Living the Lifestyle – How to Overcome New Year's Fitness Resolutions
Above: Photo of Lorenzo Leyva on May 2, sporting a t-shirt with his brand name, WALI. Photo by Lucas Leyva.
By Jessica Villalvazo
@yessicavazo
As I stood in the gym, gazing at familiar faces and some unknown, it reminded me that buried in our differences is something we all had in common; the determination to improve ourselves as individuals by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and doing what it takes to get there. Yet, creating the proposal is considerably simpler than taking the initiative to complete an unexplored goal.
January strikes as a clean slate, another year of setting goals that we often fall short of after nearly a few weeks of mere dedication. Our overestimated New Year’s resolutions have yet again won the battle.
These plans revolve around losing weight, going to the gym regularly or even giving up fast food, but when temptations kick in, we find ourselves back to where we started. We promise ourselves, “I’ll make an exception this time” until these “exceptions” become a daily routine, and finally, these resolutions cease to exist. We seem to forget that patience is essential when encountering an unaccustomed target, as well as hard work and passion.
Lorenzo Leyva, 21, is a student at the University of La Verne and an aspiring lifestyle blogger. Currently, Leyva is focusing on establishing a name in the YouTube community, aiming to inspire those who are willing to embrace their journey and commit to an optimistic lifestyle by sharing his day-to-day experiences. He has curated a fitness brand, called Wali, to symbolize progression towards life goals. Wali stands for Work, Achieve, Live and Inspire, meaning you "work hard to achieve the way you want to live and inspire those on the way," as described by Leyva.
He explained that overcoming a resolution can be accomplished with the adjustment of your mindset, which will ultimately benefit you in the long run for future goals and plans, in both fitness and a career.
A resolution is interpreted as a firm decision to put a halt to something for a particular span of time, therefore, we see it as a temporary goal rather than a lifelong adjustment.
“It’s not a resolution, it’s a lifestyle,” Leyva said.
It is crucial to understand the outcome of our actions to commit to a drastic change in our routines. Once our health and well-being is prioritized, we can push through minuscule setbacks and continue to practice a rewarding way of living. Maintaining this lifestyle is physical and vigorous, but building a "mind over matter" perception is the key to getting the job done.
Leyva said taking an hour of your day for training, going to the gym or hiking is a great way to start your goal so you can understand where you need to get. Finding a gym partner or an individual with similar commitments to participate with on these activities can be a crucial support system, as you can be reliant on one another and be the supplementary motivation to push yourselves through moments of weakness.
Welcoming 2017 with open arms equally means that we are embarking on another journey of discovering the potential we have and using it to our advantage. It represents a new beginning to a wholesome life and an end to poor habits. Slow progression is better than no progression, therefore you shouldn’t be unmotivated if you can’t meet a goal right off the bat. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going and developing the capability to remain consistent with a challenge is gratifying in itself.
It’s important to live the lifestyle, rather than tolerate it.