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10
Steps to Avoid Losing the Thrill
By Garrett J. Braunreiter, GHF's Success
Coach
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What's your excuse for not making it to the gym on a consistent
basis? Locker room too smelly? Eye candy not sweet enough?
Music volume making your ears bleed? Feeling intimidated
by buff bodies crowding the free-weight area?
Most people start off strong with an exercise program,
and then within a few weeks they've got an excuse for not
being there.
The majority of people will stop participating in a new
workout program within the first 90 days which is why health
clubs that are packed in January can seem virtually empty
by March.
Which brings us to you.
If you're starting a new exercise program, you're probably
very excited about it, which is great. But that excitement
is going to wear off, at which point you'll begin to notice
how much time and effort a workout plan really requires.
And that's the point where you may be tempted to start
pulling back, or even to quit entirely. But we're not about
to let that happen. Follow these steps from the very beginning,
and you'll be one of those dedicated gym members who really
get their money's worth.
1. Make workouts a key part of your
schedule. Many people see exercise merely as recreation,
not a necessity, which means it's the first thing to go
when daily schedules get crunched. YOU NEED TO DECIDE
that working out is as important as ANYTHING in your life,
even as important as LIFE ITSELF.
If you don't, as soon as the initial excitement of a
new program is over, everything else will get in the way;
business appointments, family obligations, TV, sitting
on your duff. Write your workout times into your calendar
and stick to them just as you would a vital business meeting.
2. Keep it mellow. You're a lot more
likely to keep your program for the long term if you avoid
letting going to the gym become a hassle. Choose a gym
you can get to in a reasonable amount of time at the time
of day you're going to train.
If you're fighting gym traffic, you'll be a lot less
motivated. Find a place where you won't have to line up
to use the equipment you want. And unless you'll be going
at the end of the day and can wash up at home, make sure
it has clean showers and a comfortable changing environment.
3. Don't bite off more than you can
chew. Many people often start out too aggressively, going
to a level that's higher than they're capable of. As a
result, they injure their muscle fibers, so for 48 hours
they're walking around like a mummy. Then they stop going
to the gym because they find themselves dreading the pain.
Many people don't realize that long, drawn out workouts
is NOT better. You're not giving your body enough time
to recover between workouts. 60 minutes TOPS (if you're
doing a strength and aerobic workout), or about 30 minutes
of a strength OR aerobic workout. Make those minutes COUNT!
You can still workout daily as long as you keep your workouts
short.
4. Set achievable goals. It's inevitable
that as you start a new program, you picture yourself
looking like the models on TV or in the magazines. But
if you set your sights too high, you may find yourself
discounting the gains you are making. When you're starting
out, go over your long-term goals with a trainer or coach,
and decide what you can achieve based on your workout
schedule.
Then, instead of looking far into the future, give yourself
intermediate weekly and monthly goals, such as doing an
extra rep or lifting 10 more pounds. If you always have
new goals to shoot for, it stays interesting.
REMEMBER: You're not exercising to lose weight. You're
exercising because of HOW YOU'LL FEEL as a RESULT of exercising
regularly. You WILL get leaner, you WILL have more energy,
you WILL have a higher self-esteem. If you don't achieve
the goals in the time you first set, it's not the goal
that's wrong. It's the time frame that was wrong. Keep
focused on your goals.
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5. Chart your progress. Gains from one
workout to the next can be subtle, and the only way to
know how well you're really doing is to write everything
down. Keep a journal of your workouts, as well as what
you eat. Even people who are diligent don't remember exactly
how well things went if they keep everything in their
head.
When you write it down, you can compare results, see
what is and isn't working, and see that as time goes on
YOU'RE REALLY MAKING PROGRESS.
6. Mix it up. Doing the same workout
over and over again gets old fast, and your results won't
be as good as if you try a variety of exercises. Instead
of doing 40 minutes daily on the treadmill, try every
darn aerobic machine in the gym and go on hiking, inline
skating and bicycling adventures whenever you get a chance.
Change your weight training routine regularly to keep
things interesting and to help break through plateaus.
A lack of variety leads to staleness. A good rule of thumb
is to change your sets, reps, weight, and rest periods
every 3-4 weeks. You'll have more fun if you learn new
tools and keep doing different things.
7. Go one on one. One reason working
out can seem less enjoyable than playing sports is that
it lacks interplay with others. But there are lots of
ways to have some spirited competition in the gym, whether
it's racing >> on treadmills or competing (safely)
with your weightlifting buddy. When two guys are on the
same regimen, they can make things more fun by having
"mini-contests."
Try going as many reps as you can on a certain weight.
Or see who can lift the most weight for 4-5 reps. Just
make sure the contest rules specify doing the exercise
right, since sacrificing form to lift more weight can
be dangerous.
8. Work with a trainer or coach.Workouts
seem easier and are more effective with a professional
proddingyou on; plus, you're more likely to feel obligated
to show up (especially if he's going to charge you anyway).
When there's someone watching you and keeping an eye on
your progress, there's incentive to keep going. If you
can't afford to hire a trainer for every workout, just
do it every couple of weeks or once a month and have him/her
help you set goals for you to reach in between.
Also, consider getting a training partner - just make
sure it's somebody who will show up every time, is dedicated
as you are... in other words, a clone of you.
9. Force yourself to hang in there religiously
for the first three months. Nothing sustains motivation
better than results. However, whether you're a beginner
or a competitive bodybuilder, your muscles must be given
enough time to adapt to the growth and recovery periods
that strength training requires.
Though you may see some results, like increases in strength,
early on, noticeable changes in your physique CAN take
up to three months. (NOTE: This DOESN'T mean that everyone
will take this long to see results. I've had clients see
results in the first couple of weeks; some waited a few
months before things fell into place.)
It also takes that long to establish a rhythm and discipline
to your training schedule, but after three months of dedication,
you'll be a lot less likely to fall off the training wagon.
10. As soon as you miss a workout, re-motivate
yourself. This is the danger zone, the time when most
people start giving up. You've missed one workout, so
what's the big deal about skipping another, or all of
them? Before you know it, your whole program could go
down the tubes. If you miss a workout, you miss a workout.
It's over. You can't bring it back. So it makes NO sense
to beat yourself up about it.
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About Global Health and Fitness
Want to finally achieve your fitness goals? Global-Fitness.com provides you with customized exercise and diet plans, hundreds
of exercise instructions and video demonstrations, fitness
tracking software, personal expert advice from 30 world-renowned
fitness, medical, and nutrition experts, FREE calorie, fat,
protein, and carb calculators, and much more!
Global-Fitness.com has helped thousands of men and women of all ages, fitness
levels, and backgrounds to look, feel, and perform at their
very best! Whether you are a beginner or advanced, they'll
help you avoid the common mistakes that waste your time,
teach you techniques for making your routine much more effective,
and guide you step-by-step to achieving new results again
and again!
This article was provide by Garrett J. Braunreiter, CSCS,
GHF's Success Coach. Please visit his site at http://www.worldpeakperformance.com
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