Hey everyone, Jay Scott here again – and as promised I’m going to help you out with the old seasonal seven! If you are like the average person you probably managed to pack on about seven pounds of holiday cheer (fat) between November and January.
Now if you are a frequent reader of my blog, you’ll know I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. The reason for this is simple; I believe every day of the year is the “right” time to start a fitness/nutrition program.
But if you read the above sentence carefully – you’ll see this has a double meaning. Since every day is the right time to start getting fit – New Year’s Day is the right day as well.
As good a day as any - but no better...
That mean’s those of you starting your journey on the first day of 2012 have my support as well. In fact, I’ve created a guide to make this the year that your Fitness Resolution dreams finally come true!
So without further ado – here it is. Behold the…
NEW YEAR FITNESS RESOLUTION SUCCESS GUIDE: 3 Tips for making this Year’s Fitness Resolution Work
Tip #1 – Look at your goals in sections – not as a whole
When you look at an entire year at a time you can get overwhelmed – especially when it comes to fitness and health. The best thing to do is to make changes in small “chunks” that can be digested. You didn’t eat your plate of Christmas dinner in on bite – you took in in chunks (at least I hope you did). So undo it in chunks as well.
Breaking things down into “doable” chunks is the best way to get things done with anything in life. Want to lose weight and get in shape? Why not start exercising 2-3 times a week for a very short period – and cutting out high calorie snacks? This is a much better and more “attainable” goal than working out for hours on end (counterproductive anyway) and eating nothing but salad and grilled chicken for the entire year.
That is a sure fire way to fail and never reach your goals. So don’t set unrealistic fitness goals and you’ll be way ahead of the game. You’ll also still be in the game when most people are down and out at the end of January!
Tip #2 – Visualize the end Result
How can you ever get where you are going if you have no clue of your destination? You can’t. You’ll just float aimlessly towards an unknown goal and end up never getting there at all – and even if you get there you won’t know you are there, you will think you are somewhere – and that leads to nowhere fast. That was a killer run on sentence!
The point is you need to visualize what you want to achieve, then take small steps to get there. Take a moment and close your eyes – see what you would like to look like. See your goal. Imagine how you feel – how others look at you – and how your life is better. Imagine your doctor saying that you are doing a fine job – and that your blood pressure and resting heart rate are getting better and better with every visit.
See it...then become it...
Your goal is the reason you will perform your exercise routine, the reason you will lower your calorie intake, the reason you will eat more nutritious foods and less junk food.
Remember that being overweight is not a condition, it’s a symptom of a much deeper problem. When those deeper problems are fixed, goals are attained and you end up with a healthy, fantastic body you can be proud of.
It all starts with the mind.
Tip #3 – Don’t Burn Out
By far the biggest enemy of the Fitness Resolution is the dreaded “Burn Out”. So many people start working out at the beginning of the year that gyms and studios are often at full capacity! It’s great! Everyone is working out – and I don’t just mean working out – they are sweating, grunting and pulling. Day in and day out – endless reps, sets and classes.
They are so sore they can barely move – and still they go to the gym or pop in that exercise video. When they open the cabinet they are knocked to the floor by the tidal wave of tasteless rice cakes and whole grain cereals.
Milk becomes Skim, bread 100% whole wheat, and wine becomes water. Hunger pains run rampant – pounds fall off – and arms and legs feel like they are going to at any minute.
Then it stops.
Milk goes back to 2%. Bread becomes white. Water becomes wine. Arms and legs heal and return to “normal”. Waistlines stay put and people talk about how “it’s just not worth it – those fitness people have no life.”
Run a car on Redline for too long and that sucker is going to blow. And blow it does – right around February 1st (or sooner).
I’m just throwing this out there, but could it be possible that going from Turkey and Dressing, pecan pie, and dumplings to rice cakes and tasteless grilled chicken – and absolutely no exercise (besides putting a turkey in the oven or opening a present) to 3 hours a day 7 days a week of mind numbing aerobics and weight training might have been too big of a jump? Maybe? Huh?
We humans are strange creatures for sure – all or nothing seems to be the consensus of most of us (and trust me I’m the same way).
But I’ll tell you one thing – and I’ll tell you this from experience – going from 0-200mph in fitness and nutrition will blow you up faster than a C4 pancake.
You won’t make it. So what’s the solution?
The solution is to not run into that mine field in the first place! Take it easy man! Cut out a few things that you know are condusive to inflating the old waistline (I bet you can think of two or three right now) and start being more active. Do it slow and easy.
BOOMSHAKALAKA!
The last time I checked the Tortoise beat the crap out of the hare.
So there you have it – 3 Tips that will ensure you get to your fitness goals in 2012. Don’t be a hare – all talk and sore arms until February and then out of the race completely. Be a Tortoise – Kaizen – constant steady improvement. I’ll see you in 2012 with a new body and life. Cause’ I’ll tell you one thing, everything in life is better when you are strong, healthy, trim and in shape. Everything.
Jay Scott is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, NPC National Level Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, Author and Nutrition Coach. Jay owns CE-Fitness, a Personal Training business in Lexington, KY. Jay has been helping people lose weight and transform their bodies since 1998. Contact him at jay@cefitness.net or visit his site at www.cefitness.net for books, products, training options and more.
