Developing Good Fitness Habits

So many of the clients I train talk about how they don't have the will or discipline to stick with theirworkout program.

The thing that they don't seem to understand is that it really is not about will or drive or discipline. It is simply about habits. Think of it this way, you don't have to have determination to brush your teeth and take a shower do you? No. You just do it.

That is the big difference between all the people who are in shape in the fitness area and the one's who are not. That's it really.

Although it does take drive to develop a workout or fitness habit, there are some things you can do to make it successful and easier and set yourself up for success.

Keeping to your workout schedule. So, we are creatures of habit and this is a really important thing to allow for when setting up your schedule. Ok here is the deal....the first 3 months is critical to developing a habit to the point that you never again have to reallly "think" about if you're going to workout or eat right. So like I said before the best case scenorio, working out for you should be like brushing your teeth. Leaving no question as to wether or not you are going to workout. You just do. No questions asked. The minute you skip a workout, you break the habit your sub conscience is trying develop.

Chemicals and fissures actually develop in your brain when it comes to this. It is just like creating a trail in the wild at first. The more you hike through it, the easier it gets to walk through it and the less you have to navigate. Habits are way more powerful than merely telling yourself "I need to workout because I am out of shape". Our mind just doesn't work like that. The easiest way to get to this point is to either take a class, use a trainer, or meet up with someone who is more determined than you are, so that you don't have to think about your workout and that you just have to do your workout.

Think about it....treat it like a habit before it even becomes one and you are on your way to that mindset. Coming to the fitness center to meet with a trainer to workout or take a class is great because you are already in the mindset of " I don't have to problem solve or think, I simply need to do something without thinking. That is the type of activity you need to develop the habit you want. Something were you can just show up.

This is why I get agitated with a trainer when they don't follow up with a no show. It's so much more than being upset at that client's lack of follow thru. Getting out of this habit, not doing what you set out to do has a direct impact on your confidence or lack of it.

Do yourself a favor and set yourself up for success from the get go.

1. Make it conveinent. No one wants or will drive 50 miles after a hard day of work. Make sure you pack your clothes in your car before you go to work if you work. The minute you get home from a hard day at work is the minute you end up staying at home. After all you see the laundry that needs to get done, the bills that need paying. Home is a never ending excuse believe me. 

2. Get with a person who is a few steps ahead of you. Always, when you want to develop your habit for success and have success developing your habit, you need to be around people you want to be like. You need to feed off their energy. Dale Carnegie once said that if he lost everything and became poor, he would immediately find a place where there were a lot of rich people because, just being around their energy alone would put him in a great place to make a comeback. 

3. Make it the same time everyday. Make it happen after the same event if you can every day. The trigger in your brain that tells you that it's time for bed or to go to work will be the same trigger that tells you that it is time for your workout. You see, less stuff to cognitively think about will add more space to just do and be. 

4. Make it enjoyable. For all that is good and right with the world....for Gods sake make it enjoyable. There is no reason to do a boring, tired workout. Please don't waste your life doing one. Instead, find out who to workout with and what to do to make it fun. 

5. Stay on it for three months without results being your main concern. Go ahead and do the best one for you and look forward to the results, but do it knowing that the results if done right will come and just do it.


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Gina Cool is the owner of http://www.CoolfitnessYOGA.com . She considers it an honor to help people get fit in mind, body, and spirit. She has been in the fitness industry for over 15 years. She has a BA in kinisiology.