Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health. Whether it be Weight Training, Running, Sports or Spin Classes, the important thing is that you’re exercising regularly, challenging yourself, doing something good for your health and building good habits for long term success.
Just before Summer seems to be the time of year for many people for just that, the sun comes out and everyone is fresh,, full of life and ready to kickstart their health, fitness and training. Yet so many of us let those changes in habit slowly fade over the coming months.
This isn’t just something that happens to people starting out either, it happens all the time to the seasoned veterans of training too. With change in our lives, often comes the need to change how we do things and leads to us letting our health and exercise drop off.
As a coach I have seen this plenty of times, it’s also happened plenty of times to myself (yes just because we are coaches doesn’t mean we are immune). However this does not need to be a bad thing or the end of the world at all, with some simple steps it can be easy to start that fitness journey and stick with it or to jump back on and stop yourself falling off again.
Now no need to worry, I'm not going to be telling you to completely change your life, habits and calendar to make it entirely focused on your training. Completely opposite! I believe that we need to find a form of exercise and training that fits with our schedule and lifestyle to ensure that is sustainable long term.
I want to give you 4 simple, easy to action, down to earth and pretty common sense tips to getting started and sticking with your health and fitness.
So here we go!
1. Find something you love
Now when it comes to exercise and training, one shoe definitely doesn’t fit all. Some love yoga, some love ultra marathons and some love going for a jog outside. Everyone also will tell you that what they do is the absolute best and only way to do it.
I’ll let you in on a little secret….. That’s not the case.
It may seem like common sense, but more often than not, the routine you’re going to stick with long term, is going to be the one you enjoy. So try things out and see what feels like the right fit. There is no shortage of training studios, exercise classes and ways to keep active out there and there is certainly no shame in trying them all!
Need some ideas?
Yoga
Pilates
Strength Training
Crossfit
Bootcamps
Running
Social Sports
Hiking
Cross Country Skiing
Swimming
Personal Training
2. Set some goals
Now I believe setting goals is an absolutely great way to keep on track. They give you a way to measure how things are going and what you need to tweak to keep things moving in the right direction. Having well designed goals will also give you a great sense of achievement when you tick them off and keep you feeling happy, positive and focused.
However for these goals to be positive and assist you in success, they need to be approach based and positive. We often see people advertising and stating you need to commit to “60 days of avoiding everything unhealthy” and start 6 week challenges that will “get rid of all fat”. These are the types of goals you want to avoid. They focus on negatives, are unrealistic and result in loss optimism, lower self esteem and low sense of achievement.
Instead try to set yourself 3 goals over the next few months that are positive, approach based and focus on the journey rather than the end product.
An example of this may be “I want to exercise at least 3 times per week”.
This goal is:
Specific.
Positive.
Focuses on the journey not the end product.
Realistic, Achievable and Flexible.
Now your goals can be anything, just make sure they fit the 4 points above and they will be working with you every step of the way.
*To learn more about goal setting, book a consultation with one of our amazing coaches HERE.
3. Get a plan – made by someone else
Instead of haphazardly and sporadically trying to find days to fit in a fitness session, then scrolling Instagram trying to workout what to do, get a plan. Having a plan will mean you know when you are going to exercise and what you are going to be doing, it takes out the planning, guess work and makes it much harder to find reasons not to. Even better, have the plan designed by someone other than yourself.
You probably wouldn’t build a house that you designed yourself, so why do the same with your health?
Take the guesswork out and have a professional help you suit the plan and routine to your lifestyle. Research has shown that having your own coach greatly improves your rate of success. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to start with a personal trainer every week, but sitting down with a professional once or twice over the first few months back will mean you have someone on your side, watching your back and helping you along the way.
4. Invite your friends
Everything's better with the people you love. Inviting your friends, family or spouse to join you in your fitness sessions can turn them from a workout to a social outing, you can use it as a time to connect, catch up and also hold each other accountable and cheer each other on.
There it is folks, 4 simple and actionable tips that you can use to either get started with your training or get things back on track.
Need some help with setting things up or have some more questions?
Send me an email at morgan@studiolevelup.no
or follow along on instagram
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