A Word to Wise Women on Setting and Keeping New Year's Fitness Resolutions

We have compiled tips from various sources that may help you turn your 2006 resolutions into reality. For better success, consider the "why do" before the the "how to" of fitness. To get started, ask yourself the following questions, and see if your answers spur you to action.

Do you want to give yourself a second chance at life?
One of the reasons we encourage weight training is that it is the only activity that conclusively preserves youth and even reverses signs of aging. See Weight Training and Its Effects on Aging. Staying younger longer gives you opportunity to live almost two lives. Think - you could do things like have a second and third career, travel to more places, start projects you might otherwise never have been able to do, see your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren become adults.

Do you believe aging is just something that happens to you?
Most aging that we witness is not a natural occurrence, but a result of chronic disease, which is often totally avoidable. Before antibiotics, vaccines and improved sanitation, most illnesses were sudden, acute and uncontrollable . Lives were taken swiftly and well before the end of the human life span. Now we die from heart disease and other illness that develop slowly, and are caused largely by our eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. This is good news, because we now can do something to prevent and even reverse age-related frailty.

What and whom do you want to attract this year?
Perhaps avoiding the possibility of chronic illness some time in the future fails to motivate you. But what about now? If you workout three times this week, you will feel and look better immediately. Looking and feeling better attracts different people, places and things into your life, because outward appearances does reflect inward dynamics.

Have you written down realistic and specific fitness goals for 2006? Research studies show that those who write down their goals, and are specific about what they want to achieve, are more likely to accomplish their desired outcomes. For instance, telling yourself "I want to exercise and look better," constitutes vague and ineffective goal setting. Instead write down, "in the next three months I want to lose 12 lbs. and reduce my waistline to 30 inches. I will accomplish this by weight training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for an hour each session." You must have a clear vision of where you want to go if you are to get there at all.

Do you believe that fitness is something you can cram into your hectic life?
There is a very lucrative industry that preys on the many hopefuls looking for fast and easy fitness. It sells all kinds of gadgets and books claiming you can get fit in just minutes a day. The truth is, something must change inside yourself that helps you shift your priorities and organize your life in ways that make space for your new fit-consciousness.

After reading the last paragraph, do you feel you want to start slowly, or put your resolutions off to next year.
By all means, measure where you are today and decide how you want to begin or even whether you want to begin at all. The important key is to decide consciously and deliberately what you are going to do. If the only resolution you accomplish this year is self-honesty, you are way ahead of the game, especially in the fitness world.

Do you need a workout buddy to help you stick to a program?
The vast majority of group classes at gyms are comprised of women. Some believe that women gravitate to the social nature of these classes. In addition, the male-dominated weight lifting areas of health clubs may cause certain women to avoid training outside the group enviromnment. In this case, another women buddy may help you. If you don't have a workout buddy, check out the Women's Exercise Network, a unique website that connects women with each other for mutual fitness support.

Whatever you decide, there are tools and people to help you. We hope that 2006 brings joy to you and your family family.