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Posted by honey Promoted 452 days 7 hours ago 2869 views
Lifestyle / Diet Fitness
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It is as natural to me as breathing. My alarm goes off, my body gets up and before my brain can even attempt to object, I am at the gym. I look at the clock, it's 5:20 am. I wipe the remnants of mascara from under my eyes, fill my water bottle and it's on. But how did I get here?
It is as natural to me as breathing. My alarm goes off, my body gets up and before my brain can even attempt to object, I am at the gym. I look at the clock, it's 5:20 am. I wipe the remnants of mascara from under my eyes, fill my water bottle and it's on. But how did I get here?
My friends and co-workers comment often that they "need to start exercising" or they "want to start running again" or they "wish I was as motivated as you!" And I think to myself, so how come you don't? If you really want to improve your health, your heart, your figure and most importantly, your well-being, than what is stopping you from starting (and sticking to) a regular exercise program? Motivation!
I know, I know, it's time, it's money, it's intimidation, it's a gazillion excuses. So, I have come up with a few ideas as to how you can turn yourself into a motivated, dedicated, fitness-minded individual immediately.
Cameo's Top 10 Motivational Techniques:
1. The Buddy System
Do you have a friend who wants to get in shape? Sign up together! It's much harder to flake on your workout when someone is counting on you to show up. You don't have to go to a gym either! You could meet your friend to go on jogs, runs, power-walks, take yoga or pilates, walk your dogs together, swim. There are countless ways to get out and get fit while being social.
2. Go Shopping
There is nothing exciting about pulling on ratty old sweats and a baggy T-Shirt and then facing yourself in a mirror for an hour. Even if you are not at your goal weight you should treat yourself to a great looking exercise ensemble. The right cut and color will take pounds off of your reflection and improve your self perception immediately. Just make sure you buy something stretchy so that it fits as you lose weight. Then, when it gets too loose, go shopping again. The more weight you loose, the more shopping you can do! If you are not ready to face your figure under the fluorescent lights of the fitting room, go online, there are lots of cute, cheap, workout clothes on Ebay Express.
3. Plan Ahead
Don't just get up every day with the "intention" to work out. This kind of thinking leads to the famous, "I'll make up for it tomorrow!" Look at it this way, you don't deposit your paycheck each month with the "intention" of paying your bills. You budget. You calculate your income versus your expenses. You set aside savings. You plan! It's the same with working out. Make a plan and stick to it.
4. Mix it up
For years I went to the gym and did the EXACT same thing every session. I started off stretching followed by 30 minutes of cardio (to get it out of the way) then a couple sets of arms, shoulders, some abs..."I'm bored, I worked out for 45 minutes, I'm done." And I left. Some days I would do 45-60 minutes of cardio ..or try adding a set of legs. But it always felt like a chore. I had become so accustomed to the same routine that I was not challenging myself mentally or physically. After years of study and trial by error, not only do I know a lot more about how to create an efficient routine, I know that I have to switch up that routine every four to six weeks. The results speak for themselves. Are you in a rut? Sign up for a class or buy a fitness mag and select a routine from that issue and try something new for a couple weeks.
5. Sign Up With A Personal Trainer
This is something that I recommend to all beginners. If you want to take the guesswork out of the equation, than sign up with professional. Not only will they guide you along according to your level, but they will hold you accountable. You PAID to be there (and a pretty penny at that!) so unless you can afford to throw your money away, you have no choice but to go. Maybe you have been working out for years but you are experiencing a lack of motivation or you've stopped seeing results. A personal trainer can asses your current program and help you incorporate new moves and new strategies to bust you out of your rut and forge ahead.
6. Photographs
Was there a time when you were in amazing shape? Post an old shot on your mirror or your refrigerator. Perhaps you have a "Before" photograph that makes you shudder, use it! Do you have a fitness icon? Post her photo on your refrige. (I currently have a pic of Monica Brant Peckham on my 'fridge so on my "cheat days" she's staring right at me....I think to myself, "Would Monica eat the whole pint of Ben and Jerry's on HER cheat day?) Or, you could create a chronological collage documenting your progress so that you are reminded of how far you have come.
7. Measurements
Pound for pound, muscle takes up a LOT LESS SPACE than fat. A 135lb woman who has a great deal of lean mass and low body-fat can wear the same size jeans as a 120lb woman with high body-fat and low muscle mass. While weighing yourself can help you stay on track, measuring yourself can be more encouraging. At the beginning of your journey measure your waist, hips, chest and thighs and record the numbers, then in 4 weeks take the measurements again. Did you shrink? I bet you did! Yeah for you!
8. Add A Great Soundtrack
If music be the food of motivation, play on!. I finally got around to getting my iPod fixed and I was blown away by how much impact a great soundtrack can have on your cardio experience. I recommend making play-lists that are the same length of time as your cardio session. If you are really creative and handy with iTunes, you could even time out your songs to create different workout programs. To design an interval program; start with an encouraging warm-up song (Gwen Stefani has lots) follow it up with something fast-paced, followed by a two minute recovery song and so on. You will be so busy looking forward to the next song, that 45 minutes will be over before you know it! Make a new play-list each week!
9. Try Mornings
Morning workouts are great because you get in and out of the gym before any conflicts can get in the way. The benefits of a.m sweat-sessions are astounding; you are invigorated to start your day, your metabolism is pumped up, you feel good about yourself knowing that at least one thing went right, plus your evening is free. Not to mention that if you miss your morning workout, you can always make it up later on in the day. Whereas, if you miss your evening workout, you can't.
10. Rest
Yes, I said rest. Make sure, no matter how determined you are to reach your fitness goal that you give your body ample time to recover. I learned this one the hard way. If you are new to working out, start slow. Try going Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a few weeks and then slowly add days until you are at five. If you are an experienced trainer and you go five to six times a week like I do, you need to make sure you take one full day off each week and then every four or five weeks, take two, three, even four complete days off. This allows your body to recover and enables you to return stronger (and often leaner) than before. Your muscles grow in recovery, so if you are always beating them down and tearing them apart, you will get weaker and your results will diminish. My "off days" are what motivate me to go back on Monday and do it all over again.
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