New Year’s Resolution & 2024 Fitness Goals Megathread

[nathan2018]

Hello xxfitness!

To our regulars, many thanks for keeping the sub a supportive and informative place to discuss fitness. We appreciate you!

To anyone new to fitness or xxfitness: Welcome! We’re glad you’re here. I’ll link some resources below.

Use this thread to discuss:

• Did you meet your 2023 fitness goals? What did you learn in the process?
• What are you excited to achieve in 2024? Share your fitness-related New Year’s Resolutions and/or fitness goals for 2024, and discuss your plan for achieving those goals
• Share resources or strategies that helped you set goals and establish good fitness habits

Some helpful links:

An Evidence-Based Approach to Goal Setting and Behavior Change (Stronger by Science)

7 Tips for Keeping New Years Resolutions (Stronger by Science)

How to Create a 'Mindset Bubble' for the New Year (Ask a Swole Woman)

2024 Ins and Outs (establishing a healthy relationship with food and exercise) (SoheeFit - IG)

PSA: A recent increase in exercise often causes a several-pound increase in water weight for up to 6 weeks (r/loseit)

And of course, the xxfitness wiki has a wealth of resources including tips for getting started.

Happy new years to all celebrating this weekend!

 

[unde4d]

@nathan2018 I didn't have any goals for 2023.

It was a doozy of a year health-wise. I'm just glad I got through it. Learned so much about myself and that I honestly need to slow down in life and take on less and do my best to step up my physical activity. It was hard because my mental and physical health was a total rollercoaster, but I now understand the areas I need to focus on so I feel mentally and physically better.

My 3 goals around my body/mind:

• Relax, slow down and care for myself more - integrating yoga more, walking outside, resting more, scheduling in more downtime, reading, journaling, meditation, take care of my skin ... my mental health needs this more than ever
• Connect more with my body - due to my health issues (thanks perimenopause!) and changes out of my control, I want to better accept and support my body as it goes through its changes. So focusing on moving more regularly, working to get stronger through strength training, getting 7k steps in daily, stretching and doing yoga on my rest days, wearing clothes that make me feel good and resting.
• Be consistent with regular daily movement - It's been so hard the past year due to energy, lack of mental focus, anxiety, etc. It wasn't until my anxiety was bad that I started putting more effort into moving and getting outside on walks. So I hope to stick with this the best I can and I've overall been doing better since then, even when I get sidetracked a bit. I get back into it and want to carry this into 2024.

 

[tyrell]

@nathan2018 Wasn't really a resolution but last summer I changed my lazy ass sedentary ways by rediscovering my love for swimming. I went from zero structured
exercise to swimming 3 times a week for an hour + playing ringfit adventure 2/3 times a week.
My main goal is to just keep this up tbh - will likely swap the ringfit for outdoor exercise when it gets nicer outside

This year I'd really like to try out open water swimming in spring/summer. Am aiming to do at least 1 5k open water swim race/event

I've also started making sure I at least go out for a short walk & do some yoga/stretching on my lazy days

 

[higginssamuel]

@nathan2018 Last year I was diagnosed with Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder and got out of my wheelchair.

Through a TON of physiotherapy, I’m finally able-bodied enough to walk and do bodyweight exercises. But neurologist has said I’ll never be a powerlifter again.

Last year I went to the gym 2-3 times a week consistently. My goal this year is to keep moving and lose 20-25 lbs.

I’m currently 10 lbs overweight, and I’m finally in a good space mentally and physically to track my food. I’m ready to take this on and lose the weight slowly and sustainably!

Oh, and I’m also hoping to hike a mountain this year. Not sure which one yet!

 

[faithfamily]

@nathan2018 My 2023 goal was to be more active in general without injuring myself, but also without stressing about actual fitness goals.

This was the first time I ever consciously stopped trying to exercise in favor of just moving my body more regardless of intensity, and it honestly paid off.

