Do you feel like a commitment-phobe? You kick off your fitness journey with excitement and drive, hitting up a class a night, smothered in lycra, like a 2019 version of Jane Fonda ..... 3 weeks later and you're sat on the sofa eating baked beans from the can whilst you catch up on 4 hours of Eastenders. But what the bloody hell can we do about it?
Step Number 1 - Get out a BIG notebook and a pen (yep, we are going old school, no phone lists here) and draw a giant spider diagram of all the reasons why it matters to you to be fitter and healthier. You will probably start off with 'I want to lose some weight' but this is WAY deeper than that. Why would would losing weight make you feel better? What does it impact on? Why would being fitter and healthier improve your life? Would it have impact on your family? Would you love to meet people who want the same things as you? Whatever your reasons are, they will generally be more important than losing a couple of pounds. Read through your reasons and really think about them. Finding the true motivation for doing something will increase it's importance to you. The more important something is to you, the more likely you are to stick with it, especially if you have something to remind yourself why you started in the first place.
Step Number 2 - Find something that makes you feel good. It's no good jumping up off the sofa and deciding to dive right into 4 HIIT classes a week if you hate every minute of it. Whether it's walking with the dog, going to a dance class, going to the gym, starting a boxing class etc etc, at first, it needs to be something that makes you feel a bit excited about going. The more you enjoy something, the more likely you are to want to avoid missing out. And that is great! If you can get to a point where you are exercising 1/2 times a week, you will start feeling the benefits, and when you start feeling the benefits you have even more reason not to give your sesh a swerve!
Step Number 3 - Stop relying on other people. At some point, Wendy is going to blow you out for her next door neighbour's birthday party (to which you are not invited), that means you have a choice. You can either sit at home with your tin of baked beans, or you can go ahead with your workout regardless. Once you stand on your own two feet and get out there of your own accord, you will feel like a brand new human. Invigorated, independent and in control of your own fitness journey.
Step Number 4 - Use a ticksheet/diary to note when you managed to fit your workouts in. Something a simple as this (maybe we a cute sticker or two) will give you a visual representation of where you are at. We can often kid ourselves that the workout we did 2 weeks ago means we are still on it. When you can see it on a grid, in front of your very own eyes, it will be very clear to you where you are actually at. A bit of a reality check can be a good thing when it comes to being in control of our own lives.
Step Number 5 - Let go of the guilt. There is no guilt required here. It's just exercising, it's what you are built for. If you don't want to go one day, then don't go. Let's examine the actual facts - exercise is good for you, physically and mentally. So is relaxing. It's about balance. We have enough guilt in our day to day lives with kids, work and family and we DO NOT need more over whether we did or didn't go to bootcamp. Start associating exercise with enjoyment, quality time doing something that's for you, allowing yourself to see outside of the box and to experience new stuff..... you are trying to create a pattern that will last a lifetime, guilt isn't going to make that happen... it just makes us feel less and less in control.... and we don't need any more of that shizzle in our lives. You are in the driving seat, you are doing this for you and for the life that you want to have.
Anna Martin
Personal Trainer, Group Ex Geek and general lover of everything fitness!
Master Trainer, Choreographer and Presenter for Clubbercise
Creator of Always Moving Forward Instructor Site
Websites
www.amf.world
www.clubbercise.com
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