How To Stay On Track With Your Fitness Goals This Spring
While it is pretty easy to get started on a new fitness regimen, sticking with it for the long haul can be a real challenge, and requires dedication, sacrifice, and consistency. Life has a way of throwing us curveballs just when we have gotten comfortable in a routine, and too often these curveballs throw us off of our game and force us to start over a few weeks later when things get back to normal. Unfortunately, the one month on two months off approach to fitness produces very little in the way of results.
It is impossible to prevent the things in your life that will make staying with your routine difficult, but if you prepare for them ahead of time and come up with a contingency plan you will be able to weather the storms life sends your way and still stay committed to your routine. It all comes down to proper planning, and that is what will be discussed in this article.
A Solid Plan
The problem here is that when most people design their routines they do not consider how life's little surprises will affect them, and hence do not have backup plans for what to do when they come. A little bit of forethought can easily solve this problem. All you really have to do is ask yourself a number of €what if€ questions and come up with suitable answers. For example:
€What if my daughter gets sick and I have to pick her up early and take her home? I certainly will not be able to make it to the gym then.€
Answer: €I will take her home, make her some soup, and when she lays down to rest I will do 20 minutes of bodyweight exercises like squats, planks and burpees.€
That is not exactly rocket science, but most people would just skip the workout.
Balanced Nutrition
It is a widespread myth that you have to eat a boring, restrictive diet every day to stay fit. While you do have to eat right, you can certainly have a cheat meal once or twice a week if you are really good the rest of the time. I like to plan my cheat meals as follows:
1. A moderate cheat meal on Wednesday night. I'll have what I want for dinner, but will not have a dessert.
2. An €all-out€ cheat meal on Saturday night. I'll splurge on a favorite meal for dinner and have a dessert as well.
When you have these meals to look forward to it is easy to stick to the plan for the rest of the week, and you will still get good results.
All in Moderation
You do not have to be a fitness Nazi to stay in good shape, you just have to make smart diet and exercise choices on a consistent basis. It is better to be €good€ all the time than to be perfect for a week or two and then run out and eat a dozen donuts. Practice moderation and consistency with your lifestyle habits and you will be able to stay fit for the long haul.
It is impossible to prevent the things in your life that will make staying with your routine difficult, but if you prepare for them ahead of time and come up with a contingency plan you will be able to weather the storms life sends your way and still stay committed to your routine. It all comes down to proper planning, and that is what will be discussed in this article.
A Solid Plan
The problem here is that when most people design their routines they do not consider how life's little surprises will affect them, and hence do not have backup plans for what to do when they come. A little bit of forethought can easily solve this problem. All you really have to do is ask yourself a number of €what if€ questions and come up with suitable answers. For example:
€What if my daughter gets sick and I have to pick her up early and take her home? I certainly will not be able to make it to the gym then.€
Answer: €I will take her home, make her some soup, and when she lays down to rest I will do 20 minutes of bodyweight exercises like squats, planks and burpees.€
That is not exactly rocket science, but most people would just skip the workout.
Balanced Nutrition
It is a widespread myth that you have to eat a boring, restrictive diet every day to stay fit. While you do have to eat right, you can certainly have a cheat meal once or twice a week if you are really good the rest of the time. I like to plan my cheat meals as follows:
1. A moderate cheat meal on Wednesday night. I'll have what I want for dinner, but will not have a dessert.
2. An €all-out€ cheat meal on Saturday night. I'll splurge on a favorite meal for dinner and have a dessert as well.
When you have these meals to look forward to it is easy to stick to the plan for the rest of the week, and you will still get good results.
All in Moderation
You do not have to be a fitness Nazi to stay in good shape, you just have to make smart diet and exercise choices on a consistent basis. It is better to be €good€ all the time than to be perfect for a week or two and then run out and eat a dozen donuts. Practice moderation and consistency with your lifestyle habits and you will be able to stay fit for the long haul.
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