Today’s guest post is from Personal Trainer Travis Burkybile. Travis has a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology and a NCFS certification. He works as a Strength Coach at Corefitnesschicago.
At this time of year, warmer weather is on everyone’s minds, the holidays are a distant memory, and tax season is in full swing. Your fitness routine is probably the last thing you are thinking about right now. So how do you keep your New Year’s commitment or get started if you are ready to take the plunge?
Working as a coach in the fitness industry for the last 6 years in a corporate gym setting and a smaller private training facility, I have gotten to know what works and what does not work so well for my clients. The biggest hurdles for most people, regardless of where and how they workout are making the time for exercise and wanting results too quickly. Today, I will share some ideas that have helped my clients overcome these barriers.
How can you make time for fitness and stay motivated to continue? If you are starting a new fitness plan, or looking to improve on your current one take a lesson from Leo Babuta in the book The Power of Less. He advises that when beginning an exercise program start slowly and always leave enough room to do a little bit more. This tactic keeps you engaged and motivated to return to your workout. It is much more beneficial to be consistent when building a habit than it is to try and get it all done in a day or even a week. This will also make it easier from a time perspective to fit exercise into your existing lifestyle. If you are already doing a program, change it! Shorten your rest breaks, change your reps, and the gains will come again.
The most important part of any exercise program is what you get out of it. Whether training to improve a pain or weakness, improve your body composition, or be stronger, it is important to see results. There are multiple ways to measure such as body fat percentage, circumferences, personal bests in races and training, and many more. If you are stuck with motivation, results, or both hire a qualified coach! The best motivation is success.
Remember this final tip. A project, a habit, or a lifestyle change is successful when you restart it every day. It is a willful and conscious decision to start again rather than simply continue. You aren’t in a pattern, good or bad, if you aren’t doing it. Restart your own fitness today!
