Goodbye, Quarantine 15! Jumpstart Your 2021 With Top Tips From A Fitness Instructor

Not only has 2020 been a less than stellar year for everyone, but it may have caused many to give up on their fitness goals. Since 2021 is right around the corner, it’s time to start fresh and get into the right mindset. So, how exactly can you get motivated? Look no further! 

“When kick starting or recommitting to your fitness routine, it is important to prioritize consistency as well as variety,” Annie Mulgrew, CITYROW VP Founding Instructor, exclusively tells OK!. “Schedule your workouts like you do any other meeting — that way you know how much time you have to exercise that day — and choose classes or workouts that you enjoy, that challenge you but won’t cause burn out or boredom.” 

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In order to get lean and burn fat, adding “a full body strength component to your fitness routine” is ideal, she says. “It is extremely important to focus on flexibility and mobility, especially once you start committing to more strength training, so adding in yoga or Kinstretch will help to balance out your routine.” CITYROW offers a bunch of “fun workouts,” whether you’re on the rower or on the floor, and they recently launched a new at-home rower, the CITYROW GO Max, which has a 19.5" touchscreen for a fully immersive experience.

Mulgrew even suggests sneaking in some movement in between meetings to get a little energy burst. “I love attaching an exercise, let’s say push ups or squats, to a habitual action I do throughout the day i.e., when I head to the bathroom or let my dog outside,” she shares. “Every time I go to the bathroom, I commit to doing 10 push ups and/or 10 squats. Over the course of the day, I will probably average over 50 or so reps! It doesn’t take up much time at all to do, and I will wrack up a considerable amount of volume!” 

She adds, “Also, if I have 10-15 minutes that I can dedicate to a quick sweat between meetings, I love to choose three exercises — alternating reverse lunges, push ups to alternating side planks and leg raises — for 10 reps and do as many rounds as I can in those 10-15 minutes.” 

Since Mulgrew rotates between different exercises, not only does her heart rate rise but she doesn’t even need any equipment to break a sweat. “It almost feels like I am playing a game with myself!” she says. “Can I do another round today than I did earlier this week?!”

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Even though people's routines may be a bit different than previous years, "write down your goals and aspirations for January," which will help you prioritize what you want to accomplish.

"Putting pen to paper is a beautifully cathartic and proactive experience that has been proven to increase the likelihood that you commit and succeed," she reveals. "For example, one of my goals for the next year is to become more involved in my local community. In order to do so, I am prioritizing X amount of hours a month to volunteer as well as X amount of money from my income to support certain local organizations that I feel connected to. At the beginning of each month, I will schedule my volunteer hours and with each paycheck will allocate a certain percentage of money to those organizations."