Well now you’ve got yourself motivated and ready to reach a new state of wellness! You’re off to the gym with your new workout clothes on, a hot cup of coffee, and a goal in mind. Now what do you do? Hmm, okay, I’ll jog on the treadmill for a mile, work these dumbbells awhile, do some sit-ups, and I’m done. Right? Probably wrong, but partially right.
* Just get started! If you are reading this blog, you have already been thinking about starting a fitness routine. Good for you. The second step is to put your thoughts into action. Check out my goal blog, write down your goals, and get started. Don’t waste time. You may think, I’ll start next week; instead, that week turns into a month, which becomes a year, or even a lifetime. Your time is now.
* Know who you are! This is a good time to consult a professional. Sometimes it’s hard to understand your own goals and how best to achieve them. Also, get to know your strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you enjoyed exercise while in high school because you participated in a sports team, you could find a local club soccer team, or start a kickboxing routine. Likewise, if you started an exercise routine in the past but lost motivation because you dreaded the treadmill, find something else to do—like a bootcamp. Build a workout tailored to you.
* Seek some motivation! Don’t wait until your drive is running on fumes to give yourself another kick in the butt. Constantly be searching for ways to make your workout both productive and enjoyable. You can check out the winter motivation blog, find yourself a workout partner, or even try a new type of exercise you have never done before.
* Do it all! That’s right, do it all….scary, right? Not really. To become that physically fit person you want to be, you should focus on ALL five components of fitness: Cardiovascular, Muscular endurance and Strength, Flexibility, and Body Composition. Just doing that Elliptical five days a week isn’t going to cut it. Bench pressing the world off your chest might be cool for the dudes in the gym, but probably isn’t going to led you to a better version of yourself without some flexibility and proper nutrition (body composition). More likely, it will led you to injury and heart disease. So, if you are exercising four hours a week, make an effort to at least get 20 minutes of each of the first four components of fitness weekly. And, most importantly, eat right.
* Use your calendar! As discussed at nauseam in my blogs, write a schedule down. Schedule out check points, benchmarks, and an idea of your weekly workouts. Your life might seem so busy that you just don’t have the time for exercise, but you’re wrong. You have to make time to become fit and healthy. I have trained individuals with 50-60 hours a week jobs, a herd of children, sick family members, and demanding personal lives to great success. It all starts with knowing you can do it, and then making it happen!
