Happy New Year, Sunny fam! The start of a New Year is always a great opportunity to reflect and set some goals for the year ahead. Do you have your New Year's resolutions already lined up for 2022?
If you’re anything like me, you’ve had some ideas in mind for a few months. I mean, we all want to get healthier right? But what we typically lack is a solid plan. That’s where this New Year New You 2022 Fitness Program comes into play.
In past years, we’ve released some awesome New Year’s fitness programs, but at Sunny we know fitness is only one element of living a balanced healthy life. This is why this year we’ve put together this 6-week program, focused on 6 different elements of living a healthy, happy life!
Below, you’ll find all the details you need to get started on your best year yet.
New Year New You 2022 Fitness Program
In this program, you’ll find 6 weeks. Each week you’ll have a new challenge to complete. Each challenge focused on a different element of your health.
Each week, a new article will be released with a deep dive into the healthy practice of the week, including some incredible motivation and tips from your favorite Sunny trainers.
You don’t want to miss this! So, be sure to subscribe to the Sunny newsletter, and follow our social channels for more encouragement and accountability each week along the way!
Below I’ve listed out each week, topics, and challenges for your reference. I encourage you to save this article or write it down each week, so you know exactly what’s coming.
New Year New You 2022 Weekly TOPICS
Week 1: Movement
For so many of us, just moving has been hard to achieve in the past few years. The pandemic hit, and it changed everything, setting many of us off our healthy habits.
Movement is incredibly important. As Sunny Trainer Sam Candler highlights perfectly, “Perhaps the most important thing to remember about movement is it enables a high quality of life to do joyful fun activities. So, if we don’t move, we stagnate. We know that phrase, ‘it takes money to make it and similarly, it takes energy to make energy. The more we move the more our bodies will want to move.”
My goal is for you to enjoy the amazing benefits movement has for your body, mind, mood, and life; and, most importantly, to do it in a way you enjoy!
Week 2: Hydration
Hydration is so easy to do, and yet so easy to forget to do. I’ve been that person who sits at my desk all day, absorbed in my work, and heads home without a single sip of water during the day. Now, I know better, and I always keep a water bottle with me to make it easier to stay hydrated.
When you’re hydrated, you’re a better, healthier you. As Tina Kim states, “Water is important because it helps our internal organs function properly, it helps our skin look great, and aids indigestion. Our body is composed mostly of water, so if you think about anything from our joints to our blood, water is the key component to make sure everything is working properly.”
I hope you’ll consider drinking what your body needs to function optimally. It’s something so silly and so simple, that can have such a large impact on how you feel throughout the day.
Week 3: Balanced Routine
Often without a sense of balance in your routine, what you’ve been neglecting catches up with you. Tight muscles, weak muscles, and a lack of general fitness can hold you back from achieving your best and contribute to potential injuries.
So, mix it up! As Sunny Trainer Ashton shares, “I find balance in my fitness routine by mixing it up. We want to push our cardiovascular system whenever we need an increase in drive, momentum, maybe you’re down, maybe you need something to push you back up, those are great to get the endorphins rushing through your body, and help you find that happy place again, that motivated place. But then there are moments when you just need love, and comfort, and kindness, and that’s a completely different style of workout, so I love to do bodyweight exercises, low impact, lightweights - because it gives you a moment to connect with yourself and find strength not in the push, but just in the simplicity.”
Try something new! Add in some strength training, stretching, or cardio to your routine. Whatever you’re missing. Find ways to sneak it in at the beginning or end of other workouts you do enjoy or set aside no more than 10 minutes a few days a week to start working on it. You may find you like the change just like Ashton.
Week 4: Mental Health
Mental health is just as important if not more important than your physical health. Without good mental health, it’s hard to enjoy our physical health, right? Strong mental health requires regular upkeep.
I love how Sunny trainer Annelisa Moody’s view on mental health, “I prioritize my mental health by going to therapy regularly. I know there is often a stigma attached to therapy. A lot of people think you go to therapy because there’s something wrong with you or [you’re] trying to fix a specific problem or trauma. But, in reality, I view therapy as exercising or going to the gym consistently. I see a therapist to stay consistent with my mental health and make myself better.”
There are so many ways to prioritize mental health. You can go to therapy, or you can start caring for your mental health by simply setting aside 5 minutes a day to meditate, pray, journal, breathe, or an endless array of other strategies to help you feel rejuvenated. Try them all and find your favorites. It’s important to have a few in your tool kit.
