Full of zeal or broken dreams? How to stick to your New Year fitness goals for 2024

There are 168 hours in a week, but you only need to be exercising for four of them to make big strides in your fitness goals for 2024. Here are some New Year’s tips from a Hobart fitness stalwart.

Gabby Hills works out with her personal trainer Morgan North at All Aerobics Fitness, Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

Fitness motivation for a New Year isn’t too hard – simply select a Kardashian picture for inspiration and rock up to a gym full of zeal.

But what happens when, after only a few short weeks, that zeal has given way to the broken dreams of yet another failed New Year’s resolution?

All Aerobics owner Guy Franklin has seen it all over the decades he’s spent in the Hobart fitness world – and has a few words of wisdom for those wanting to change their body in 2024.

He said some of the “danger periods” when people fell out of good fitness habits were Christmas, changing jobs, illness or injury, going on holidays and having children.

But he said people could get back on track with just a bit of planning and focus.

“There’s 168 hours in a week, but you really only have to be exercising four hours out of that 168,” he said.

Mr Franklin suggested exercising at the beginning of the day, when there were fewer distractions.

Gabby Hills works out with her personal trainer Morgan North at All Aerobics Fitness, Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

“Exercise at the start of the day gets you set up for the rest of the day,” he said.

“You know you’re going to get up, you know you’re not going to feel like doing it, but afterwards you know you’ll feel good. Once you’re there, you’re up and away and you’re laughing.”

He also suggested doing exercise that was fun.

“I’ve had people lose 40, 50kg. You get your success stories,” he said.

“We also get a lot of people who get to a stage in their lives, particularly 40 and above, and they have a health issue. They think geez, I’m not going to live forever.”

Gabby Hills, in her late 60s, is currently enrolled in All Aerobics eight-week New Year challenge, which features personal training and assessment to help people build new habits.

She’s back at the gym after having stopped during the Covid pandemic.

“I’ve gotten over the hurdle of not being at the gym for a substantial amount of time. I think a lot of people are embarrassed to show their face in a gym again if they haven’t been there for a while,” she said.

“What I found was there wasn’t any judging of me. When I showed up, there was a warm welcome.”

Miss Hills suggested others get back in the fitness habit for 2024 by doing exercise “in small steps”.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Even if it’s going for a 20-minute walk, you’ll feel those positive endorphins,” she said.

“Use that as a building block to doing a bit more, but don’t overload it.”

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Originally published as Full of zeal or broken dreams? How to stick to your New Year fitness goals for 2024