How to Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals to Make Your Exercise Resolution a Reality!

It’s here! The start of the new year! The holiday celebrations have come to an end and we are left with our annual to-do list of resolutions. It is so invigorating to start a new year with a sense of renewed energy, a vision for your future, goals, and…a plan? The distance between our goals and the “how” of actually getting there can look like Mount Everest as we stare up at our lofty ambitions from below, imagining all of the hard work we will have to do to get there. Exercise-related New Year’s resolutions seem to top everyone’s list around this time of year. However, up to 80 percent of health-related resolutions- including ones to add in more exercise- are abandoned as early as February. Why is this? We all know that exercise is good for us, that it is something we need for lasting health and longevity. So why do we put off getting more exercise, or a better question might be: Why do we start exercising but then can’t seem to maintain consistency?