RESOLUTIONS - Sticking to them



                                                                                                                           

1) set realistic goals

 

Your not going to lose 10 lbs in the 3 weeks. you could, in fact i run a very succesful 3 week fat blast where participants do just thatt (plug). but the reality is that 90% of people who join the gym are not going to do amazing and lose 6 stone in 6 months. 

Set goals that the average person can achieve, lose 3-7lbs a month, go from not running to running 20 minutes by the end of 4 weeks.  If you surpass these targets, then thats fantastic. it will motivate you and you will stick to it.  Trying to achieve and be the top 1-2% of all humans being is very unlikely and as much as we would like to think we are the most dedicated and commited statistics tell us this is very unlikely. If you happent o fall in the bracket, then thats great. But dont pressure yourself into it. 

 

Most people i meet struggle to make any progress in the first 3 months. Its simply because theyre not fit enough or not able to make the huge changes required in their diet. The first 4 weeks should be a case of enjoying the new exercise and making small changes, the next 4 weeks is about improving, working a higher heart rate or going a little faster, lifting a bigger weight. After two months you may actually be fit enough to burn a reasonable amount of calories that could help fat loss. As a Personal Trainer, Endurance athlete who is muscular I can burn 3 times more calories than a beginner simply as my body is able to do 3 times the work of them, because im 3 times stronger, faster more muscular. 

 

 

2) get into a routine

 

Routines are great. They make things easiwer. It ddoesnt have to be strict. mon, wed, fri.... Maybe your routine is any 3 days a week ill exercise.  You dont have to go hard every session. Perhaps you have 2 easy enjoyable sessions and on one you go a little harder. It doesnt have to be the fri session always.  

 

Strict routines dont help anyone but having ground riules will. Write them down on the fridge

 

* Exercise 3 days for 40 mins

* walk 20 mins everyday

* Eat 3 peices of fruit or veg a day

* By new top top/cd as reward for completing above

 

Some people find going to the same class is motivational. You meet the sameeople. Remember this time of year everyone is a newbie and feeling the same.  Going to a class again and again can be great for meeting people. Some on the other hand enjoying doing different classes everytime they goto the gym. This works just as well as you find new exercises you didnt know you liked, you get to meet more people (maybe not as well) .

 

Get your gym kit and breakfast ready the night before. I leave a spare kit (and trainers) in the car. Thios way i never have to go home or look for a kit when im tired ahd a bad day. Some times a 2 minute down or a lost pair of leggins is all you need to wimp out of a exercise session.

 

 

 

3) Set backs are a part of it

 

Statistically you will go through the following

 

* Injury (or DOMS) 

 

Aches pains and injuries are part of exercise. You should do everything you can to minimise this especially as a beginner. 

Dont go to hard. 

dont get too excited  or competitive and push too hard in your first 4 weeks. Dont go to often, if youre a beginner 7 days a week is going to lead to injry 3 weeks down the line.  Give your body time to adapt to the new mental you and new routine.

 

* weight gain or weight loss target

 

As professionals we dont measure weight (not on its own anyway). We measure skin thickenss (fat), we measure electrical resistance (fat)  we measure body parts (muscle and fat) . i dont like it when people say you should never way it is a great way to measure one aspect of your healthy (or weight loss) but it has massive limitations especially for newbies. 

 

In the first week of a diet your carb and water levels drop loads, giving the impression you have lost weight (which you have, but of course what you really wanted was to lsoe FAT). Then the scales dont go down the next week. This is because carbohydrate levels and water within the muscles go back up. People often get disapointed as their weight didnt go down, but the reality is their FAT may well have. The average person gains 1-3lbs of carbs/water EVERYDAY and losses the same amount everynight. 

 

If you lost 6 lbs in your first week, it was NOT fat. maybe 1-3 lbs was fat but half is likely to have been water. May not have been as motivational after week one of losing 6lbs in a week, but it is def better in the long term.  

 

Measure clothes, body parts and skin thickenss. 

Other goals such as fitness targets etc may also be missed. This is the time to see how close you cam to those target and how far you have progressed from the beginning. As an experienced athlete i set goals that i do not know if i can complete. That is what makes them rewwarding. Even if i fail i haverun further, cycled higher, lifted more than before . It is crucial to remember where you have come from. For many people after losing several stone, maintaining that weight loss is the goal. That is often as hard as losing it in the first place. 

 

 

4) Enjoy it

 

I always hear people saying "this is best, that is best,  you must do it this way" These statements are just WRONG. there are a multidue of ways to lreduce calories (effectivly helping to lose fat), get strong, get fit, get healthy or get in amazing shape. Anyone who tells you there is only one is not experienced or is downright crazy. Simple take you own anacdotal evidence. You know lots of people who have lost weight or got fit and the chances are they all did it differently. For some it worked for others it didnt. 

 

So dont worry about which class burns the most calories. Goto the class you enjoy, even if it burns only 60% of the calories! Reality is when its dark, cold or you are tired you wont go to a class you dont enjoy, even though it burns x amount of calories. If it is something you look forward to, you are more likely to stick to it.