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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - When Jo Russell was working as a personal trainer she said she experienced some extremely unattainable new year's resolutions.

"Somebody came in in January and wanted to lose forty pounds before the middle of February because their child was getting married," said the health promotions coordinator for the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority.

Class instructor Janet Pound instructs a group of dedicated gym-goers during a noon hour class at Breakaway Fitness Centre on Monday. Attending various fitness classes can help keep your fitness goals in check and fresh throughout the year. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

"Obviously it was a little over the top and didn't quite happen."

Russell said people need to be realistic when setting goals for 2009 and not shoot too high no matter what the goal is. Getting fit, losing weight, increased physical activity are popular resolutions people set in the early days of the New Year. Setting reasonable, attainable goals will help people achieve what they set out to do.

"Say they want to get active it might be good to figure out what they like doing before they say they're going to go out and do it five times a week," Russell said. "If you say you're going to go out and work out for two hours a day every day, it's inevitably not going to happen.

"Quitting smoking and getting active are always big ones," Russell said.

"For any of those things to be successful it has to be planned with some forethought rather just an off-the-cuff plan. It has to be something that will factor into a lifestyle change and not just a one-off kind of goal."

Kelly Robertson, co-owner and manager of Breakaway Fitness Centre, agreed that people can be really hard on themselves when setting goals.

"They need to take smaller steps and reach those smaller hurdles rather than the big one at the end," Robertson said.

"They need to make it part of their lifestyle and routine. You come to the gym and it's not a chore, it's part of everything else you do in your regular routine."

Focusing on positive changes rather than restricting negative habits in your life can be easier to complete, according to Russell.

"Positive changes are always easier to do," said Russell.

"If you can find a partner who has a similar goal it can really help. Having someone with a common goal in mind can help make a person successful."

Mixing up your routine at the gym if it starts to get boring can keep it fresh and help you stay on track to achieve your end-game.

"You can go to classes, do your own workout, mix up the cardio machines you use," she said.

"You might want to see a personal trainer to give you a boost or a different workout. I think mixing it up and doing different things stops them from getting bored."