Resolve to be healthier — and stick with it

January is always the busiest time of the year for gyms — some even call it the industry’s Black Friday. After a holiday season of eating, drinking, and being merry (often in excess), many gyms see 25 percent more members join in January than at any other time of the year.

Unfortunately, the enthusiasm is often short-lived and gym attendance is usually back to resolution-forgotten levels by mid-February.

Most people will break their resolutions before the year is out and a third won’t even make it to the end of January. But you don’t need superpowers or an iron will to commit to getting fit and fabulous this year.

Whether your goal is to do 10 push-ups, run a marathon, or to just take the stairs more often, experts say there are things you can do now — while your goals are fresh in your mind and motivations are high — to increase your chances of success.

1. Write it and measure it

Resolutions should be both specific and measurable — a recent study found that setting broad, vague (and thus tough to achieve) goals can make people depressed. Writing down goals is one of the best ways to accomplish them, and so is figuring out the exact steps needed to get there.

“I want to get stronger” is a pretty common New Year’s resolution, but how exactly do you go from point A to point B? Choosing a more specific result, like “I want to add 15 pounds to my biceps curl,” is a smoother move.

Breaking down the goal’s components (like specific exercises and stretches), and keeping a regular checklist will help solidify the task and keep you on track. Try to make resolutions that follow the SMART model: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Time-bound.

2. Make resolutions ‘bite-size’

A resolution shouldn’t be a fantasy. If you’ve never lifted weights before, attempting to hit the weight bench seven days per week is probably setting yourself up for disappointment.

For most people, upending a lifetime of habits can’t happen overnight. The reason is partly physiological; the brain just likes comfortable old habits over new, different ones. The key to sustainable resolutions is to make changes smaller and more gradual.

So if your goal is to go from never running at all to finishing a marathon, start training gradually. Begin by running a few miles twice a week, and steadily increase the workload over a few months. That’s the best way to approach all fitness resolutions — slow and steady wins the race.

Resolving to do 10,000 burpees in 2015, or 192 every week, might feel pretty intimidating. But breaking that down to 28 per day looks more manageable, right?

A goal that’s either far in the future or far out of your comfort zone will be tougher to achieve, so break the resolution down into achievable steps, or better yet, give yourself several smaller resolutions throughout the year.

Instead of aiming to add 80 pounds to your bench press in 2015, aim to add 6.6 pounds per month. Seems much easier, doesn’t it?

3. Question your motives

A steady gym habit can result in six-pack abs and bikini bodies, but superficial goals may lose their appeal after endless weeks of diet and exercise. Instead, try framing fitness as a direct path to health and happiness.

Regular exercise has unexpected benefits like lowering cholesterol, slowing the aging process and boosting overall energy. Bringing some deeper intentions to your workout can make all the difference when it comes to sticking to your goals.

Before hitting the gym, ask yourself some tough questions about why you made your resolution and what you rally want to achieve? Developing answers that elicit a deep and powerful emotional response can help increase motivation.

4. Keep things interesting

If your resolution is to exercise consistently three or four times per week, fitness experts suggest thinking beyond the treadmill and the weight rack. Even for experienced gym rats, sticking to one or two types of exercise can get a little mind numbing.

Experiment with yoga, rock climbing, martial arts, team sports, kettlebells, and everything in between. The more variety in your exercise program, the more fun it will be to follow, and the more likely you’ll find something you absolutely love.

The best way to test-drive a new form of exercise is to take a group class or book a session with a personal trainer — think of the extra cost as an investment in your health. Just remember to take care when trying new workouts, since incorrect technique can result in major resolution-breakers like injury or burnout.

5. Create a realistic schedule

Time management is important for accomplishing fitness goals. Research suggests that early morning exercise may be best — it’s a great way to fit a workout into a busy day, and it may encourage healthier eating and more movement throughout the day.

But if waking up early is your idea of cruel and unusual torture, then sweating at 6 a.m. is probably not a sustainable system. Make your fitness routine work for you: Pick a time of day when you have energy and make that your regular workout time.

Remember that exercise doesn’t have to be a formal activity that requires carving out a big chunk of time in your schedule. If your New Year’s resolution is to simply be more active and burn more calories every day, there are plenty of creative (and free) ways to achieve that goal.

You can fit extra movement into the day by walking during phone conversations or even taking point on household chores. Even something as simple as drinking water throughout the day will ensure regular trips to the faucet and the bathroom.

Pick up a pedometer, grab an activity tracker, or download an app like RunKeeper or MapMyWalk to keep track of how many steps you take, then try to beat your own record. Every minute you’re not sitting or lying down is a step toward better overall fitness.

6. Hold yourself accountable

Stay on track by putting your money where your mouth is: Pay in advance for an exercise program that demands attendance. If working out with a trainer or group class isn’t your style, pencil in regular gym dates with friends or your partner to stay accountable.

Knowing that someone’s waiting for you at the gym will minimize the temptation to skip workouts (or sleep through them), and the buddy system can be more fun than going it alone.

Plus, according to some studies, sweating with others improves results — even if it’s just a virtual friend on a video game.

7. Re-evaluate resolutions often

How many people resolve to finish a marathon, only to realize that distance running simply isn’t their bag? Or decide to take up kickboxing and quickly learn they don’t particularly enjoy being punched in the face?

A lot of things may seem like fun from a distance, but in reality, might not prove a good fit. If this happens to you, simply switch gears and amend your resolution. The police won’t arrest you for changing course — all paths that lead to health are good ones.

And don’t be afraid to scale back either. You don’t need to be doubled over in pain, sweating out of your eyeballs or dry heaving into the trash for a workout to be considered “productive.”

Some people love intense workouts, but for others, ramping up the pain also increases dread — and nothing derails a fitness resolution like learning to hate exercise. While a challenging workout might push you a bit outside of your comfort zone, you shouldn’t take this to an extreme.

Talk to a trainer or coach, find the right group instructor or pick a workout buddy who knows just how hard to push.

8. Be nice to yourself

Investing in some cool gear goes a long way toward shoring up your comittment to a back-in-shape routine. A pair of cool walking shoes, a high-tech sweatshirt, some rock climbing gloves or a cool yoga mat can help get you excited about your exercise plan.

There are scores of gadgets and apps that can help motivate would be gym-goers too, and some of these also connect users to health-oriented peers. MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper and Noom are great places to start tracking progress and setting new goals, and the apps are well-known for their online communities.

Looking for a simpler approach? Try Commit, a super simple app that asks the user, every day, if they’ve achieved a goal they’ve set. The app features a progress bar that tracks how many days in a row you’ve committed to your goal.

This story was originally published January 4, 2015 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Resolve to be healthier — and stick with it."