Just like that, the year 2024 has come and gone. Maybe you accomplished some (or all) of your golf goals for 2024. Maybe, just maybe 2024 was the year you added a consistent fitness plan to your weekly regimen. And it was going well… until it wasn’t. If you’re like the vast majority of the population, a few bumps in the road may have thrown you off course—and turned those well-intentioned plans into a distant memory.
The thing to get out of the way is that we have the ability to bounce back and what better time to get a head start on it than 2025? No, I don’t love New Year’s resolutions when it comes to fitness. It has been estimated that 94 percent of individuals who have decided to make lifestyle changes at the end of the year abandon their efforts within two months. However, the best time to make a change is NOW and we happen to be at that calendar reference point.
Read along with me as I outline some strategies (and factors for success) that you can use to your advantage when tackling the 2025 golf season and finally get that consistent workout routine on track to help you cut your results in 2025!
Reflection: Looking to 2024
Growth is impossible without personal reflection. If we don’t know where we come from, how can we get to where we want to be? When it comes to golf, tracking data and statistics is more available than ever. Companies like Arccos, Shot Scope and Garminto name a few, it gives us the ability to access data during and immediately after a round. This past golf season, I gave up about five strokes a round against my target approach handicap, but gained 0.1 strokes off the tee. When I look back at my seasonal data, I can see that approach is a current weakness in my game and thus should be the focal point of my offseason leading up to 2025. Without reflecting on that information, I may shift my focus elsewhere and stay in the same place next golf season rolls around.
The same can be said for fitness. What have you achieved in 2024 working towards your health goals? Have you gotten stronger, leading to an increase in distance? Have you been performing a regular stretching routine, helping to increase range of motion and reduce post-round soreness? What about durability? Doing a self-examination of your physical well-being will help you understand what you are need to focus in order to play your best golf from a fitness standpoint.
The final key to reflection, and I cannot overstate this enough, is that write and record your findings. Thinking things through in your head is great, but what happens when you go to bed that night and can’t remember your train of thought? Whether it’s in a journal, a phone app, or a spreadsheet, WRITE IT DOWN!
Create SMART goals
Now that you’ve completed your 2024 reflection, it’s time to set a goal for 2025. Using the SMART goal-setting method helps create a reasonable approach to accomplishing what you’ve set out to do.
“Sounds good, Jason! But what does SMART stand for, anyway?”
I’m glad you asked! The SMART acronym I am referring to stands for the following:
- SPECifiC
- Establishing a clear and distinct focus. If goals are too vague or broad, it may be more difficult to achieve them.
- Measurable
- If you can’t measure your goal and progress toward its completion, you won’t know if you’re on track to accomplishing it.
- Accessible
- Your goal should be achievable within the time frame you want to complete it by. If it feels too distant or far away, you’re likely to lose motivation—and potentially give up in the process.
- realistic
- This is pretty self-explanatory. If your goal is to lose weight, for example, set a realistic number. Sure, it would be nice to lose 100 pounds if you have it to spare! However, this may not be a realistic target in a 12-month time frame.
- Limited in time
- You MUST set a deadline for when you want to achieve your goal. Setting a deadline will help you strategize how best to use your time in an effort to reach your goal.
A basic example of a SMART weight loss goal might look like this:
“I will exercise for 30 minutes a day, three days a week, for three months.”
You may notice that nowhere in this goal does it set a specific weight loss goal, and that’s okay! However, by accomplishing the above goal, weight loss would follow.
Now that we’ve decided how to use SMART goal setting to our advantage, we need to shift our focus to one of the most important aspects of making changes to our overall well-being—accountability.
Accountability and motivation
At the root of all success, you will find someone who was held accountable for achieving their goals. For some, this is not a problem. Others will find it one of the biggest challenges they will face when creating new daily health and fitness habits.
Motivation plays a big role in finding the best way to hold yourself accountable.
Individuals fall into one of two categories when it comes to motivation – intrinsic or extrinsic. For those who are intrinsically motivated, gratitude and a sense of accomplishment simply by completing a task is all they need. If I offered a intrinsically motivated individual $50 to complete a task, for example, it really wouldn’t move the needle.
Extrinsically motivated individuals need the carrot dangled at the end of the stick – so to speak – to motivate them to reach the finish line. They do not find joy or satisfaction in the process of completing the task like their deeply motivated counterparts. If I make the same offer of $50 to an extrinsically motivated individual, they now have something to gain by completing a task and are motivated to do so.
There is no such thing as a “wrong” motivation. However, if you fall into the external category, you may benefit from additional external support for accountability. This could be a personal trainer or a workout buddy. Having someone to show up for will make it more likely that you’ll stick to your goals and new routine.
Start with the basics
If it’s been a while since your last workout, starting things off with basic movements will be to your advantage. Remember that goals must be realistic. If a workout is too complex or requires a lot of different equipment, it will be more challenging for you to stick to it. In the beginning stages, you’ll benefit more from being consistent with a basic routine than from a technical one that you can’t complete as often. Starting a workout plan built around basic bodyweight movements like squats, lunges and push-ups just takes a little space and you showing up. Add in some general mobility and stretching exercises, which I’ll cover in a future article, and you’ll be on your 2025 fitness journey.
Simple set and rep schemes are also the way to go early. Start with two sets of 10 repetitions of the above exercises and see how you feel. If you don’t notice much soreness the next day, increase it to three sets of 10 reps.
Can’t do 10 push-ups with your hands and feet? No problem! Modify the exercise so that your knees are on the ground or perform them with your hands on an elevated surface such as a counter, table or stairs. If you still can’t complete 10 reps, complete as many as you can with good form and write it down. Next time you train, try to build on that number.
Again, the key aspect here is that you are doing SOMETHING. Building a base of strength with simple exercises will allow you to expand and increase the difficulty of your workouts as you adapt.
Wrapping things up
Implementing a fitness routine will not only benefit your golf game, but also your overall health and quality of life. By taking advantage of reflecting on the year that was, creating SMART goals, finding accountability and what motivates you, and keeping it simple to begin with, you’ll set yourself up for success in 2025 and beyond. Stay tuned for more exercise tips and advice to make this your best year yet!
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