Wellness Resolutions for 2017

‘Tis the season for goals! It may be a cliché, but we think the start of the new year really is a great time to assess how you feel, what successes you’ve had over the past 12 months, and what progress you’d like to make in the future. Giving yourself a moment to set your goals and priorities for the year is, in and of itself, a great way to increase mindfulness, decrease stress, and set yourself up for success.  Try setting both long term and short term goals, and consider reassessing your goals every week or month. You are allowed to be flexible, you are allowed to delay a goal, restart completely, or even decide that one of your resolutions is just all wrong for you.  Remember to consider your wellness and happiness, not just your waistline, to set yourself up for a happy 2017.

Team Long + Lean is setting resolutions to get stronger, eat clean, and gain for more energy in 2017. Here are some of the goals we’re setting for ourselves for the new year!

Hayley

• My top goal is making time in the morning for positive, energizing habits. I am guilty of sleeping until the last minute and then feeling rushed and groggy when I start my day. I always feel so much better when I give myself time to breath and stretch. In 2017, I am resolving to give myself an extra few minutes in the morning to roll out my mat, diffuse energizing oils, and stretch and move my body before I start my day.

• To increase my energy throughout the day even more, I am resolving to take more movement breaks throughout my day. Taking a short walk can boost my energy so much more than just resting on the couch. Even though it can be hard to reset your inertia and get up and go instead of giving in to the stillness, moving more is so rewarding.

• 2017 will be the year that I concur pull-ups!! I definitely improved my shoulder mobility and strength this year, but I still can’t quite do a full pull-up. With the help of my team and consistent practice, I’ll be doing pull-ups by the summer time!

Jenn

• I’m using the start of the new year to reset my healthy eating habits. With the stress of school and holiday fun, it was easy to lose sight of the way I truly like to eat that fuels my body and makes me feel good. I will be prioritizing preparation to help me reset! Planning meals and using Sunday to prep meals and snacks for the week is my number one goal.

• I’d also like to incorporate more cardio in to my weekly routine. I feel so good when I’m doing cardio, so my goal is to add three weekly cardio sessions to my Pilates and stretching regimen.

• 2017 will be the year I master snowboarding (well maybe not master, but…). I finally gave snowboarding a try in 2016 and I’d like to keep practicing so I can get comfortable and confident on the slopes!

Michaela

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  Photo via wellandgood.com

  With a busy schedule of work and rehearsals, I’ve fallen out of the habit of carving time out for myself. I will be committing to a few hours each week of Pilates and Yoga so I can have some time to quiet my mind and focus 100% on my self.

• I’ll also be starting 2017 off with a juice cleanse to reset my healthy eating habits. I love eating clean, but we all know how holiday eating goes… A juice cleanse will give me the detox I need to feel good and recalibrate my tastes. After the cleanse, I’ll be removing dairy from diet as much as possible, which can increase energy and improve skin tone.

Rachel

• In 2017, I’d like to improve mindfulness and include more meditation in my life. I will start small with just five minutes a day (totally manageable) and add more as it becomes part of my routine.

• In my effort to be more mindful, I’m also going to work towards breaking my technology addiction. My goal is to stop going right for my phone in the morning, instead allowing myself to pay attention to my breathing and surroundings as I wake up. I’ll also be incorporating stretching in to my morning routine.

• I’ve also noticed that I’m not as strong as I used to be in the Pilates ab series from the mat work! I’m going to be doing regular Pilates mat work, focusing on abdominal strength, so I can perfect my ab series.

Laura

2016 taught me that I could really use some more strength in my shoulders and that I need to work on shoulder stability.  Luckily, so many Pilates Reformer exercises help stabilize and strengthen the shoulders. So my top fitness goal for 2017 is to utilize the Pilates repertoire to get stronger, more stable shoulders!