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New Year, Renewed You! By Ashley Centers

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appy New Year readers! In contemplation of this article I really wanted to focus on the opportunity that we have with 2021, for renewing our minds and bodies as well as renewing our purpose. It is fairly safe to say that we have all been through a lot this past year and we have all handled that in our own best way. In my contemplation I felt that a great goal for 2021, is to be able to find our mental reset button and refocus on our well being. I want for us all to be able to focus on taking charge of 2021, and making it a good year for us to challenge ourselves physically, and to do that we need to make a cognitive decision to put our wellness first and foremost. This year is a very unique opportunity to reset and repurpose in a palpable way. How we choose to proceed from here can and will have lasting effects for our health and fitness journey. A great beginning step for us all this year is to try and clear our mind of the uncertainty by making achievable fitness goals for ourselves. I recommend making many smaller goals in a step up approach to your ultimate year end goal, such as distances walked or timing of those distances, weight lifted, sport specific goals etc.. For example, if you want to run a five minute mile, but currently can only walk a mile with considerable effort, start by timing how long it currently takes to walk that mile and focus on pacing yourself for a 15-30 second, reduction in timing each time you train. If you want to bench press 50lbs more by year end, then focus on training in short six to eight week cycles that allow for incremental increases of weight over that time. If you want to swing a golf club more effectively then set monthly strength and flexibility goals for your body to aid in your ability to drive that ball further. Simply put, by breaking up the larger goal into smaller more attainable goals and recording our progress along the way we can achieve, maintain, and in most cases surpass our initial goals. It is important that you set the goal to begin with, so you know what it is you’re training for. While many things this past year have felt vastly out of our control, and in the past our own wellness may have felt out of our control, it is truly the one thing that we in and of ourselves do have a say over. Consciously we can make the decision to exercise more, eat healthier, and ultimately be well. Every small decision we make daily with our eating habits, our gym routine, the time we take to relax, reflect, and or meditate, can and will help us towards our next goals and beyond. When we can simply find it within ourselves to take a deep breath and realize we control our own wellness with awareness and preparation, and solidify our own mindset that it is absolutely worth it to simply begin, we will all be wildly successful at not only our fitness goals but finding and renewing our sense of purpose. I wish you all a happy and healthy 2021, and the absolute best of luck on your health and wellness journey! With the clear attainable goal of being the absolute best we can be, we can and will tackle this year with a refreshed and renewed body, mind, and spirit!V

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| VIEW ON MAGAZINE | Jan/Feb 2021