How to Stick With Your New Year's Fitness Goals

It’s 2024. You’re four years past the dumpster fire of 2020. Covid feels further away than ever. And while the nightly news may be grim, you’re allowing yourself a little dose of optimism as you enter the new year. In fact, you’ve decided you’re going to stick to a fitness plan, get stronger, and healthier! Hell yeah! Good for you!

But wait, this isn’t the first time you’ve set this goal for yourself. In years past, you’ve bought workout clothes and fitness accessories to motivate yourself. You've bought gym classes and memberships you stopped using. Your inspirational Pinterest boards are no longer inspiring. So the question is, how are you going to switch it up this year? How are you going to stick to a new plan?

Listen, I’ve been there. I grew up doing gymnastics. I loved it. But as I got older, there was no way it could be my main form of exercise. My doctor told me I needed to find a “lifetime sport.” Something that would get my “ya-yas” out without destroying my body (and bank account). I tried jogging. I hate jogging. I tried boxing, spinning, rowing, you name it. Nothing stuck. The phases came and went. Working out was a chore.

I thought I was lazy. I thought my issue was about self discipline. But eventually I came to a profoundly simple realization: It wasn’t me, it was the workout. Why was I forcing myself to do anything I didn’t want to do? And then punishing myself for not changing my fundamental tastes and desires? Why was I trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?

The only thing that changed my behavioral pattern was finding an activity I genuinely enjoyed doing. I know it sounds too simple. It is simple. But it’s not trivial.

Finding the right workout for you is like dating. It’s a numbers game, you gotta try them all. You’ll want to find something that excites you. Something that engages you. Something that feels slightly intuitive. When you’re genuinely excited about your activity, you know you’ve cracked the code.

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re considering Pilates for your lifetime sport. If you do, you’ll be joining the millions of people who love Pilates too. It’s a particularly sticky sport. 25% of people who do Pilates have been doing it for 6-9 years, and 23% for over 10 years. You’ll be in good company.

So let’s talk logistics. You’ve fallen in love with Pilates. You went to a few classes, played around with the reformer, and are considering buying a membership. It won’t take you long before you realize the sport takes a significant toll on your wallet. 

On average, a group Pilates class will run you anywhere from $25-40 a class. To make things easier, let’s say $32/class. You’re trying to stick to a consistent plan of working out 3-5 days a week (let’s say 4 days per week on average). That would run you $6,656 per year. That’s a lot.

This is why I built Somato. I spent two years re-engineering the Pilates Reformer to make it lightweight, foldable, user friendly and affordable. Now my amazing team of instructors are filming classes so we can use them at home. It’s been my mission to make Reformer Pilates more accessible to everyone, and now it is. For $2,100, you can work out as much as you want. 

I know how hard it is to find your workout. I’m happy to say, if your workout is Pilates, now it’s more accessible than ever.