New Year, New You…5 tips to make REAL changes in the new year
So the start of 2011 is nearly upon us and as with every new year, we all look forward with high expectations and the promise of a fresh start.
Being a personal trainer, this can be a very stressful time of year – everybody wants to start the new year afresh and “get into shape” after the indulgences of Christmas.
But if I am brutally honest, 90% of people who start new health and fitness programmes in January have fallen before March.
So to make sure YOU aren’t one of those who will be looking back next December having made no progress, here are my 5 tips to help you succeed and achieve you health goals for the year ahead.
1. Set specific goals.
Rather than just say “I want to get into shape”, which is a very vague statement and will unfortunately lead to vague results, define exactly what it is you want and set a deadline.
Better example goals are “I am losing 1 stone of weight to fit into a size 12 dress by May”, “I am reducing my bodyfat to 10% so that I have a visible six pack for my summer holiday in July ” or even “I am losing 4 inches off my waist measurement and I am running my first half-marathon in June “.
Notice how all of those statements are in the PRESENT tense – rather than “I will” use “I am”. Statements written in the present tense are FAR MORE POWERFUL psychologically than those written in the future tense.
2. Identify why.
Setting specific goals is just the first stage. It is JUST AS IMPORTANT to know exactly why you want to achieve your goal. By knowing why, you will connect emotionally to its outcome. Having an emotional connection to an outcome and how it will impact you life will give you an endless source of encouragement to achieve it.
What are the positive impacts on your life that achieving your goal will have? What are the negative impacts if you do not achieve it?
For example I had a client start working with me in November who wanted t0 lose weight – to get down to 14 stone from 17. When I asked him why, he fed me the usual “to improve my health and feel better” emotionally vague description. I pressed him again and asked why did he REALLY want to lose the weight.
We got down to the fact that he had two young sons and wanted to lose the weight so that he could enjoy as much of his life with them as possible, be an inspiration to them (and their children in turn), without the health problems and the chance of an early death associated with being overweight.
Get connected to your goals, REALLY CONNECTED and it will help you to stay focused on getting them achieved.
3. Record your progress.
If you don’t record your results how do you know if you are making progress? By recording your results you can review your efforts and progress.
If you are doing well, the results will spur on your efforts, driving you on to achieve even more.
If you aren’t, then the lack of results will give you a kick in the behind to get going once again.
If you record exactly what you are doing – by diet and exercise diaries – you can review what areas need improvement and which methods are working the best for you.
Part of the art to recording results is to use the right methods for your goals – for women wanting to lose weight I would use waist and hip measurements, plus the fitting of clothes. For men wanting to gain muscle size and shape, taking regular bi-weekly photos, using the mirror and measuring chest, shoulder and arms are the best options.
Whatever method you choose, record your progress and make yourself accountable for the progress towards goals.
4. Avoid temptation rather fight it.
Once common obstacle my weight-loss clients have to content with is having junk food in the house for their kids. My answer would be to buy less in weekly shop and keep it all in one drawer/cupboard that YOU don’t have to go in. If you don’t have to see it every time you enter the kitchen or walk around the house, you’ll be less tempted and will eat FAR less of it.
5. Overcome obstacles by thinking ahead.
What are the obstacles that can stand between you and your goals?
A common challenge is that of having enough time to workout – remember YOU ARE YOUR SCHEDULE, so schedule what is important to you into your week first before it gets filled with anything and everything.
Of course we all have to deal with unexpected and demanding problems, but if you think ahead to any potential problems you can think of solutions before they occur. The key to being successful at your goals and achieving what is REALLY important to you is to be pro-active, rather than reactive.
There are my five tips to help you achieve everything you want to in 2011.
If you would like some help and advice to get started with your health and fitness goals, you can contact me to arrange a one-off diet and lifestyle consultation.
For those of you who want to make massive changes during 2011, you can also arrange regular training under my guidance.
I wish you all merry Christmas and a bright and promising new year.
[...] http://talktorbay.com/new-year-new-you-5-tips-to-make-real-changes-in-the-new-year [...]