running.

Why do you want to postpone “for later”?

At the subconscious level, we constantly put something off: “I’ll get up in five minutes”, “I’ll call him in an hour”, “I’ll go on a diet from Monday”, etc. This is a property of human nature. Putting things off until later remains within the norm until it begins to interfere with a fulfilling life.

“People often put things off for later. It’s called the ‘postponed life syndrome.’ It seems to a person that later he will have more money, strength, opportunities, resources, motivation”, – explains the psychologist.

New Year’s Eve – a time of magical changes?

For many people, the transition from December 31 to January 1 is laden with something special since childhood. No wonder most people have high expectations of the new year.

Hope: New Year’s Eve is a certain milestone for us. New Year’s Eve, the transition phase, making wishes – it all sets us up for a wave of change. On this holiday, there is a need for both summarizing and new beginnings. It’s as if people expect to fall asleep on December 31 and wake up on January 1 completely different. In fact, they wake up the same, and even after a feast. For some time the illusion of a new life is still maintained, but in the end the fuse is enough for a short period of time, and the person returns to himself. It is important to realize that in order to achieve a new goal, you need to take real steps.

Why do we so often make empty promises?

Unfortunately, many people fail to keep their word to themselves. But most people have a habit of saying something like “I will no longer eat flour” or “I will walk 10,000 steps every day”. Humans in general are characterized by such non-binding promises.

Hope: Often people promise themselves something. It makes them feel like they can respect themselves more, like if they set certain goals, it means they are “okay”. In reality, formulating goals is not a fundamental part of life. What’s most important is feeling good about yourself and your sense of self. It’s important to realize what you really want. If you exercise because you enjoy it, you are unlikely to give it up after two months. And, for example, a girl who wants to attract a fellow track and field athlete in this way, it will be much harder.

How to start exercising, so as not to discourage the desire?

If you go to the gym and load yourself as much as possible from the first days – we have bad news. Most likely, your body will experience stress due to the lack of habit. And it’s very hard to love sports when your body suffers from it. Therefore, it is necessary to do everything in stages. Development is not a spurt, but a gradual movement.

Hope: First, it is important to realize whether you have the strength, resources and opportunities to set new goals. Secondly, you need to understand what kind of relationship you have with sport. Have you ever had one? If you have never exercised and immediately set global goals, it is absolutely normal that physical activity will cause you resistance, denial and reluctance. After all, the body is not used to it, and it will be stressful for it. It is important to give yourself time. Thirdly, if you treat sports as something obligatory, force yourself and force, it will all get boring very quickly. It is necessary to realize the needs of your body. After all, goals can always be adjusted.

As for the coach’s recommendations, Alexander advises:

Do not jump from the spot in the quarry. The load (distance, running speed) should be increased gradually and selected according to your health, fitness and training goals.

Control the load. This can be done either by subjective sensations, such as how you feel, or by more objective means such as a heart rate monitor.