New Year’s Good Intentions

New Year’s Good Intentions

     Every year, many people with good intentions make a New Year’s resolution. For many it’s to get fit and start going to the gym. Three months is the average time most will stick to that promise! In fact while you are reading this article most people have already quit on this goal.

There are fundamental differences between people who go to the gym day after day, week after week and someone who goes for three months and quits.

When asked what is the most difficult thing about getting to the gym most said finding the time. Most people have time; they just can’t manage it properly. When we work on fitness plans for some of the country’s busiest executives, We first dissect their home time. Obviously, if you’re at work you can’t be working out. The same rule applies for sleeping. So we work 8hrs, we sleep 8hrs, that’s 16 hrs. This leaves you 9 hrs. Some people work more than 8 hours a day. Here is where good time management skills and priorities come into play. If you are not ready to make fitness one of your top priorities getting in shape will never happen.

If you go home after work, eat dinner and then sit on the couch watching TV for three hours before bed guess what? You will never get into shape. All you need is one hour out of your day three days a week. If over the course of a week, you work 40 hrs, sleep an average of 40 hrs, and all the other essentials take about 28 hrs, this is 108 hrs. One hundred and eight hours to wash, get dressed, eat, work and sleep everything else is a luxury. A week consists of 168 hours that leaves about 60 hours for non essential stuff. Of course there are other factors involved such as; different jobs take more of your spare time. We have a client that actually built a gym in his office building just for himself to get into shape. The idea is even if you end up with 15 hours left over you should still be able to set aside 3-5 for fitness that’s it.

Next, you need to make fitness a habit, get it into your schedule, and stick to it.

Plan your exercise as you plan your day. Try to add it in at the same time everyday. Eventually it becomes a normal part of your routine. Once it’s a habit if you miss a session you feel like your day is not complete. That is the feeling you need to develop in order to continue on the plan.

Choose realistic goals, this means that if you have never ran a marathon then don’t expect that by going to the gym two days week that in three months you’ll be running 10 km.

Be real; don’t set yourself up for failure. If you need to lose weight then choose a goal you can live with without changing your whole lifestyle. Desperate measures are for desperate people. If you need to lose 20 lbs; of fat or more than you realistically need to schedule 5-7 hours of activity per week. That includes all forms of exercise, not just gym training.

Stay focused. Write your goals down, and place them in spots where you can see them often. Everyone has a calendar at work or at home write a step by step day by day plan out on it. Write down things like, down two pounds, 10 more to go.

Have an end date in mind. It should look something like this, end goal date June 1^st 2016 goal down 4 inches up 4 pounds of muscle and drop 4% body fat.

Track your goals every week this will help you stay focused and keep your program on track.

Get the help of an expert. Many people fail to adhere to a program due to boredom. This is often due to two major factors. One, lack of knowledge is a major problem. If you’re just guessing at what it is you should be doing then it will take forever to attain a goal. People who exercise for months without attaining a goal will often quit, they have no motivation to continue because they see no change. Fitness Consultants make it their business to know what you need. This will make your efforts more efficient and changes will occur much faster. If you see changes you will be more incline to sticking with your routine.

Second, lack of variety, remember the old adage variety is the spice of life. Nothing could be truer when it comes to exercise. The average person picks about 10 exercises they like and never deviates form them. The body adapts to this training regime in about four weeks. Once this happens the stimulus is no longer creating a positive adaptation. You’re just going through the motions.

Finally, have fun make fitness enjoyable find things you like to do. If a client of mine says to me during their initial consultation they hate to bike, then putting them on the bike for 40 minutes a day would not be conducive to having them stick to their program. If you like being outdoors then go exercise outdoors. If you like to walk then add walking to your program. If you’re competitive then put small challenges or milestones to hit within your training. Examples would be lifting 5 pounds more every workout, doing 10 pushups more every morning. Compete with a friend or training partner challenge each other.

Above all be patient Rome was not built in a day. Changes will happen in time.

It took however many years to get deconditioned you won’t reverse it overnight.

Keep focused and stay motivated and it will all pay off in the end.

Until next time Stay fit and be strong.

TopShape visit our website at www.topshapeinc.com