10
Steps To Help You Avoid Losing The Thrill
What's
your excuse for not making it to the gym on a consistent basis? Locker room too
smelly? 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.
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, in-line
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 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 prodding you
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. 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 you up about it.
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