What’s your plan?
Do you ever wonder why every January 1st, millions of people join gyms all across the nation, full of good intentions and full of energy, but yet months later, over 80% of them have already stopped going or quit all together? Why?
Because they had no plan.
Fitness just doesn’t happen on its own. Successful fitness is based on programs that are progressive (and at appropriate times, regressive) in nature. Many gym-goers head to the gym and figure they will do 30-60 mins of workouts, lifting this or that, doing some cardio and they will see the results come quickly. Then they find weeks or months later, not much has changed in their bodies or at best it started well and then screeched to a halt. They become disillusioned with the workouts and figure what the heck, eating ice cream and pizza was a lot more fun anyway … at least until next January 1st.
So how do you overcome this? Here are my thoughts and tips:
What is your Why?
Why are you starting a fitness program? Do you want to lose weight? Gain Muscle? Get beach ready?
Build your plan around your goal because if you don’t, you will may be counterproductive in what you are trying to achieve. It’s also very important to not be too general. Saying, “I want to lose 10lbs and get bigger muscles” This sounds like a great plan, but those are really two competing plans: one plan is losing weight and one is gaining muscle. One involves cutting calories (to lose weight) and one requires taking in more calories (to add muscle). It would be better to focus on losing 10lbs over the next few months, learning how to lift properly and developing the muscle building plan to follow.
What is your timeframe?
Are you realistically giving yourself the time to make change? I hear a lot of people say, "I need to lose 10 lbs in a month before I go on a beach vacation." They already start off by putting a lot of pressure on themselves (and perhaps their trainer) to achieve this 10lb loss in four weeks, but are they also taking into account everything else they have going on in their lives during this time? You need to have a proper timeframe set-up in order to adequately achieve your goals.
How will you do this?
Do you belong to a gym? Will you be working out at home? If it's at home, what equipment do you have? Are you motivated to do this on your own or will you need a trainer? If you want to hire a trainer, can you afford that in your budget (it’s a great investment by the way). Do you have the support of your family and friends who might not be on this journey with you?
Are you good at planning?
As I started off with at the top, you need to have a plan. How many days per week can you workout? How much time at each workout? Do you have a programs that is designed to help you achieve your goals in the timeframe? Do you have other concerns with your health that might hamper you starting (past injuries, health issues?)
These four points can get you started on thinking how you will get going on a program that you will adhere to over the long term.
A well designed fitness program is enormously rewarding. When you start seeing changes in weight loss, lower body fat, increases in strength and muscle you will be amazed at the additional energy you have in just about every aspect of your life.