Getting in Shape: Secret of Success

Success at fitness is easier than you thought, that is, if you learn from the mistakes of others and avoid their pitfalls. As a personal trainer and health consultant, there have been countless times that new clients list their fitness objective as "lose 20 pounds" or "get in shape". Great ideas but they will lead to meandering hours in the gym with little to show for your time.

Goals Are Essential
The question is: how do we define our goals so that we succeed? The simple answer is “quantify”. Make your goals definable “with a number”.

For example, “my goal is to lose 20 pounds”. This is so vague and open it means little. By contrast, “I will walk everyday and eat smarter”. Better than the first attempt but it still needs some work to make it happen for you. Your goal needs to be more quantifiable. Try this: “every morning by 6:15 am., except Wednesday, I will walk at least 15 minutes. If it feels good, I will walk longer”. Chances are, once you are out the door (the toughest part), you won’t even think about stopping after 15 minutes. You defined an exact starting time and an endpoint. That plan should be enough to coax you out the door. Moreover, while walking, “talk it up!” Let yourself know that you are in the midst of accomplishing a very difficult task. Give yourself lots of kudos and envision your goals’ positive outcome. If your goal is to decrease body fat, visualize yourself as a svelte person in an outfit that you admire. Or visualize yourself playing with your grandchildren as you sit crossed-legged on the floor.

Add in Fruits and Vegetables
As for the “eating smarter”. Why not start by “adding in” foods rather than saying, “no, I won’t eat snacks any longer”. Start by adding in three fruits and two vegetable servings daily. We can count the items and make specific plans to succeed. The other benefit is that we are saying, “yes, we can eat more” rather than the old pattern of always cutting foods out of our diet and saying “NO”. We will be less apt to gorge on high fat foods when we are filled with broccoli.

Getting in Shape
What does “get in shape” mean to you? It can mean a thousand different things to a thousand different people. Quantify. “ I want to be able to jog three miles by September 1, 2000. I will start by getting medical clearance and purchasing a pair of appropriate jogging shoes and workout apparel. I will entice my friend to enroll with me in the “morning sunshine” jogging class that meets three times weekly. If I can not attend a session, I will plan a make-up session at home within 24 hours”.

Be specific in your goals, specific in your plans, and your chances of success become less of a chance and more of a doable project!