By Garrett J. Braunreiter, GHF's Success Coach
What's your excuse for not making it to the gym on a consistent
basis? Locker room too smelly? Eye candy not sweet enough? Music
volume making your ears bleed? Feeling intimidated by buff bodies
crowding the free-weight area? Most people start off strong with
an exercise program, and then within a few weeks they've got an
excuse for not being there.
The majority of people will stop participating in a new workout
program within the first 90 days which is why health clubs that
are packed in January can seem virtually empty by March.
Which brings us to you.
If you're starting a new exercise program, you're probably very
excited about it, which is great. But that excitement is going to
wear off, at which point you'll begin to notice how much time and
effort a workout plan really requires.
And that's the point where you may be tempted to start pulling back,
or even to quit entirely. But we're not about to let that happen.
Follow these steps from the very beginning, and you'll be one of
those dedicated gym members who really get their money's worth.
1. Make workouts a key part of your schedule. Many people see exercise
merely as recreation, not a necessity, which means it's the first
thing to go when daily schedules get crunched. YOU NEED TO DECIDE
that working out is as important as ANYTHING in your life, even
as important as LIFE ITSELF.
If you don't, as soon as the initial excitement of a new program
is over, everything else will get in the way; business appointments,
family obligations, TV, sitting on your duff. Write your workout
times into your calendar and stick to them just as you would a vital
business meeting.
2. Keep it mellow. You're a lot more likely to keep your program
for the long term if you avoid letting going to the gym become a
hassle. Choose a gym you can get to in a reasonable amount of time
at the time of day you're going to train.
If you're fighting gym traffic, you'll be a lot less motivated.
Find a place where you won't have to line up to use the equipment
you want. And unless you'll be going at the end of the day and can
wash up at home, make sure it has clean showers and a comfortable
changing environment.
3. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Many people often start
out too aggressively, going to a level that's higher than they're
capable of. As a result, they injure their muscle fibers, so for
48 hours they're walking around like a mummy. Then they stop going
to the gym because they find themselves dreading the pain.
Many people don't realize that long, drawn out workouts is NOT better.
You're not giving your body enough time to recover between workouts.
60 minutes TOPS (if you're doing a strength and aerobic workout),
or about 30 minutes of a strength OR aerobic workout. Make those
minutes COUNT! You can still workout daily as long as you keep your
workouts short.
4. Set achievable goals. It's inevitable that as you start a new
program, you picture yourself looking like the models on TV or in
the magazines. But if you set your sights too high, you may find
yourself discounting the gains you are making. When you're starting
out, go over your long-term goals with a trainer or coach, and decide
what you can achieve based on your workout schedule.
Then, instead of looking far into the future, give yourself intermediate
weekly and monthly goals, such as doing an extra rep or lifting
10 more pounds. If you always have new goals to shoot for, it stays
interesting.
REMEMBER: You're not exercising to lose weight. You're exercising
because of HOW YOU'LL FEEL as a RESULT of exercising regularly.
You WILL get leaner, you WILL have more energy, you WILL have a
higher self-esteem. If you don't achieve the goals in the time you
first set, it's not the goal that's wrong. It's the time frame that
was wrong. Keep focused on your goals.
5. Chart your progress. Gains from one workout to the next can be
subtle, and the only way to know how well you're really doing is
to write everything down. Keep a journal of your workouts, as well
as what you eat. Even people who are diligent don't remember exactly
how well things went if they keep everything in their head.
When you write it down, you can compare results, see what is and
isn't working, and see that as time goes on YOU'RE REALLY MAKING
PROGRESS.
6. Mix it up. Doing the same workout over and over again gets old
fast, and your results won't be as good as if you try a variety
of exercises. Instead of doing 40 minutes daily on the treadmill,
try every darn aerobic machine in the gym and go on hiking, in-line
skating and bicycling adventures whenever you get a chance.
Change your weight training routine regularly to keep things interesting
and to help break through plateaus. A lack of variety leads to staleness.
A good rule of thumb is to change your sets, reps, weight, and rest
periods every 3-4 weeks. You'll have more fun if you learn new tools
and keep doing different things.
7. Go one on one. One reason working out can seem less enjoyable
than playing sports is that it lacks interplay with others. But
there are lots of ways to have some spirited competition in the
gym, whether it's racing >> on treadmills or competing (safely)
with your weightlifting buddy. When two guys are on the same regimen,
they can make things more fun by having "mini-contests."
Try going as many reps as you can on a certain weight. Or see who
can lift the most weight for 4-5 reps. Just make sure the contest
rules specify doing the exercise right, since sacrificing form to
lift more weight can be dangerous.
8. Work with a trainer or coach.Workouts seem easier and are more
effective with a professional prodding you on; plus, you're more
likely to feel obligated to show up (especially if he's going to
charge you anyway). When there's someone watching you and keeping
an eye on your progress, there's incentive to keep going. If you
can't afford to hire a trainer for every workout, just do it every
couple of weeks or once a month and have him/her help you set goals
for you to reach in between.
Also, consider getting a training partner - just make sure it's
somebody who will show up every time, is dedicated as you are...
in other words, a clone of you.
9. Force yourself to hang in there religiously for the first three
months. Nothing sustains motivation better than results. However,
whether you're a beginner or a competitive bodybuilder, your muscles
must be given enough time to adapt to the growth and recovery periods
that strength training requires.
Though you may see some results, like increases in strength, early
on, noticeable changes in your physique CAN take up to three months.
(NOTE: This DOESN'T mean that everyone will take this long to see
results. I've had clients see results in the first couple of weeks;
some waited a few months before things fell into place.)
It also takes that long to establish a rhythm and discipline to
your training schedule, but after three months of dedication, you'll
be a lot less likely to fall off the training wagon.
10. As soon as you miss a workout, re-motivate yourself. This is
the danger zone, the time when most people start giving up. You've
missed one workout, so what's the big deal about skipping another,
or all of them? Before you know it, your whole program could go
down the tubes. If you miss a workout, you miss a workout. It's
over. You can't bring it back. So it makes NO sense to beat yourself
up about it.
This article was provide by Garrett J. Braunreiter, CSCS, GHF's
Success Coach. Please visit his site at http://www.worldpeakperformance.com
