Look GREAT in your old jeans by summertime naturally! (Get Fit series- #3)
Keeping Your Fitness Goals and Staying on Track
Establishing fitness goals can be both fun and exhilarating. Looking ahead at what you hope your body will look and feel like in the near future…
However, keeping your goals and staying on course with them until completion can often feel like making New Year’s resolutions and trying to keep them- or just breaking them all together. Most people give up very quickly, while others sort of filter out all along the way. Sadly, the end results are that an average of only about 10 percent make it successfully through to the end goal. So let’s take a closer look at what helps that 10 percent become successful.
Self Help
A positive attitude works wonders. One of the best ways to achieve and maintain a positive mental attitude is to get help for yourself. Don’t just leave this to chance by relying on inspiring music, a few speakers on the radio, or a show on television, because the odds are that most of this content will not be focused your direct needs.
Instead, take charge...
Check out inspirational and motivational books, audio/video downloads, DVDs, magazines, and articles that interest you and get great reviews from others. Keep a folder handy for articles that you print for reminders, plus you can save articles you find online that are full of helpful tips, stories, and advice.
Get help online. For motivational and inspirational speakers alone, there are more than 1 million listings that show up on Google™. So you can narrow your search with keyword phrases like “national motivational speaker,” “international inspirational speaker” and “keynote speaker,” inserting “fitness” into any of them, if you choose. Then visit websites of speakers who are listed, sign up for their free ezines, and read their articles, printing out ones you like for your folder for handy reference. You can find a lot of free information online to get you started.
Don’t Change Horses Midstream
A popular saying that started with Abraham Lincoln in one of his speeches, holds true for keeping your original fitness goals and staying on track, “Don’t change horses midstream.” In other words, don’t change your basic plan of attack. Stick with your original goals that you took time to research and establish. You may need to modify them some, but don’t toss them aside. Keep track of your progress and commit to finishing what you started.
Take advantage of the many available motivational and inspirational audio downloads and & MP3 to help encourage and inspire you. Beautiful music, books, lectures, workshops, and radio programs can be found nearly anywhere, especially online, for help round the clock 24 / 7. Other possibilities would be to enroll in fitness or cooking classes, you may even find like minded fitness buddies too. Or you could find some online workout buddies and support, too, via health and fitness forums and other popular social networking websites.
Keeping your fitness goals and staying on track may not necessarily be easy. But it can be successful with some help, support, a good attitude, and an enthusiastic, but hard work ethic.
Taking Charge and Managing Your Goals
Developing a good measurable set of goals is great. Making out an action plan of attack is even better. Now it’s time to manage your plans. And a good place to start is with good management tools.
Fitness Logs
Your local library is a good place to start for management tools. Check out fitness log books to see which type appeals to you most, which works best with your fitness goals. And use the computer to search the Internet for fitness log sheets and software like Microsoft Word and Excel to create your own spreadsheets logging your workout equipment, reps, times, etc. and to make food diaries and fitness journaling pages.
If you are using a special program like at eDiets or Body for Life, your program may already have logs for you to use, so ask and conduct a little research. Gyms and fitness centers also generally have their own generic log sheets you can use to note equipment, reps, time, daily intake of foods, etc. And your physician may have log sheets for you as well. So look around before heading to the store to buy something. If you do need to shop, check pricing at eBay and Amazon for new and excellent used logs that have never been written in before.
After you determine which log to use, make it handy to use both at home and to take with you to the gym daily. Keep a gym bag or other type of carry all by the door with your log book inside with a pencil that has an eraser, for example. And use it every day, except if you have a day of rest in your plans each week, like many programs feature.
Planning Calendars
Log books are great, but you need to coordinate your activities with your daily planning calendar so that you make sure to fit your fitness into your everyday life. One top way to do this is to map out your fitness plans by keying them into a computerized calendar like Microsoft Outlook offers and printing them out as needed. Outlook also allows you to set up tasks to repeat on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.), great for logging exercise classes.
Another excellent calendar system is by Franklin Covey. They have software planning systems that are compatible Outlook and handheld units. Plus they have a wide variety of print planning systems for all budget ranges. As with your searches above, check availability on eBay and Amazon before buying directly form a local store.
Then follow up daily, planning and putting your plans into action with exercises each day. Monitor your plans, get help as needed, revise and keep on completing daily tasks. And before you know it, your 12 months will be up and you’ll have conquered your goals – at least most of them hopefully. If not, get help, revise and go forth again for a new and better year. If so, make sore and continue. Either way, take charge!
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