The New Year marks a reflective time where we take stock of our goals, celebrate our successes and refocus our energies on that which we haven’t achieved. Invariably our attention turns to our health. This is the part where we all look in the mirror, lament our waist line or think about our unrealized fitness goals and have the internal conversation. You know the one... “Right... THIS is the year.” Workout more, improve nutrition, jettison a vice etc.
The sad reality is that while the vast majority of people set a health related goal, only very few look back a year later with the pride that comes with overcoming a challenge. Indeed the attrition is so profound that it is analogous to the annual sea turtle hatch, where only a handful of thousands reach the surf while the vast majority of their brethren are gobbled up by the waiting sea birds in their brave attempt.
With all of the focus on the perfect program, the best exercise or the newest methodology, many people lose sight of the fact that none of this matters if you don’t do the work.
So why do so few succeed? There are almost as many reasons as people but here are some common themes.
Some underestimate the commitment required or in their exuberance, unwittingly set themselves up to fail by entering into an unsustainable program.
Feeling overwhelmed and self-conscious in the gym environment or the inevitable initial soreness that accompanies early stage training can drive people away.
Still others lose heart with the gradual nature of the changes or are frustrated with their actual performance levels vs their expectations so they simply give up
Here are a 8 tips and strategies to employ to make sure that you are still going strong by Valentines Day and not bingeing on chocolate and wallowing in self-defeat like Bridget Jones at Christmas.
- Achieving your fitness goals requires hard work, dedication and prioritization. As soon as you accept and embrace this hard fact you will have taken a giant leap forward.
- You will be sore to begin with. While this is not the norm once you are underway, it is almost inevitable at the beginning. Be prepared for it and look at the sensation as your body’s way of telling you that you are on the right track.
- The crux is in the first 3 to 4 weeks. Set short, adherence based goals in this crucial time and you will create a habit that will become self-sustaining.
- Commit to keeping a training log. While this seems like a small thing, its affects are immeasurable! It provides a vehicle for you to celebrate your successes and derive the power that comes with having to report missed workouts. There’s nothing to create motivation and commitment like the following entry... “Jan 14th - missed training today [:'(] I feel LAZY! - I WILL TRAIN TOMORROW!!!”
- Recruit a training partner or join a training group who is equally or more motivated and commit to them. This will make training infinitely more fun and charged with energy. Additionally there is nothing like knowing your friend will be waiting for you to get you out of bed and out the door.
- Change up your program every 3 to 4 weeks or use one of our motivational, training DVDs to keep you interested and having fun when you train on your own.
- Use a nutritional program like Gourmet Nutrition to help support and guide you.
- Set short term, adherence or performance based goals that you can focus on while you make your way toward your end aspiration.
I leave you with a quote from Theodore Roosevlet
"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty...”
So the question is are you a turtle that will triumphantly acheive your goal or die prematurely in the attempt?
Employ the above tactics and you are bound to get your training year off to a great start and set the foundation for success. As additional support, in January we will be featuring blog posts on our community site from some of the world’s top trainers. Our goal is to keep you challenged, motivated, using your TRX to its full capacity and making strides with every workout to ensure that you are one of the sea turtles that make the surf so that in 2010 you'll be looking back at the year with pride and in your best shape of your life!
If you've got a great tip to help acheive your goals, be sure to write it as a comment below!