Can you think back to when you started your fitness journey? Was it years ago? Months ago? Days ago, or even today?
Can you remember your reason for starting?
I’d bet for most of you, like most people, you had a reason you “had” to start exercising?
Maybe your Doctor told you that you have to lose weight or risk health problems. Perhaps you were just fed up with how you felt every day and wanted more energy or to look better naked. Or perhaps you couldn’t keep up with your kids and that made you sad.
Whatever your reason, the common theme is that many of us start exercising because we “have to”, not necessarily because we want to.
What comes next is the difference between the people who start a fitness journey and quit, and the people who make it a long lasting lifestyle.
It’s the mental shift from “I have to do it” to “I get to do it!”
And that shift comes from a mindset. An attitude shift from being a victim of your exercise to being grateful for your ability to exercise.
The reality is, exercise is never always easy. More often than not you won’t “feel” like doing it. But when your mindset shifts from feeling sorry for yourself and forcing yourself to do it from a place of shame, into a place of gratitude for being able bodied enough to do it and feeling appreciative for how it makes you feel, that’s when you begin a lifelong love affair with fitness.
So consider, where is your mindset now about your fitness and exercise? And how can you adjust it to an attitude of gratitude?
Once you cross that bridge in your mind, only then will you start making your workouts a daily, enjoyable habit.
To get you fired up and ready to begin, here are our 7 tips to setting yourself up for success with fitness:
1. Sleep a full 8 hours solid every night. Early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy and wise.
2. Reduce stressors in your life as much as possible. Meditate daily. Take a vitamin B complex.
3. No self-shaming! Find joy in working out even if it’s only for 10 minutes because that’s all you had time for today. Not every workout has to be an hour of high intensity, in fact it shouldn’t be! And set recovery days each week. Recovering is smart exercising, not failing.
4. Set an attitude of gratitude. Before ever workout, even if it’s just a walk around the block, say something that you are grateful for and thank your body for its ability to do it. Think about people who aren’t as fortunate as you and dedicate your session to them. Gratitude will win you a great training session every single time.
5. Drink lots of water, eat whole foods and get protein in your daily intake. Fuel your system with fresh water, fruits and veggies to cleanse, and protein for energy. Carbs aren't the enemy, just make smart choices in moderation.
6. Set realistic goals and build toward them with small Lego blocks each day. Try not to get overwhelmed by the destination you want to get to with your fitness goals, instead see your small progress every day and praise your effort. Enjoy the journey.
7. And lastly, be patient. Long lasting change takes time. It takes habitual behaviour change, and that takes patience and self-kindness.
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