My average number of steps per day increased by around 2000. I climbed my favorite local mountain 15 minutes faster than the year before and without feeling nearly as winded. And I DIDN'T INJURE MYSELF. Not even once! (I have significant issues with my joints, so that's huge.)

That said, I did gain weight. My strength and balance have both decreased. So this year my goal is to GENTLY focus on general strength and balance, without injury, while continuing to maintain my daily chill walking habit. I've joined the gym that's attached to my physical therapist's office, so I feel like I can hopefully make that a smooth transition.

I know this isn't the kind of really definite, super structured goal that's most common on this sub, but I wanted to share just in case there's anybody else out there in a similar boat. I'm really proud of how I'm learning how to operate the body I've got within the limits it has.

 

[throughaglassdarkly]

@nathan2018 I can’t find my goals list for 2023 (if I ever wrote them down) but from what I remember, I wanted to run a hypertrophy program, cut then bulk, and workout five times a week. I didn’t finish SBS hypertrophy (and probably won’t though maybe I’ll try again later this year) and nor did I really successfully hit five days a week of working out consistently.

2023 was hard for some reason- I think I overbooked myself and had some stress from other things like moving, plus the random illnesses that plagued me since September. I also don’t like my new gym very much so motivation has been low. At any rate, I’ve definitely learned a few things about myself and hopefully this year will be better and less stressful.

I did have some successes- my knee has been gradually getting better and even with my gym breaks has been feeling great. I also tweaked my back a couple times but was able to bounce back relatively quickly each time and overall my back issues are minimal these days. I’ve also rediscovered my love of cardio and even though it is secondary to lifting, I do want to work to build that up in 2024. I was quite happy with the results of my cut that ended in May and somewhat successfully bulked I guess- I’ve gained weight and it was at a decent rate up until November haha, though the workout part was not so great. I made it through 14 weeks of my hypertrophy program and learned a few things that I would apply next time I run it.

My fitness goals for 2024:

*workout 5x/week unless on vacation/sick

*cardio 3x/week

*1 pull-up

*cut to 150ish, bulk to 160ish

 

[nyki_t]

@nathan2018 2023 goals were to build more muscle. I failed in this because of lack of interest in eating and a depressive episode that left me unmotivated to gym. Went from consistent 3 days per week to 1 or 2 light sessions to try to maintain. Some weeks, I didn’t go at all. Doesn’t help that it’s cold and dark now.

But I’ve gotten some solutions to combat this. Got on some meds and working towards a therapeutic dose. Got diagnosed for ADHD so now I’m learning tools to address motivation issues. I have a small weight set for home I can use to at least work out when driving simply seems too exhausting. Got a few meal plans at a discount so reaching for something healthy when I’m too exhausted to feed myself well with my own cooking. Starting an IOP to get things back on track mentally.

The good news is I still met some of my 2023 goals:

• I GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I CAN DO 4 UNASSISTED PULL UPS FROM A DEAD HANG. I fucking SMASHED my goal to reach one!!! As a woman who seldom sees women outside of Instagram accomplish this feat of fitness IRL I am SO DAMN PSYCHED. In the depths of my depression I could even maintain 1-2 solid ones. God I’m beaming remembering it.
• I ALSO SMASHED MY GOAL OF REACHING TRIPLE DIGITA ON BENCH PRESS. I pressed 110 for 3.
• I finally did a 10k!!! In fact I did two! The drawback is I was a goddamn idiot and trained less than I should have because of the mental struggles. First time I had to walk for a half mile after reaching 4.5. Second go was worse training. But I somehow beat my previous per mile pace by 30 seconds and ran the whole time.

My 2024 goals are:

• gain any lost muscle back
• try to eat more. If I need to turn to convenience meals and liquid food for some weeks, so be it.
• get back to and surpass 4 pull ups. Hoping for 5 or 6.
• hit 115 on bench
• hit 135 on ATG squats
• run more consistently for my mental well being.
• Do another 10k. Maybe a ten miler or eight miler even? If I need to make my own race I can but it’s more fun to race with others.

