Our team give you their top tips on how to make sure you succeed!
Alejandra:
In my opinion the first thing is to figure out your ‘Why’ you want to start a new habit or training routine. Secondly identify the value it will bring to your life in tangible ways, the value to you as a person and maybe even the ones around you.
After that, which does need reflection and honesty to oneself, you have to think on HOW you will make it happen. Starting small I would say is the best way, but this is a very individual thing. What is more relevant here is to make it easy to stick to. For example, no one is going to stick to a new gym routine if you hate the space or are completely out of your usual route or if you have to go alone when you are someone that likes to exercise with people. This goes for any habit and you will usually stick to them if you anchor them to something you already do. E.g. stop at the gym on the way home; do meditation while my tea or coffee cools down first thing in the morning.
Mark:
1. Choose something you enjoy. When starting a new habit or fitness journey the ultimate factor in success is adherence or sticking to the plan for the course of your journey. If you choose something you enjoy or look forward to then the process becomes so much easier. For example if you’re trying to start eating more healthy, find recipes and food you look forward to cooking and eating, rather than sticking to a diet that someone else wrote but contains bland and boring foods . When adding activity into your routine, if you’re not a gym person then find a sport or social activity that will improve your fitness. If you want to start the gym, find a Personal trainer who knows their stuff and can support you but who also makes your sessions enjoyable.
2. Challenge yourself to change. A big one in my personal experience is to develop your mental strength and resolve. Start small, but regularly challenge yourself, take note and allow yourself to feel good about overcoming these challenges. When we start to feel good about taking control of our health and fitness decisions we want to continue making them. My example was challenging myself to only drink alcohol when I wanted to and not out of habit or social pressure. I ended up not drinking for 6 months and the quality of my training and eating improved as a result of taking little wins from overcoming my relatively small personal challenges.
3. What could stop you? This may seem a negative approach, however a lot of new habits and plans come off the rails when they hit the first obstacle. If you spend some time identifying your potential barriers and actual barriers to starting or completing your goals you can then plan to successfully navigate around them. For example, you work 9-5pm and regularly work late (out of your control), If you plan to go to the gym every evening after work this may never happen as you are too tired or work gets in the way. So plan exercise before work when you have energy. Or maybe you want to eat very healthy for 6 weeks to kickstart a longer term habit but you have 2 weddings and 3 birthdays in those 6 weeks. So you could plan how to approach each event while sticking to you 6 weeks of healthy eating.
Ana:
I remember how scared and lost I felt when I first started my fitness journey and joined the gym at the age of 17, which was 10 years ago.
If I could give my 17 year old self some advice on what to expect and what to do when starting my fitness journey, it would be as follows:
1. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Personal trainers, Dietitians and other fitness professionals are there to help you. They were once a complete beginners as well. If there is anything you need help with, just ask. Everyone is happy to help you.
2. Get a structured plan to follow. Have a game plan. Whether that’s planning your weeks food or walking into the gym knowing what you’re supposed to do each day. Follow your training program and make sure that you are progressing each week.
3. Set up realistic goals. Lower your expectations. Set up realistic and achievable goals and work towards them.
4. Enjoy the process. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Enjoy your journey and be open to learn and improve. Understand that you are going to make a lot of mistakes and that making mistakes is the part of the process.
Luke:
1. Don’t wait for all the stars to align, because you’ll never get started.
2. Choose the low hanging fruits, do something that you know you enjoy and will most likely stick to and doesn’t require too much interruption in your current life.
3. Put it in your diary for the same time of the week and move your focus to the long term benefits of exercise and why you’re doing it.
4. Pay a coach to help you guide you through the journey
5. Start small, if it means you going to the gym for 20 minutes only in your first week
increasing by 5 minutes each week, then do that.
6. Don’t do burpees….
Matt:
1. Become clear on why it is you want to start. With whatever goal you are setting yourself physically, you need to understand why it is so important for you to start and achieve it. Whether that is a new training method, day to day routine or particular exercise you want to master, if you don’t have enough leverage on yourself to really understand why it is so important/pivotal for you to commit to it, you won’t follow through.
2. Start with an end goal in mind. When starting with anything new, I always encourage clients to do this. That way you have a destination or finish point of where you want to end up. If you are looking to start a new training method, then great, but what’s it all for? If you can attach that training method to an end goal, ‘ie – running, improve my cardiovascular fitness as I have aspirations of running a marathon in the future’, you will find it much easier to stay committed in the long haul.
3. Find someone who knows what they are talking about. Whether it is a coach, mentor, trainer, friend or someone you highly respect in the industry, find someone who has got the results you want, OR has the expertise to help you get there. Especially if you are starting something for the first time, it will be new to you, you will be delving into the unknown somewhat. By having someone who can help ‘guide’ you, you will not only learn faster and quicker, but you will also get the results and goals you want in a much quicker time.
Good luck with starting your next Health, Fitness or wellness challenge or goal. Should you need any extra support do give us a shout.
The Lift Team.