You could be new to the fitness game and looking where to start out, or you could be on track with your progress and have been smashing your goals for several weeks now. These 4 simple rules can be actioned by anyone today! So here it is, five easy and effective rules to get you where you want to be:
Rule One: Make sure you set your goals
A goal is typically described as a ‘dream with a deadline’ and everybody should have them. Goals can be divided into:
- A short-term goal: these are normally achievable within weeks, an example of this could be that you’re going to attend the gym three times a week or to attend a fitness class every Monday evening.
- Long-term goal: as stated in the name, these goals can be achieved in a 6 month or longer timeframe and a typical example of this could be to lose 10% body fat and gain muscle mass.
It’s important that you choose SMART goals (no, I’m not using capitals here because I’m shouting!) SMART goals is a great guide for goal setting and is broken down into:
Specific: Don’t make your goals long winded. It will only complicate your personal trainer and yourself. Make a clear aim such as ‘I want to drop a dress size’ or ‘I want to build on my strength’ rather than: I’d love to drop a dress size, run a half marathon and be able to deadlift 200kg by Summer’
Measurable: How can you or your trainer monitor your progress? Log your workouts in a diary or fitness app for your fitness goals or if you are focusing on a weight loss journey then you can use body fat composition scales to provide you with results.
Agreed: Working with a fitness coach can help lock your goals in from the very beginning of your journey, this isn’t a matter of saying ‘yes’ to the ‘idea’ of your goals, it’s an agreement on how you are going to get there. So presenting maybe a 12-week plan to kick things off and what the plan might entail and how dedicated you are going to be to this plan.
Realistic: this is the big one for me. Time and time again I see so many people set unrealistic goals and when they don’t see results they get frustrated and completely give up. So set yourself reasonable goals that are challenging but can be achieved.
Time: Set yourself a timescale on when you want to achieve your goal. Take everything above into account too, is it a realistic timeframe? Don’t worry if these needs to change through the journey too, life happens sometimes!
Bottom line is, don’t pluck your goals from thin air and don’t make rushed decisions on what your goals are and how you’re going to reach them. Try not to compare yourself to anyone else’s results either, what one person might be able to achieve in six months could be completely different to someone else’s journey.
Before we get to the other three rules, if you think now is the time to see changes, click here to enquire about coaching and how we can get you to reach your goals.
Rule Two: Reflect and monitor your progress correctly
We’ve set your goals and we’re starting to get your fitness regime into motion and you want to see your hard work paying off! How do you track your progress?
Well thanks to years of toxic diet culture, we’ve got it in our heads that the only way to track our fitness journey is to rely on the scales. You can read more about why I advise you to hide your scales in a previous blog post here.
If you are on a fitness journey then it’s not only a physical challenge but it can also be quite challenging mentally too. So what I want you to do is head down to your nearest Paperchase, or look at Papier’s website and I want you to treat yourself to a diary or pretty notebook so you can journal along the way.
From the very beginning of your challenge right the way through to when you’re reaching your goals, I want you to jot down on a regular basis:
- What is working? This could be a few bullet points on what you think you are finding quite manageable, this could be anything from meal prepping to calorie counting or it could be that you’re finding your workouts quite challenging.
- What isn’t working? Have you failed to make it to the gym and missed a few sessions? Or maybe you just can’t do a leg press as you don’t know how to perform this exercise, note it down in your diary and share these thoughts with your trainer as they could be easily resolved.
- Why are you doing this? Sometimes you can forget about your reasons behind your journey as you’re on it, so jot down on a frequent basis what your reasons are to remind yourself why you started.
- What am I going to do next and what I’m going to prioritise? Always look ahead on your journey. There’s no point dwelling on the past or has-beens, the only way to go is forward. Finish your journal entry with what you are going to rectify over the next few weeks, are you going to ramp up your cardio or are you going to cut down on refined sugars and look to eat more clean? Discuss this with your trainer if you need something measurable and realistic (SMART remember!) actions to take away.
Rule Three: Look to build muscle
Don’t shy away from adding weight training to your routine and you know what, lifting weights will not make you bigger. I’ll say it again louder for those at the back, lifting weights will not make you bulky.
Science aside, put briefly, lifting weights will give you definition of muscle whereas excess body fat and fitness level could be the cause of making you appear bigger.
There are so many benefits out there why to add weight lifting to your regime, too many to fit into one blog post so I’ll name a few of the important ones:
- Boosts your metabolism: lifting those weights increases your metabolic rate as muscles are more efficient at burning calories than fat mass, which means you are burning more calories while resting.
- Reduces your risk of injury: by implementing weightlifting into your workouts you are making your body stronger and will help prevent future injuries as you are able to support your body.
- Improves your self-esteem: this is quite a biggie so don’t skim past it. Seeing changes in your body from all of your hard work paying off will help boost your confidence and keep you motivated to keep going.
When exercising, you should always look to lift heavier each time. Not every workout you’ll be hitting a personal best but it certainly shouldn’t be easy.
Once you’ve conquered the exercises, you should also be eating to add more protein to your food intake to help build and repair muscles.
Rule Four: Give yourself time to recover
Don’t glorify working out for two hours everyday – it’s dangerous. Even Olympic athletes need time to recover. You should look to have at least one rest day a week.
Why do I need to rest?
Without rest, you could be at risk of overtraining which means your body won’t have time to build and recover muscles from your workouts.
Active Rest Days
This doesn’t mean that you need to lie horizontal all day on your rest days, you can still do some forms of exercise that can help you recover such as yoga, stretching, foam rolling or going for a walk. I advise these types of active rest days to give your mind a rest from a tough training regime.
Sleep Well
It is also important that you give yourself enough sleep at night to allow your body to repair itself from your hard working out. Not only that, but sleep releases amino acids which help build muscle, and these acids help you achieve a stronger and leaner body.
I hope these four rules are something you can embed in your journey starting today. If you are looking to achieve your goals and unlock the best version of you, get in touch here.
