Achieve Your Fitness Goals the SMART Way

January 10, 2020 Leave a Comment

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January is one of the hardest months of the year. We’re feeling the pinch from Christmas, the weather’s terrible, and we’re trying to start the year on a positive note after weeks of overindulging during the festive period. If you’re finding it difficult to stay motivated for your fitness goals in 2020, you’re not alone. Many of us are guilty of setting unrealistic targets and then giving up when we (understandably) struggle to achieve them. If this sounds all-too familiar, then read on for how to meet your fitness targets in 2020 the SMART way.

 

While the SMART acronym is more commonly applied to achieving in business, it can also be an excellent strategy to use in your personal life and goals. Here’s how:

 

S – Specific (simple, sensible, significant): This means not giving yourself a vague target. Let’s take the example of improving flexibility. If you give yourself the resolution of ‘I want to be more flexible,’ there is no way of measuring how or when you have achieved this, or in fact what you are even trying to achieve in the first place. Instead, set a specific goal, for example, ‘I want to touch my toes in forward fold.’

 

M – Measurable (meaningful, motivating): This relates to the specificity of your target again. Being able to touch your toes is a goal you can measure – you’ll know when you have achieved it.

 

A – Achievable (agreed, attainable): Giving yourself a realistic and attainable way of achieving your goal. One of the most common fitness pitfalls is to assume that you’ll see an improvement overnight and become discouraged when you don’t, or to give yourself an enormous mountain to climb. If your overall goal is improving your flexibility, don’t expect to go from nothing to yoga every single morning at dawn. Instead, use the simple goal of wanting to touch your toes, and break down how you intend to go about that. What about including three spine rolls into your usual exercise routine? Or before bed? Start with an achievable breakdown of how you are going to reach your goal.

 

R – Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based): We’ve already talked about having a measurable result (i.e. touching your toes) but have you made sure you have everything you need in order to do this? This particular goal is nicely resource-free, and it’s a great first step to achieving what you want if that’s the case. But if your goal is to improve your swimming, is there a local pool? How are you going to manage this alongside your everyday responsibilities? Consider the club fitness facilities to ensure you have everything you need.

 

T – Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive): When are you going to achieve your goal by? Relating this back to making your target achievable and not expecting immediate results, when is a realistic time for you to have managed to reach your goal?

 

Remember, often the only thing standing in your way is you. Break down your targets and be SMART about them to see real results. 

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No Pain No Gain…Or Is It?!

August 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

People like to say that when thinking about fitness, you can’t have gains without any pain. But there’s a right and a wrong type of pain that you will come across in your time, if you really do get yourself into training. Not only will you experience pain from muscle growth and from body exhaustion, you’ll sometimes feeling that searing pain when you take it just one step too far. Because sometimes, we don’t even realize how hard we’re training, and those of you who are lifting some serious weights because you’ve got into the bodybuilding side of things, you really are at a higher risk. So, we want to show you what you can do to maximize recovery after every single session, prevent the onset of injury, and how to deal with an acute injury if you do get one. So keep on reading, and see if we can ease that pain for you a little.


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Rest Is Vital

 

So when you experience that acute severe pain because something has gone wrong during one of your training sessions, you need to make sure that you’re taking all the rest that you need, after seeing a doctor of course. One of the most common injuries, especially with weightlifting, is lower back injuries. With this, you doctor might suggest that you look at canes, just to support your back whilst you’re moving, and to take some of the weight off of it. But the most important thing that you can do, is take it super easy. It might even be that you need to take a few days off sick to get your back right, and then you can slowly go back to work and get back into the gym. It might be that you’re limited to what moves you can do, something like dead lifts might need to be cut out of your routine for a long while.