 

[lpadr009]

@nyki_t This post really turned it around halfway thru! You accomplished so much in spite of depression and new adhd diagnosis! Your accomplishments from last year sound like my goals for this year. I currently bench 85 and want to get to 100, and I want to do a single pull-up! I’d love any tips you have to offer!

 

[nyki_t]

@lpadr009 Thank you! While I was writing this post during the first paragraph I was slightly bummed as losing muscle was not my goal, and muscle gain was one of the main goals I had for 2023. But then I remembered, hey, I didn’t have the other goals formally written out and planned, but they were all something I worked towards and even surpassed. It was nice to have my memory jogged and write them all out.

Honestly on my way to reaching one overhand grip pull up from a dead hang, I started with easier variations. Two years ago, it was angled TRX body weight rows. The closer you get to the floor, the more ready you are for the bar. I progressed quickly there. Then, I switched to neutral grip pull ups and occasional chin ups. Once I could do 6-7 of those, I started incorporating 3x5 overhand grip negatives and sometimes regular overhand grip with light counterweights on an assisted pull up machine. By far, the most useful were the negatives. They destroy you but prepare you. And volume. I had to train pull ups 2-3 times a week. Now I do some mix of all variations because they all hit slightly different muscle groups, but still all of them hit the lats. Don’t forget to continually improve your technique, and don’t forget to add in an accessory exercise like pull downs and rows.

For bench, the answer was always volume for me. Most sets I hit 75-80 percent of what I thought my 1RM was. Learning to improve technique and properly brace my core also helped.

For all my lifts and even pull ups honestly the biggest technique breakthrough I had was learning that I wasn’t engaging my core properly. Instead of sucking my tummy in a bit, I should have been stacking my ribs over my hips and breathing in a way that pushed my core outwards. A good tip for learning how to do this is to put your thumb and index finger around your waist and try to engage the core muscles in such a way that pushes your hands outward from the waist. Squat University has a good short demonstrating this technique.

 

[lpadr009]

@nyki_t Thank you so much for these tips. I get overwhelmed by the idea of training pull-ups 2-3x a week. I think just because I’ve only recently gotten into the push/pull/legs1/legs2 habit I have no idea how to incorporate extra pull, if that makes sense. I may need to find a program so I can stop spinning my wheels about it.

Love what you’re saying about core engagement too. I’m going to focus on that next time I work on the pull-ups. Excited to find out whether I’m ready for negatives. I’ve been gradually decreasing the weight of the assisted pull-up machine but I have never even tried chin-ups or neutral grip. These sound like smart ideas too.

Gonna go try to hunt down that squat university video now.

 

[nyki_t]

@lpadr009 It sucks not having infinite time. It sounds like your program has a lot of leg work. If that’s your main focus and it works for you, that’s totally fine! If you’re making progress on those pull ups as you say, then you will get there eventually. You just might have to keep in mind you’ll sacrifice quicker progress in pull ups for progress in your legs. All depends on which goals you put more emphasis on!

 

[nayte]

@nathan2018 So 2023 saw some wins and losses.

Old Goals:

1. Run a marathon. Was unable to do after an ankle sprain and subsequent shin splints plagued me half the year. I managed to work up to my second half marathon.
2. Do one pull up, reached. I've done up to 6 pull-ups in a row now
3. Bench 135, did not reach (current 120x1)
4. Squat 200, reached (current 205x2)
5. Deadlift 225, reached (current 245x1)
6. OHP 100, did not reach (current 85x1)
7. Hip thrust 250, reached (current 375x3)
8. As far as my other goals of more protien, more sleep, more self love.....I'd say I missed the mark on all of them. Unfortunately most of the year I was in a lose weight and be as skinny as possible mind set due to my wedding in October. I let it get the best of me and had self esteem issues and problems with binge eating. Then covid in December put a damper on crushing my end of year PRs.

