Many times, I’ve been asked “What works?” This is from friends, acquaintances and prospective clients. Some are looking for the “quick fix – magic bullet” that takes little effort but yet achieves great results. Others are seriously tired of trying every fad diet, weight loss pill, supplement, miracle piece of fitness equipment and/or “target” exercise. None of them have found what “works” for them.
So, what does work? Well, after working with various bootcamp and personal training clients for almost 10 years, I’ve noticed a number of characteristics that separate those who succeed with their health and fitness goals and those who don’t.
Those who do succeed, alter their lifestyles and embrace five basic principles. If you want to look good, feel good and live your life as healthy and physically fit as possible, consider following these principles:
Belief – Believe in yourself! Believe that you ARE capable of making the change required to attain your goal. Reinforce this belief in yourself by surrounding yourself with others (workout buddies, fitness instructor or personal trainer) who are doing, or have accomplished, what you’re attempting. Their support can empower and build you up and help you to see your potential. Their energy rubs off and can be extremely inspiring! Think of your “self” (your ego or self-esteem) as a bank account. Each time you keep a promise to yourself, the balance of your self-esteem account gets bigger, making it easier to keep the next promise to yourself. It’s all about results. Achieving one result gives you the confidence to go after achieving the next goal. Set small, achievable goals and focus on reaching milestones along the way. However, each time a promise is broken, your self-esteem goes down, making it easier to break the next promise.
Ownership – If you’re going to achieve results, it’s going to be completely up to you. No one else, just you. The phrases “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me” or “If I think I can, or think I can’t, I’m right,” are very true. You have to take ultimate ownership for your success (or failure). You can rely on someone else, like your personal trainer, or workout partner to help motivate you. But, the final commitment to succeed starts and ends with you. You can’t blame the kids, your partner, your job and/or your upbringing for your failures. You’re it! You’re the one who must be willing to make the necessary changes and, most importantly, stick to your commitment even when no one else is watching! Remember, you’re not doing it for them, you’re doing it for you!
Effort – It simply can’t be emphasized enough – “Anything worth achieving is worth working for.” This isn’t a quick fix situation. When you make a commitment to exercise and eat healthy (consistently), it WILL take will power, character and persistency. You need to know up front, you WILL be challenged. When you feel like just staying in bed or lounging on the couch watching TV, it’ll take effort to get out the door and go for your workout. With all the temptations around us, and the opportunities provided for us to “cheat”, it takes a lot of self-resolve to eat healthy foods. Now, it’s time to step out of your comfort zone. And, if you actually respect your body (remember, it’s the only body you have to carry you through this life) you’ll make the effort. It says a lot about who you are, as a person, when you invest the time and effort to take care of yourself. It shows that you respect and love yourself enough to do the things necessary for you to be at your personal best. Every time you show up for your bootcamp class, when you just don’t feel like exercising, you don’t just grow a little stronger physically. When you push through a tough workout, it builds character and will enable you to persevere through other challenges in your life. And, each time you opt NOT to eat that doughnut, half a pizza or the whole container of ice cream, you do get stronger mentally and spiritually. Working on improving your physical conditioning will not only enrich your life and make you a better person. You’ll be better able to handle life’s more stressful situations. As a result, you’ll become a better parent, better spouse and a better friend to those you care about.
Consistency – Unfortunately, no matter how hard we push you, a single six-week Training Session with Alter Ego Fitness (or ANY company, for that matter) most likely isn’t going to get you everything you want. In order to achieve any goal, you must be consistent in your resolve to succeed. Occasionally treating yourself to an indulgence is no big deal. But, if those indulgences start to become regular occurrences, you won’t be successful. It’s as simple as that. Furthermore, it’s very important to remember that a missed workout is much more than just a missed workout! Each time you miss a workout, you’ve taken another step towards strengthening the habit of not working out. With each missed workout, you may begin to question your ability to actually stick with it at all. That missed workout will begin to fuel your self-doubt and will make that negative habit stronger. Miss enough workouts, and eventually that negative habit (of not working out) will replace the positive habit of exercising that you’ve previously worked so hard to cultivate. Every time you fail to do the right thing, you fuel the habit of doing the wrong thing. So, the next time you’re trying to justify pressing the snooze button, or going straight home from work, and skipping your workout – don’t do it. Don’t even consider it an option! Remember your commitment. You know that you’ll feel like so much better once you’re done.
Persistence – Be persistent over the long term. If you want to be fitter and healthier 5, 10, 15 or 20 years from now, it’s not what you do over the course of a six week training session that matters. It’s what you consistently do over the next 5, 10, 15 or 20 years. Exercise and healthy eating must be continued for the rest of your life – it’s a lifestyle change! Figure out what you can see yourself doing FOREVER, not just until the end of the classes you signed up for.
Loreli’s company, Alter Ego Fitness Experience, offers Personal Training, Group Fitness and YogaFit training options. Her passion for overall health and wellness, and her innate ability to sense a client’s personal struggles, enables her to assist them to get to their next level and to, ultimately, find their “alter ego”!
“Overall health and fitness is a journey, not a destination!“