Hit the ground running with your fitness goals in 2019

Starting the new year with a positive attitude and a set of resolutions is something we can all aspire to. In fact, this is not difficult. The difficult part is keeping this state of mind, along with your new year’s resolutions. Fortunately, there are numerous startups ready to help, and novel strategies you can use to keep yourself motivated in 2019.

Lazy Jar is a third party Fitbit app that helps users naturally build the discipline they need to achieve their fitness goals. Through negative reinforcement, users are expected to achieve their fitness goals or face a penalty, resulting in a committed donation to charity. Users join and make a six-month activity commitment (i.e. 70,000 steps a week). Then users must choose their penalty amount — of which 80% will be donated to childhood cancer research if they don’t meet their goals.

“Research shows there is no shortage of Americans who want to lose weight or improve their fitness levels,” said Justin Anyanwu, Founder and CEO of Lazy Jar. “The issue is, most Americans have a huge obstacle in front of them in the form of lifestyle norms – so they could do with a little push”.

Of course, for many, the motivation to get fit is already there. The hard part is consistency, finding something to work towards which fits into your lifestyle. Here are three options for your new goal in 2019.

A 30-day Yoga challenge

Adriene Mishler, also known as Yoga With Adriene on YouTube, has hosted a free 30-day yoga challenge every January for the past few years to help inspire novices and experts in yoga to either start, or enrich their at-home practice. Alongside Adriene, there are numerous Yoga instructors to choose from on Youtube, so no matter your style or goal there is someone for you.

Train for a marathon

This is a simple goal to build towards and best of all it won’t cost you a penny. Across the globe, you will find marathons and half marathons to take part in. Whatsmore, no matter how busy your lifestyle is, you can always find the time and space to run.

Download a fitness app

There are many fitness apps out there to suit a large variety of fitness goals and sports. One of which is CycleCast, an app that makes studio-quality indoor cycling classes more convenient than ever and makes building a new workout habit fun and easy. The innovative startup recently shared four tips to start the year the right way, in addition to a free gift.

1. Keep it short: quick exercises with high-intensity intervals can work just as well as longer, lower-intensity workouts (20 minutes is more than enough and any time at all is infinitely better than nothing – government health officials agree!)
2. Consistency is key: even if it’s a short workout, try to build a habit by maintaining a consistent schedule – if you’re sticking to it, but it feels too easy, slowly increase the duration or number of times you exercise as your schedule allows
3. Your cooldown is just as important as the workout: taking a bit of time to stretch and recover will pay dividends by reducing soreness and tension so that your body is ready for the next workout
4. Know your limit: listen to your body – if something hurts, dial it back a little and save yourself for the next workout

Moreover, to incentivize people to get started, CycleCast is offering a special four week-trial. You can access the trial by entering the promo code ESP9GO8. It is also important to note that this offer is only valid in the US.

Disclosure: This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company