The path of fitness is very exciting! The changes we can make both on the outside of our body and on our inner person is very special. We can become true champions with a winning spirit with the ability to overcome anything while building confidence and discipline. We can become so much stronger and be a real leader for others by being able to inspire those that are weak in body and soul for one reason or another.
I have been training for years and I still enjoy every workout. Some people will ask, how do you stay motivated or how do you keep getting results. The answer is simple, I have a passion for fitness. I know everything fitness can do for us and how important it is to always make it a lifestyle. As for getting results, I always change up my workouts. I will usually train on a program that I designed for 6 weeks, then make a change. Sometimes I will change the order of the exercises and other times I change the program completely. There are so many options of how we can change our training programs from super sets, descending sets, giant sets, low reps, high reps, negatives, half reps, cheat reps and more.
If you find yourself in a rut, take a good look at your training program, nutritional program, your sleep, and your attitude. All of these things are very important. That is why keeping a fitness journal is vital to our success. We can review each week and see if there is something that stands out that may have caused us to have low energy, lack of sleep, a poor attitude or something else that could hinder our progress.
Its also important to set goals. Be specific when it comes to goal setting. If your goal is to lose weight, make a visible sign with the amount you want to lose so that it you see it daily. Don’t weigh yourself every day and take measurements along with photos before you start. Remember, the scale can be misleading at times. We will put on muscle at the same time we are losing body fat and our body weight may not go down much. The good thing is that while doing so we are becoming healthier by building muscle and taking off body fat.
I would suggest setting short-term, mid-term and long-term goals. If you want to lose 150 pounds, make your short-term goal to lose 50 pounds in 6 months. By doing this, you won’t be looking at such a big number and avoid getting discouraged as the obstacle may feel as though it is impossible. Have people on your team for support that believe in you. Always remember why you’re doing this and remember that it’s because you really want to and not that you have to.
Lets say you have been training and just can’t lose that extra 10 pounds no matter what you do. Do you really need to lose 10 more pounds? Is it just a number on a scale you want lowered or would you be happier with the way you might look being 10 pounds lighter? If you really need to shed another 10 pounds and you’re currently eating clean and training hard, then try making small changes such as cutting your calories that you’re taking in by 5% and increasing cardio by 5% for a 4 week period. We never want to make drastic changes for a number of reasons. It’s not healthy and if you make drastic changes doing a number of things on and off, then you won’t know how the changes came about if they do.
Train for a contest either in swimming, running, cycling, fitness, drug free bodybuilding or drug free powerlifting. This will give you incentive to take your training up a notch with a solid goal in mind. The great thing about training for something is that you’re truly competing against yourself and getting in great shape while you’re doing it.
We should all be thankful we have an opportunity to improve our well-being through fitness and healthy eating. It’s a choice only we can make that gives back such a great return from our investment. Nobody can do it for us. We can either complain and be a negative person regarding how we look and feel or do something about it by living a healthy lifestyle through exercise and good nutrition.
