Making 2017 Your Healthiest, Strongest Year Yet…..How ABS Pilates Can Help!

The gifts have all been unwrapped and the cookies have all been eaten. All that is left are some empty boxes and maybe a few extra pounds around the belt line.

Are you ready to get back in the saddle? Are you ready to refocus your attention on feeling healthy and strong again but don’t know exactly how to get motivated and start the process again? 

Are you one of those people or know someone who starts the New Year going to the gym 5-7 days a week and seeing how hard you can work out only to sustain an injury or be so sore by week 2 that you drop out of the program? Or maybe one of those people who throw out all the sugar, gluten, meat, salt and alcohol for the first 2 weeks and then find yourself “falling off the wagon” and going on an eating binge like you haven’t eaten in weeks? And then beating yourself up for days because you didn’t have the “will power” to avoid temptation?

Well, you are not alone. This happens to at least 75% of the population every January (have you ever been to the gym in January and then gone back in March….huge difference in the number of people). We start off the New Year with great intentions and goals but then many times make such drastic changes that we find we cannot sustain those changes for more than a few weeks.

Now I am not saying don’t make those New Years resolutions. I make them myself every year. I am just saying that if you want 2017 to be the year you make those lifelong, sustainable changes, there is a good way to do it and a not-so-good way to do it.

Here are a few steps you can take to make sure 2017 is your healthiest, strongest year ever: 

1. Schedule time to move your body each and every day. Sometimes it may be an organized Pilates or Barre class or it may be as simple as taking a walk. But you have to schedule it and do it. I tell my early morning classes that the hardest part of the class is putting your feet on the floor in the morning and going. You will feel so much better an hour later, so just do it.
2. Plan your meals for the week on Sunday and go to the store with a list (then
   stick to your list). If you take a few minutes every week to plan your meals, you will improve your chances of making healthier choices.
3. Find a friend to workout with or a class where you have others you know. You are more likely to stick to your program if you have someone there to encourage and motivate you.
4. Surround yourself with like-minded people. If you have a best friend who always orders dessert or a boyfriend who refuses to get rid of the cheese puffs…and they encourage you to “splurge” a little, you may want to surround yourself with others who are trying to become stronger and healthier like you. Peer pressure works both good ways and bad ways….find the good ways.
5. Ask yourself EVERY SINGLE DAY….what can I do today to be healthy and strong. You deserve it, but have to work for it.

Feeling strong and healthy is a daily task. You have to wake up every day knowing there will be resistance that day to meeting your goals. The resistance may be in the form of donuts in the break room or feeling too tired to workout at the end of the day. You must be stronger than that resistance. This is not always an easy task. I, too, struggle with this as does everyone else. But tell yourself you deserve to be as healthy and strong as you can possibly be.

Make this the year that you stay committed to yourself!

ABS Pilates of Sunbury, Ohio, Westerville, Ohio, Gahanna, Ohio and servicing central Ohio is here to help if you don’t know exactly where to begin. Here are just a few services we offer:

1. FREE quarterly presentations on health, wellness and injury prevention. Our January presentation may be just the thing to help you get started….The topic is “Start 2017 off Right….10 Healthy Habits You Should Adopt to Make This Your Best Year Yet.” See info below…please email or call if you would like to reserve a spot or 2 (friends and family welcome).
2. Private Pilates Sessions with a licensed Physical Therapist and certified Pilates instructor. We offer 1 hour and 30 minute sessions for your convenience.
3. Semi-Private Pilates Sessions…..In case you have a friend or family member who wants to come to.
4. Drop – In Classes….Reformer, Tower, Arc, Mat and Barre classes available almost every day at an affordable rate.
5. Health Coaching Sessions….Whether it is for one session or several months, we offer health coaching for all of your goals, whether it is to design a well-rounded safe exercise program or to talk about strategies to lose those last few pounds.

Contact ABS Pilates today to find out what will work best for you and your goals.

Remember…what you do today determines how you look and feel tomorrow….So what are you waiting for?