Who else is on a health kick? January is the month of renewed gym memberships and trying to kick your butt into gear after a few weeks of over splurging. But you know, those resolutions tend to fall to the wayside after a few weeks. I know better than anyone how it feels to give in and lose the motivation to eat well and work out. It just happens, slowly, and then all of a sudden you haven’t worked out in six months. Oops.
Ok, so there’s no quick fix. Everybody knows that. But what if there are some ways to avoid falling off the horse and staying inspired, motivated, and disciplined.
STEP ONE: KEEP A LOG
Let me tell you, you are never, NEVER going to stay on track unless you record your progress somewhere. I learned this lesson pretty quickly, not only do you need to track your weight changes (this is even better if you’re trying to build muscle), log your food, and track your workouts, but you need to actually think about how you feel and why you’re doing this.
The Fit Is The Sh*t planner was designed with this in mind. In this office, we are always working on improving our fitness. Monthly progress photos are the best way to visually track your progress, but with daily logs, you can also write down what you eat every day of the week, the exercise you do, and how your week actually went. Reflection is an important part of the journey, you need to take a few seconds to think about how it’s going and what you’ve achieved. The Fit Is The Sh*t planner also includes space to score your week, so you can really think about how you’re doing so far. This will help you actually stay on track and make a difference to your life.
STEP TWO: EXCUSES = MOTIVATION
We all do it, we make excuses. We can’t work out today, we’re too busy. We got home late. We’re going to miss that TV show. Our workout gear is in the wash. There’s always an excuse. Excuses are what the old you would do, and since you’re shedding the old you off, it’s time to turn those excuses into motivation.
Every time you make an excuse and skip a workout, add five more minutes/reps to your workout and go and do it. Give yourself five minutes of procrastination and then get up and just do it, without thinking too hard. You’re going to need this mindset change if you want to smash your goals. There’s no way on earth you’ll smash it if you keep letting yourself squirrel out of it.
STEP THREE: THINK OUTSIDE THE TREADMILL
I’ve done a few workouts in my time that have almost killed me. Everyone is different, for example, Celina (co-founder of CGDLONDON) hates spinning, but I used to love my spinning classes, ask me after I start spinning again whether I still love it…however I hate running. If I do the same workout every day I will get bored to tears and stop working out altogether.
There’s a phrase, ‘think outside the treadmill’ which basically means, the more you switch it up, the better. I did a Nike Training Club workout with Celina in Aruba at 6 am before our day began, and it almost killed me at the time, but since then I’ve tried it again and actually enjoyed it. As long as I switch it up and only do the things I actually really enjoy I’ll be able to push myself harder. You’re just not going to stay on top of your fitness unless you switch it up.
STEP FOUR: SIGN UP TO A CLASS
The one big thing I’ve done this year is take advantage of the free gym sign-ups for January and signed up. Body pump, pilates, cycle on Sunday, anything you want you can sign up for. And being in an environment where others are working out too and pushing themselves will only help you push yourself harder. I love to track my fitness and workouts in the Fit Is The Sh*t planner and feel so damn proud when I can write down a class I’ve completed!
GOOD THINGS
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