A special thanks to Naked Nutrition for sponsoring today’s conversation. All of the thoughts and opinions expressed in the post are 100% authentic.

Many people set health and fitness goals in the New Year. These can focus on losing weight, eating a healthier diet, exercising more, increasing stamina, hitting personal bests, or achieving more specific targets. Often, we just make a vague resolution to become fitter, healthier, or both. Gym memberships rise in January, stores sell more low-fat meals and healthier snacks and ingredients, and it’s common to pass far more people out running or walking. Unfortunately, most of us have given up or slipped back into old habits by the end of the first month. If you want to hit some fitness goals in the new year, and you don’t want to fail, here are 6 awesome tips to help you.

Increase Your Protein Intake

Protein is a crucial element of building muscle and strength. You can increase the protein in your diet by eating more meat, fish, eggs, and other dairy. If you exercise regularly, you might also want to boost your protein intake with delicious protein drinks from Naked Nutrition. They have a variety of products that support your health and fitness goals. They use as few ingredients as possible and are transparent about what is in their products so that you know exactly what’s going into your body.

Protein drinks are a great way to increase your energy levels, boost muscle mass, and power your workouts. One way I have recently increased my protein intake is by drinking the Fruit Punch Whey Protein Isolate daily. First of all… the flavor is amazing! If you are not a big fan of the typical chocolate or vanilla protein drinks, then this is the one for you! The powder mixes up very easily in the shaker bottle, not powder clumps at all. I love that there are no sugars or artificial sweeteners! Each serving has 20g of protein and only 90 calories.

Getting your drink ready only takes minutes, simply add 1 scoop of Clear Naked Whey to 10-16 oz of cold water and then shake well. There is natural foam that will take about a minute to settle. Once foam has settles, you can then enjoy a clear, refreshing protein drink with a mild fruity flavor that supports optimal muscle growth and post-workout recovery. Such a simple and delicious way to increase your protein intake, make sure to visit Naked Nutrition to view all of their products.

Set Realistic Targets

The most common reasons we fail to hit our targets are that they are too vague, or too unrealistic. If you’ve never run before, you aren’t going to run a marathon in the next few weeks. Set smaller, more realistic but specific targets and you are more likely to hit them.

Add Cross-Training to Your Routines

Your specific goals might be to run a certain distance or get to a time target, or they might focus on weights, muscle mass, or body shape. Whatever your targets are, cross-training is key. You might think that if your target is to run, you need to run more. This is true, but practicing strength training with yoga or weight training will help you to build more powerful muscles and a stronger core, which will support your running.

Figure Out Your Motivation

Why do you want to hit your goals? Are you trying to lose weight? Improve your health? Become fitter? Improve your mental health or reduce stress? These are all valid reasons to work out, and you’ll probably enjoy all of them, but figuring out your motivation will help you to keep going when times are tough.

Keep Track of Your Progress

Progress is often slow, and improvements can be small. It’s easy to become demotivated when nothing seems to be happening. Keep track of your progress and you’ll find it easier to see the gains that you are making and stay on track.

Enjoy Yourself

You’re more likely to stick to exercise routines if you enjoy yourself. Having fun will also keep you going when progress is slow, or even stalls. If you don’t enjoy the workouts that you are doing, try some other things. Look for classes and groups in your local area or try something with a friend.

Remember, sometimes it’s ok to move your goalposts. If it becomes clear that your goals aren’t realistic, or that they are too easy, don’t be scared to reassess and set some new ones.