Get Creative with Your New Years Resolutions

Well here we go Carmel Valley San Diego…time to start a new year and maybe some of those dreaded but motivating New Year’s resolutions!  As a fitness professional, this is my favorite time of year.  I love to see the gyms in our community, packed full of new folks trying something new or just getting back to what they once loved.  It is back to work for those of us who deviated from our fitness plans and personal promises.

New Year’s resolutions that involve a new or renewed commitment to fitness are very popular. Those goals, generally speaking of course, consist mainly of three things:

1. Weight loss
2. Healthier lifestyles
3. Renewed commitment to fitness in our lives

As a trainer for kids, New Year’s resolutions are usually a bit different.  Kids don’t usually experience the holiday bulge or are too oblivious to care!  Also, the guilt of missing work outs or overindulging is not really a part of their lives just yet.  So I like to use the New Year as goal setting time.  I love talking to my young clients about goal setting.  We talk about what a goal is, why they are important, and how to set a “good” goal.

In my opinion, the most important aspect of a “good” goal is making it realistic yet a healthy stretch.  How can something so far out of reach motivate us?  Change a bad habit or maybe even change our life?  Secondly, it has to be meaningful.  This is especially important for kids because without some meaning to them personally, they are not going to work long term for it.  Lastly, a “good” goal needs to be written down with a good game plan on how to get there.  How can I, step by step, get to the place that I have decided I need and want to be?  Try asking these open-ended questions with your kids and I’ll bet you will be amazed by their thoughtful answers.  I am always refreshed to hear the things kids find important, challenging or worth fighting for in their lives.  Goal setting is a lifetime lesson worth teaching our kids and discussing with our kids over and over.

For our kid’s fitness goals, here are a few points to keep in mind:

1. Simple: keep it simple and keep them moving
2. Fun: keep their attention by making it fun
3. Time: exercise should be for 60 minutes per day

Sixty minutes seems like a long time but remember that it does not have to be all done at once.  If they are active during recess at school, that counts.  If they are involved in any kinds of sports, team, dance, karate, swimming, tennis, frisbee, walks with the dog for example, those all count toward the sixty minute goal.  Parents of kids who don’t really participate in traditional sports are probably faced with the biggest challenge.  My best advice to you is to be creative.  Try a different activity each month until you find something they love.  Get involved by doing the activities together.  I would also suggest programs such as Fit N Fun Kids.  Fit N Fun sessions are generally group activities that kids can make new friends while learning how easy and fun exercise can be.

I hope my goal setting advice and tips will be helpful to you as you set out making your New Year’s resolutions for your Carmel Valley San Diego family.   I wish you, your family and our community, all the best in the coming year.  I hope to see all of you out there fulfilling your fitness goals!

Stacy Modugno is the owner and founder of Fit N Fun Kids.  She is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer.  She is also a Carmel Valley resident, Ashley Falls Elementary School mother of two and a former college level athlete.  She has coached championship level youth basketball as well as youth softball and volleyball.  From all that coaching experience came a realization of her passion to work with kids.  At Fit N Fun Kids, workouts are a combination of cardiovascular training, strength training, nutrition and movement to help build a well rounded, strong athlete.  Our goal is to train happy, healthy and pain free kids that will carry their love for fitness throughout life.