It’s February. We’ve already finished a month of 2017, and ideally should be feeling healthier, fitter and happier, right? Hmm… not quite. The first few weeks of the year always start with a fitness kick and determination to claim your dream summer body. But as the cold continues to drag on and the dark mornings make leaving your warm bed a million times harder, it can be difficult to keep up this ideal ‘new’ you. So here are just a few tips to keep you motivated and an insight into what works and what doesn’t in the fitness world!
Variety is Key!
There is nothing more unattractive than the thought of running for what feels an eternity on a treadmill. Unless you’re a pro-runner, this is not the ideal exercise to try and stay motivated. A lot of people run towards the treadmill because they don’t really know what else to do. Gyms can be very intimidating places, and so that boring, painful treadmill machine can feel like a safe haven. But why not try a class? In fact, why stop at one class? Try them all and see which ones you really enjoy. Initially, they’re going to be hard, but you can only get better. By adding new and different exercises into your weekly plan, you keep it interesting. Exercise stops being a task and becomes fun! So try something new each week to find out what gets you going!
Buddy Up!
If you grab a pal to come and try out these new classes with you, or someone to test out a new online work out you’ve come across, you are more likely to stay active. Working out with a friend motivates you to get up and go because you make a commitment to that person and you can have a laugh whilst you train – just be sure to pick your partner wisely! We want to have fun but we also want to make sure we’re not just working jaw at each gym session. Additionally, maybe avoid going with that highly competitive friend… you want to make gains, not enemies!
Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself
It’s not as easy as it looks getting into a fitness routine, so don’t beat yourself up if you have a bad session, or miss a session completely. Accept that you fell off the wagon for a day, but that’s okay, what’s important is that you jump back on it the next day. Once you create a routine for yourself, you’ll find that missing a day of fitness starts to hurt more than the actual training itself. It becomes a bit of an addiction – but a good one! Nobody is perfect, just stay positive and go again.
Abs Not Kebabs
One of the BIGGEST problems when people try to lose weight is their diet. That hour of blood, sweat and tears was pointless if you’re going to go home and raid the cupboards. There’s a common theory that a lot of new gym goers believe that says because they’ve been to the gym, they can eat what they want. This doesn’t work. After exercise your body craves nutrients so that it can recover after the work it has done, which means it needs good quality food. I don’t mean to say that your New Year diet should consist of kale and chicken only, but just be aware of what you’re putting on your plate and how much you’re eating. Another common mistake with new gym-goers is they start eating too much of the right food. Remember, too much of anything is not good for you. Everything in moderation. That doesn’t mean that now that you’re a new fitness fanatic you can never eat a bad meal again or you’ll put weight straight back on. You need to treat yourself every so often, have a binge ‘cheat meal’ and then start again.
Avoid the Detox
Just don’t do it. You’ll lose weight quick, look fabulous and then as soon as you go back to eating normal foods again you’ll put it all back on again. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the super toned models you see on Instagram don’t just drink tea to look like they do. It doesn’t work. It’s not good for your health to be starving your body of key nutrients either. Eat a balanced diet. That means plenty of protein if you’re introducing intense exercises, especially weights and resistance training for muscle development, good fats to help this digest, (cottage cheese, avocado, sweet potatoes – to name a few!) and plenty of greens! This method takes longer – you won’t drop 10kg in a week, but the results will last longer too. You’ll start creating a lifestyle for yourself as opposed to a quick fix. That’s what being fit and healthy is about.
Health and fitness is not about appearance – it’s how you feel about yourself – a healthy mind comes with a healthy body. It’s okay to struggle the first few weeks, or even months. Be positive and you’ll see the results!
This article has images from:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/
http://mrfitbody.com/barriers-towards-exercising-and-tips-how-to-go-over-them/
http://mrfitbody.com/barriers-towards-exercising-and-tips-how-to-go-over-them/