Happy New Year!

Edit: I just realized I have 11 New Year's Resolutions, and repeated #6 twice!

As clichéd as it may sound, I am starting 2011 with a list of fitness-oriented resolutions.   Just like previous years, I made similar lists and failed to come through.  Why is this year any different?  I am changing my outlook as to what fitness means to me.

I am just as guilty as most people in terms of making tunnel-visioned fitness resolutions that are aimed towards weight loss, but not seeing the bigger picture.  What bigger picture you ask?  Mainly that fitness is a journey and not a destination (Yeah, I know, I'm starting to sound like a fortune cookie).

 Luckily for me, 2010 was a year of fitness discovery.  I started off the year looking for answers that would lead me to that 20-30 lb weight loss I had been desiring, but it ended with me being as physically and cardiovascularly strong as I could possibly be.  Even though I was an athlete in high school, back then I wasn't able to do as many push-ups, lift as heavy of weights, and have the stamina to do rigorous cardio as I do now. In 2011, I hope to continue pushing myself further.

Without further adieu, here are my top 10 fitness resolutions for 2011:

10.) Eat cleaner-Diet is essentially the most important part to weight loss, more so than exercise.  Of course I'd still love to drop a few pounds, but eating clean is also important to fuel the body and keep as healthy and active as possible.

9.) Revamp my body-Instead of pledging to lose x amount of pounds, I'd rather concentrate on losing inches in problem areas and getting some definition in my body.  Unlike lots of women, I'm not afraid of a little muscle.

8.) Sleep more-I'm the queen of insomnia, but I'm working on getting a solid 7-8 hours of sleep a night.  I'll certainly miss late nights/early mornings of creative brainstorming and trippy episodes of sleep paralysis, but in the long run, this will be beneficial to my health.

7.) Start working out in the am-As mentioned in the previous resolution, I'm a night owl.  Being a creature of the night means even workouts, or even later.  And yes, I have exercised at midnight.  One of the reasons I want to start exercising in the morning is not just to get me back on a sound sleep schedule, but to help with time management.  One of the downfalls of pm workouts is that they cut into your schedule.  On top of having to cook dinner, run to the bank before it closes, and finish any errands before the day ends, you have to schedule a workout.  Although I found myself starting to prioritize exercise in my evening schedule, exercising never did get the laundry done.

6.) Remain positive-I think one of the reasons it took me so long to get this point in my fitness journey is because I never had a positive attitude.  From here on out, I refuse to compare my body to other women, I refuse to freak out if I splurge on a piece (or two) of pizza and refuse to give up even when I'm feeling tired and not seeing the results I want.

6.) Be rotationally creative-I have such a diverse collection of exercise DVDs, including systems from Beachbody.  Not only do I have enough DVDs (and equipment) to get myself into shape, but I need to actually stick to a few DVDS for 4-6 weeks to reap the full benefits from them.  Going along with this resolution...

5.) ...Actually stick to rotations-Believe me, I made up plenty of rotations in 2010.  I wrote them down in my daily planner, kept track of them in an Excel spreadsheet, and even made a monthly calendar in Word.  And yet I still suffered from exercise ADD.   In the middle of an Insanity/Chalean Extreme rotation, I suddenly got the urge to start doing the Tracy Anderson Method.  When I thought I could do a Tracy Anderson rotation for 2-3 months, I rekindled my love with Turbo Fire, my summer fling.  Although we are fresh into the New Year, I am still working out the kinks with my exercise ADD and doing whatever workout I feel like at the moment.  Starting January 10th, my commitment phobia must be held at bay as I venture into my first 4-week rotation of the year (I will post it later).

4.) Be able to do a chin-up and/or pull-up-I still can't do it yet, but it's a work in progress.

3.) Run a half-marathon-I'm not sure when or where yet, but once the weather warms a bit, I'll be working on my running.  I am thinking late summer or early fall.

2.) Blog more-Not only is this blog to talk about my love of fitness and being a fitness junkie, but it also purports as a way to hold me accountable to my goals.  I will explain more in a post tomorrow, but in 2011, this blog will be updated 2-3x/week.

1.) No-buy sanction for 6 months-Yes, you heard right...I will not allow myself to buy a single DVD for at least six months.  Although I love being a fitness junkie, it has certainly taken a hit to my wallet.  On top of that, it has allowed my exercise ADD to run rampant.  Instead of enjoying the DVDs that  I have, I was always looking for the BBD in 2010.  Now, I never abandoned my DVDs, and in fact have done all of them numerous times, but instead of appreciating individually, I saw them as pieces of a larger collection.  With this no-buy sanction, I can focus on all my DVDs and not be distracted in obtaining my goals.

Wish me luck as I wish those who are partaking in similar endeavors the best of luck!