Week 5: Healthy Eating
Eating healthy is an incredible way to fuel your body for exercise, and life. When you give your body the nutrients it needs you to have better mental focus, clarity, and productivity, but it also gives you the energy to accomplish a variety of tasks throughout the day.
When it comes to eating healthy, Sunny Trainer Dana Simonelli has a word of advice, “Whether you’re sitting at a desk all day or whether you’re outside hiking all day, you need food to sustain yourself. Some choices are going to be better than others, so choose to fuel your body with nutrient-dense foods that are going to make your body feel better in general.”
There are so many elements of a healthy diet, and we all have our areas of weakness. For me, it’s protein - I’m not a huge fan of meat, and in combination with sheer laziness it means I don’t always get my needed intake in. For you, it might be protein, or it might be that you need to cut down on fast foods or eat more vegetables. We’re challenging the Sunny fam to eat more vegetables, but if there’s something specific you want to work on, give it a try!
Week 6: Goal Setting
Setting goals. It’s something we hear and talk about often, but maybe not something we successfully execute quite as much. Well after 5 weeks of focusing on your health, I hope you’re ready to make some permanent changes. And the best way to make change happen? Set some goals.
“Goal setting is valuable because without it we just drift in life. I feel like we as humans have this innate hunger for setting goals, accomplishing things, moving up, and progressing in life. When you have a goal, you have direction.”, encourages Sunny Trainer James. Well, if that doesn’t make you want to set some goals, I don’t know what will.
Your Sunny team wants to support you in your journey for the rest of 2022 and beyond! Post your 2022 goals in the comments of this article, tag us on social media, or hashtag #NewYearNewYouNewSunny so we can support each other.
New Year New You 2022 Weekly Challenges
As mentioned previously, each week will be accompanied by a weekly challenge. These challenges are pretty simple and basic. Things you know you should be doing, but probably aren’t.
I encourage you to use this program to tune into yourself. What do you need to work on? What do you enjoy? What does health mean to you? That’s what the next six weeks are all about - you!
My goal is week 6 - when you set your goals and intentions for the rest of 2022, you’ll know yourself better, and be prepared to make those personalized goals for yourself.
If you’re ready to embark on your best year yet in 2022, join us in these weekly challenges!
Week 1: Movement
(Monday, Jan 3rd - Sunday, Jan 9th)
Challenge: Find a way you enjoy moving, do it 3 times this week.
Week 2: Hydration
(Monday, Jan 10th - Sunday, Jan 16th)
Challenge: Drink at least 64oz or 8 Cups of water each day.
Week 3: Balanced Routine
(Monday, Jan 17th - Sunday, Jan 23rd)
Challenge: Choose 1 workout style to add to your routine, do it 2 times this week.
Week 4: Mental Health
(Monday, Jan 24th - Sunday, Jan 30th)
Challenge: Practice meditation, journaling, or deep breathing for 5 minutes a day.
Week 5: Healthy Eating
(Monday, Jan 31st - Sunday, Feb 6th)
Challenge: Eat 1 serving of vegetables with each meal of the day.
Week 6: Goal Setting
(Monday, Fed 7th - Sunday, Feb 13th)
Challenge: Write down at least 1 goal for 2022, tell a friend about it, and start working towards it.
Making Your New Year’s Plan a Lifestyle
When you achieve one step towards your goal - a workout, a healthy meal, sleep goals, the list goes on - you’re proud of yourself! Each time you act towards your goal, you give yourself a mental high five. It makes you excited to achieve that again and again, and suddenly you become your own inspiration.
Over the next 6 weeks, you’re going to build healthy habits, you're going to learn a lot about yourself and you’re going to be equipped with the tools to accomplish big things in 2022! This New Year New You 2022 Program is going to change your life.
So, stop putting caring for yourself on pause. Keep it simple. Start now and join your Sunny family on this amazing journey to a better you!
Don’t forget to share your journey with us and connect with others in the Sunny community by using the hashtag #NewYearNewYouNewSunny.
To stay up to date on this program, and all things Sunny - subscribe to our newsletter to get each week of the program sent directly to your inbox. Subscribe/follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Pinterest to get inspired. See you in 2022, Sunny fam!
