If you are someone that has been out of the fitness game for a long time, it can seem like a daunting task getting back into it. Life catches up to us very quickly. Between careers, families, and staying up with the latest Netflix show it can feel like fitness is the last thing we have time or energy for.
Maybe you have never worked out, maybe you used to throw around the iron back in college, maybe you stopped after that knee surgery or maybe you just never got IT back after having a child. Whatever the case is, I am here to tell you that it is not too late and yes you can still get in shape. That’s one of the great things about fitness. No matter how long you have been away from it, it will always welcome you back with open arms.
The biggest mistake I see people make when they start a fitness regimen is doing too much at once. Before you clean out the garage, order an elliptical, purchase a meal plan, join a gym and hire a trainer 4 days a week, you need a realistic and attainable plan. Chances are if you start off with an audacious goal, you will have one, maybe two, great days then you won’t be able to sustain it shortly after leading to a sense of failure and setting you back again.
The biggest factor I focus on when working with individuals is self-efficacy. The most important piece of starting and sticking to working out is creating the confidence that YOU can accomplish something.
If you can create that confidence in one or two areas you are more likely to sustain the completion of those things as opposed to accomplishing EVERYTHING. If you start with a goal of working out 3x a week and you accomplish that for a couple of weeks you are more likely to naturally start making better choices when it comes to nutrition, hydration and sleep even though that wasn’t necessarily your goal.
Setting Fitness Goals
Fitness or health goals can be hard to define sometimes or seem abstract. A lot of my clients didn’t know what their goals were when we first started. I hear things like this a lot: “I just want to get in shape.” Or “I want to feel better.” When you aren’t doing anything fitness related at the moment or you haven’t done anything in a long time your goal sometimes is simply to START and that’s OK but it is still important to map out a game plan.
I recommend starting with addressing the biggest frustration that is holding you back. Ask yourself “What is the biggest frustration I have with getting to where I want to be?” This question causes you to actually take a moment and define the hurdles that are hindering you from getting started. Common answers might be lack of time, busy schedule, lack of motivation, getting started seems like too big of a task, all or nothing mentally, not knowing where to start, limited by injuries, lack of support, etc. By taking the time to look at what is the issue we can then start asking more questions and apply a solution aka form a plan.
Let’s say your biggest frustration when it comes to getting to where you want to be with your fitness is your BUSY schedule. You work or are in school all day then come home to an even busier personal life. The small amount of down time you have is filled up by plopping on the couch at 9pm and trying to catch 30 minutes of the latest true crime series only to be out cold within 10 minutes.
A goal might be to start with 30 minutes 3x a week in the morning (before work), afternoon (lunch break or a work from home day) or evening. For example, before sitting down to watch TV at night do 30 minutes of full body strength training on Monday and Wednesday. On Saturday morning start by taking a 2 mile walk or jog. Have a goal of completing those 3 things for ONE month. Write down your goal. Write down why you are completing this goal then add the 3 workouts to your calendar on the appropriate days.
Now that I talked about setting goals, let’s talk about what to do when setbacks occur.
Overcoming Setbacks
Expect setbacks. Expect that it won’t be easy at times. This way when you’re not motivated to workout the 2nd week into your month on a Wednesday evening it won’t be a shock. Remember why you are doing it. It’s already in the calendar and you don’t leave things undone that are scheduled. A month is attainable. 3x a week is attainable. 30 minutes is attainable. You can do this.
Same thing goes for other frustrations. Name the problem then plug in a solution. Lack of motivation? Hire a trainer for a month. Lack of support? Join a small group-training program for a month. Will the solution be perfect? Hell no. But you need to try in order to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Stick to a plan for at least a month even if it isn’t the perfect plan. Then reevaluate. What went well? What can you do more of? Are you in better shape than a month ago? Chances are you will naturally start making better choices outside of your workouts.
Before you know it, your goals that you started with might change. The same clients of mine that had goals of “just get in shape” or “just get started” now have nutrition goals, exercise selection goals, ie*do 10 pull ups, recovery goals ie* get 8 hours of sleep 2x a week, and now have a clearer understanding of WHY they workout.
What’s the biggest frustration you have with getting to where you want to be with your fitness? Tackle that first. Expect setbacks BUT stay consistent on that initial goal by remembering why you are doing it. Pretty soon the benefits of working out will outweigh any negative experience you have of completing the workouts and hey, you might just end up looking forward to your workouts
Thanks for reading, and make sure to reach out, leave a comment, and give me a follow if you want more tips on fitness.
