22 Jan Follow your Dreams and Maintain your Resolutions! by Ashton Jones

Congratulations!!! You have survived the month of January and are working your way through February! How do you feel? Wait! Before you answer that, let’s rewind a few weeks back to the ring of the bells and chimes of New Year’s Eve. Back to the stroke of midnight when all the NYE resolutions were destined to begin. Now, most people choose the common resolutions of losing weight, eating healthier, working out more, being on Facebook less, reading more books, watching less TV, recycling… the list goes on. But now that we are through at least 1/12 of the 2018 year, how many of your resolutions do you continue to keep?

According to StatisticBrain.com, 21.4% of people make the resolution to lose weight/eat healthy. And only 58.4% of all resolutions are kept past the first month. So, which side of that statistic are you on? Have you slipped a little? Maybe strayed slightly from the path? Have you completely fallen off the band wagon? Well fear not! I am here to let you know that it is okay, just jump back in! Now, with that being said, let me point out a couple of important aspects of “jumping back in”.

As a physical therapist, one of the things that keeps me in business is what I call my “weekend warriors”. These are the people that work all week and then try to make up for lost time on the weekends. The ones that push too hard at a new workout or new class; the ones that are just a little too athletic during a pickup basketball game; the ones that forget they spend approximately 70% of their week in a sedentary lifestyle and try to live as though they are young and overly active.

If I could pass on just one thing, I would recommend that you should approach your first few days of a new workout or activity as though you are a beginner. Mentally, you may think you are a younger athlete, but… You. Are. Not. I don’t say this in a bad way, but trust me, start the first few days as a beginner and it will pay off big time in the long run. A common mistake is to ease into a new workout for the first few attempts and then blow it out of the water. The problem with this approach is that you set yourself up for failure, injury, or significant soreness that delays your return to the gym long enough that you completely fall off the wagon. Remember that a slight muscle soreness that simply reminds you that you worked out is good, but if you are ill, nauseous, or unable to function due to soreness, you pushed too hard.

Should you push yourself and are too sore to exist… An Epsom salt bath with a couple drops of lavender oil followed by a lot of water and some vitamin C will put you solidly on the road to recovery, and to continuing to follow your dreams and maintain your resolutions!

Ashton Jones

Born and raised in Roswell, GA, Ashton grew up dancing and enjoying numerous outdoor activities. Her zest for competition and social interaction with fellow athletes led her to the realization that a career in physical therapy would continue that satisfaction. Having recovered from multiple foot, ankle, and low back issues, Ashton is acutely aware of the demands athletes and other patients encounter. By combining her years of dance experience, along with the empathy necessary to work with various personalities and background, she has been able to relate to and better treat the patients that she encounters. Not only has Ashton been both a patient and a therapist in the clinic, she has also spent time on the road as a therapist with several National Tours, including Wicked! and FELA!. When not in the clinic, she can be found hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, playing her dog Daisy, organizing/cleaning, or simply spending time with her family and friends.