WHY YOU'LL NEVER CHANGE YOUR BODY SHAPE OVERNIGHT
When it's the right time to concentrate on your health, fitness & lifestyle, you need to be very clear on your goals.
Finding the right time is tricky though.
It's often not as simple as it sounds. Life gets in the way, doesn't it?
You keep promising to start next week. But next week never comes.
In fact, your level of general fitness has probably been playing on your mind for quite some time now - certainly weeks, more likely months. Even years.
That's a long time, right?
Look I get it, I spent the best part of 9 years procrastinating and telling myself tomorrow until a reality check woke me up.
So when you do decide to start exercising - to take the plunge, you need to make sure you do everything you can to keep that fire in your belly, that motivation alive.
It's so easy to think "yes i'll go hardcore full on, and i'll be lean and mean for Christmas".....
And then get overwhelmed at the thought of what it's going to take to achieve that goal!
The easy way to solve this is to break down all the things that need to happen into small stepping stones that are much easier to achieve.
And, just like you can get across the river rapids using stepping stones, you can get to the other side of what you face now by using lots of smaller goals.
How to apply goal setting to fitness
But first.....
Your WHY or reason for wanting to achieve a goal should be your core motivation because it connects you to what fires you up most
A WHY isn't a one size fits all thing.
What motivates someone else might not get someone off the couch.
The key to determining your why is to ask yourself: "Why do I really want to get fit? Why is it important to me?"
If your WHY motivates you towards fitness goals then go with it.
Most of my clients are like me and have kids so being fit and setting an example to them is their main priority.
Many others just want to look and feel more attractive to their other half.
Bottom line: Whatever fires you up and motivates your ass out of bed in the morning
"He who has a why can endure any how" ~ Frederick Nietzshe
Once you have your powerful reason why, you are ready to begin....
Let's start by taking your big goal - let's say that might take 6-12 months to achieve, if we are being realistic.
It makes sense to break that down into quarters doesn't it?
For the first 3 months, we might put a solid foundation in place...
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Improve mobility
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Start some form of resistance training (such as bodyweight workouts)
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Improve lung capacity
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Improve your eating habits
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Helpful lifestyle habits
The second 3 months you may want to have other stepping stones in place like these
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Get into smaller clothes
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Keep alcohol consumption down
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Eat nutritious real foods 80% of the time
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Take on your first 5k, 10k or obstacle race
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Progress fitness training, prioritising more resistance training (bodyweight, kettlebells, free weights)
By breaking it all down these smaller goals are easier to hit.
That means they keep your motivation levels higher, and help you consistently move toward your big goal.
If you successfully reach the end of each goal cycle, reward yourself with a goal bonus
No, not a snickers bar but a new outfit, a spa day or something similar.
Getting your mindset right is KEY. If it feels manageable, if you see the results happening, your mindset understands the plan.
In turn your body will respond.
Is it going to be plain sailing for the first 4 - 6 weeks?
Of course not.
You are putting your body, and your mind and willpower through a routine it hasn't done in ages, if at all?
So start slow. You don't have to become an olympian overnight.
Notice those small changes, I promise you, they add up.
A good instructor or coach will ease you into the process, and come up with a plan that works.
Nothing too drastic, yet still guaranteed to get results.
You might be unfit RIGHT NOW, but very soon you will be the person other ex-couch potatoes are striving to keep up with when they decide to 'take the plunge'
So you see it's clear.
Whilst we can't change overnight, we can change day-by-day.
Like I tell my clients, slow and steady wins the race.
Take it from someone who has experienced weight loss/transformation, whatever you want to call it, getting back into fitness is a tough process.
Getting started sooner rather than later will help.
That extra 3, 5 or 10 years is going to make it harder on you to get fit, be mobile, functionally move.
Make it happen, beat the obstacles and just make it happen.
Jason Brownlie
Coach @ KEBOfit
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