New Years Resolutions

Many people make New Years resolutions, but how many actually keep them? Gyms are always packed in early January, but come February, back to normal. I actually found out from a gym owner that 80% of his monthly members don't even come to the gym after the first month! I think that the problem with New Years resolutions is that people tend to make generic goals like "I'm going to eat healthier" or "I'm going to workout more." These are really difficult resolutions to keep because they involve immeasurable goals. Your resolutions have to be something specific, like "I'm going to run a 5K" or "I'm going to cut sugar out of my diet." These goals are specific and measurable and therefore easier to keep.

I've actually had some pretty big New Years resolutions work out in the past because they were specific enough for me to actually measure if I reached them. In 2010, I decided to drastically change my diet and eat vegan. Going "cold turkey" like this worked for me, but it might not work for everyone. I threw out all of my non-vegan food (including a huge stash of Cheez-Its that my friend compiled for me from the dorms haha) and started the difficult process of learning how to eat healthy vegan food. While I'm not strictly vegan anymore, I do still eat a plant-based diet, so this resolution was a huge success! In 2011, my resolution was "to eat healthier and work out more." I have no idea if I actually attained this goal because it was so vague. In 2012, I decided to start this blog, read my first post here. I'm still writing so this resolution was definitely a success! I also wanted to do unassisted pull-ups; it's the end of the year but I finally got them! See picture below, I am not using the band hanging there :)

Me doing an unassisted kipping pull-up (on the right)

I've been thinking about some New Years resolutions for 2013 and here are some of my ideas:

• Learn double unders
• Do regular push-ups (means practicing every day)
• Do all pull-up workouts without a band (unassisted kipping pull-ups)
• Beat half-marathon PR of 1:55 in the Indy 500 Mini Marathon
• Be active every single day
• Go gluten-free

What are your past successful resolutions/goals?

What are some of your New Years resolution ideas?