But onward and forward.

New Goals:
1. Run a full marathon
2. Bench 135
3. Squat 225
4. Deadlift 275
5. OHP 100
6. Follow training programs better (I have a tendency to go off book), currently running SBS Strength training program
7. Eat more protein
8. Get more sleep
9. Focus on being strong, healthy and balanced
10. Practice more self love

 

[praytogainjesus]

@nathan2018 2023 goals were dismantled due to injury. I had a bit of emotional eating and gained 10lbs on top of the 10 lbs gained from covid stress.

2024

Create a new routine. My old sport and hobby may no longer be an option so I need to find a new one.

At same time do PT exercises to see if I can resume my hobby.

Concrete plans.

Work on nutrition- first, reduce eating out. Currently probably 2-3x a week. Going for 1.5 week or less.

Work on pull ups 3x per week.

 

[perpetuah]

@nathan2018 Get back on track with training but scaling down the days I got for strength training and incorporating cardio.

Be mindful of spending habits and eating out. Eating out/snacking is what's messing me up.

Sleeping at a reasonable time.

 

[proverbs31intraining04]

@nathan2018 I want to rebuild my default settings.

So when life gets much and I get stressed, I don't revert into the comfort of my survival mode and get stuck in an inevitable cycle of 2 steps forward and 3 back.

I want to make it easy and habitual to make better choices and build a solid foundation to achieve and sustainably maintain my fitness goals.

 

[kingjamesversionbibleonly]

@proverbs31intraining04 Me too!! Good luck to us!

 

[rtp76]

@nathan2018 I am conflicted on my 2024 goal. I am on a few appetite suppressants and would like to lose 10ish pounds. I have a long history with anorexia and don’t track calories/food/macros right now. Some weeks I feel leaner and other weeks I feel that I look the same. I know that I should be tracking for optimal results, but I am deathly afraid of falling back into anorexia and having to go to outpatient again. I was seeing this guy who literally completely transformed his body in 3 months (the difference is insane, one of the best transformations I have ever seen. He went from tubby to literally having almost zero body fat and abs that are so sculpted they look fake. He uses a food scale and counts his macros and said that’s how he did it. I’m just nervous about trying that myself.

Not sure how I can actually achieve my goals without tracking though…

 

[lpadr009]

@rtp76 Just wanting to say I feel that. It is SO hard to approach strength training as a person with an eating disordered history. I am constantly worried I’ll fall back into old habits and asking myself “am I really in this for strength or am I lying to myself and just want to be thin?” And it’s probably not so black and white, when I really think about it.

I don’t have much to offer advice-wise, but I think setting strength goals has been very helpful to me to change my relationship with calories. I know I can’t accomplish my goals if I don’t eat enough.

I also recommend listening to the podcast Maintenance Phase. If you haven’t heard of it, their hosts offer criticism of diet culture and anti fat bias and I’ve learned so much from them. Truly perspective-changing.

I will also include that participating in my local roller derby league helped shift my perspective on body image. Being surrounded by confident, athletic women of all shapes and sizes helped me actually believe (not just rationally believe) that health, strength and happiness can look many ways.

 

[ih329]

@nathan2018 My 2024 goals:

I plan to get in 10k-12k steps per day

Continue being consistent with strength training

Get back to running 5kms again

Work towards doing pull-ups once my shoulder feels better

 

[rustydusty]

@nathan2018 I haven't thought too much about my goals yet, I'm still recovering from the past few months of a super stressful school year (I work in special education and my caseload has skyrocketed this year) and have really dropped the ball on health/fitness.

I guess my goal for 2024 is just getting back into consistency at the gym, and stop being so afraid of the squat rack lol. That, and making sure I eat something nutritious for lunch at least 3x a week. I started taking medication for ADHD this fall and the appetite suppressant plus how busy I am at work means I usually don't eat anything, then go ham around dinner time because the meds are wearing off and I'm suddenly ravenous.