Columbia residents set fitness goals for 2024
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As the new year approaches, many will use this moment to embark on a fresh start and establish new resolutions.
In a health survey conducted by Forbes, 48% of Americans expressed a preference for enhanced health, 38% prioritized improved finances, 36% sought better mental health, 34% aimed for weight loss, and 32% voted for an improved diet.
"Just to give people their credit it is normal to kind of at some moment lose a little motivation," said Jerrell Jackson, Co-owner of API Project Fitness.
There is a significant decline in the percentage of respondents who claim to keep themselves accountable for sticking to their goals. In the current survey, only 20% of participants report doing so, marking a substantial decrease from the previous year's survey, where 77% indicated that they would hold themselves accountable. The shift shows a notable change in people's self-perceived ability or willingness to stay committed to their goals and take responsibility for their progress.
"People realize the need to invest in their health, and I've seen a lot of that in 2023. Hopefully, that continues through 2024," said Micheal Egnew, Co-owner of API Project Fitness.
Jentry Mills, a member of API for the past five years, aims to enhance her consistency in attending the gym for the year 2024, a goal that she also set for 2023. Despite finding API to be a perfect fit for her, Mills acknowledges ongoing challenges in her gym attendance due to various reasons.
"Yeah, I think life takes over," Mills said. "Life definitely will take over. You get busy; the holidays take over. You just have different things that happen, work, life in general."
Jackson recommends two strategies for achieving personal goals. First, he suggests writing your goals on your mirror to serve as a constant reminder of your aspirations. Additionally, having a gym partner can help hold you accountable. Jackson emphasizes the importance of starting your goals with small, manageable steps.
"Even myself being a super sharp, motivated, individual, I find myself trying to do too much and next thing you know, I ain't doing nothing," Jackson said. "You know what I mean. So, you got to set small goals and also visualize."
Instead of setting overly ambitious goals like working out five days a week and making drastic dietary changes all at once, Jackson proposes scheduling gym sessions three days a week as a starting point, allowing for gradual and sustainable progress. The idea is to avoid overwhelming oneself with too many changes at once, promoting a step-by-step approach to achieving fitness goals.
According to the Forbes Health survey, the less commonly chosen resolutions are travel (6%), establishing a regular meditation practice (5%), reducing alcohol consumption (3%), and improving performance at work (3%).