 

Lighter Introduction Sessions

 

So when you do get back into the gym after an injury, it’s important to take it super easy. We would suggest doing some light cardio, and weights working an area that isn’t going to target the injured area in the slightest. You should allow a good eight weeks before you start to lift targeting the injured area, and even then it should be the lightest that you can possibly go. Try and bring your training regime down a bit, only for a short time. If you used to train five times a week, go to three times, and slowly work your way back up to five.

 

The Good Pain

 

There are good and bad types of pain that you need to decipher between. Good pain is that ache you begin to feel the next day, and you think yes, I can deal with this. But then day two comes and you can barely walk because of that tight achy feeling. That’s the good pain that you need, and that shows you did a really good session. Try using protein and supplements to reduce the pain felt, and to promote muscle growth.

Filed Under: Fitness

3 Way To Improve Exercise Motivation

June 28, 2018 Leave a Comment

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You wake up in the morning, it’s cold outside, and the last thing you want to do is go for your morning run. You tell yourself you will get back to your exercise program tomorrow.

 

OR…

 

You haven’t even started an exercise routine. You know you probably should, but you don’t have the time. That’s what you tell yourself anyway. You probably have other excuses. Perhaps you don’t have the money to go to the gym. You have too many other commitments. And your Netflix watchlist isn’t going to watch itself. Excuses excuses excuses.

 

BUT…

 

You know, and we know, that your attitude is just wrong. You know that exercise is good for you.  You know that you need to care for your future health. You know that something needs to be done to motivate you, even when you struggle to motivate yourself.

 

SO HOW CAN YOU DO IT?

 

Here are three ways to improve your motivation.

 

  1. Look in the mirror. Are you happy with what you see? Are there signs of flab on your once perfectly formed body? Has your face become riddled with the effects of stress? If you don’t like your reflection, then let that be a motivating factor. Exercise has both physical and mental health benefits. You will feel better both inside and out, and that reflection in the mirror will eventually pose a better reflection for you to look at when you do get yourself into a consistent exercise routine.

 

  1. Invest in new workout clothes. What you wear can have an enormous effect on the way you feel, in both a physical and a psychological sense. Wearing an old pair of sneakers to go running in, and donning that decades-old tracksuit, are two surefire ways to kill your motivation. You wouldn’t want to be seen dead in either, for starters, and they are probably uncomfortable to wear anyway. Do yourself a favor and consider spending money on a new outfit. A new pair of trainers fitted with biopods – check out www.biopods.com – will enhance your look and give you added comfort. A new tracksuit can be fashionable, so you will have the incentive to put it in the morning if looking good is important to you. If you love shopping anyway, investing in new workout clothes will offer you more benefits than yet another new pair of shoes or a handbag!

 

  1. Find a workout partner. Whether it’s a family member or a friend, find somebody who will workout with you. This might be somebody who will take part in the activities you are involved in, or it may simply be somebody who will stand back and cheer you on from the sidelines. Your workout partner will encourage you to be better. They will stop you from giving up. They can provide friendly banter to up the enjoyment factor. And if they do exercise with you, they can also be a source of healthy competition. Going it alone can be tough, especially if you can’t motivate yourself, so find that person who will be a motivating factor to help you keep going, even when you can’t be bothered.

 

So, there you have it. Three ways to motivate yourself to exercise, and to improve your overall health. What are you waiting for? Stop reading now, and start making a plan to get into a fitness program. We wish you every success.

Filed Under: Fitness

Stop Trying To Lose Weight Alone

April 11, 2018 Leave a Comment

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Weight loss may be a personal goal, but that doesn’t mean you should do it alone. Like any challenge, having motivation from other people can help to spur you on. Here are just a few ways to lose weight with the help of other people.

 

Find a weight loss partner

 

Got a friend or family member that also wants to shed the pounds? Trying to lose weight together could be beneficial to you both. You can both motivate one another – when one person doesn’t want to go to the gym or thinks about giving in to an unhealthy food, the other person can help to steer them the right way. Having a weight loss partner may even offer some healthy competition – if they lose more pounds than you in a month, it could spur you to try and do better the next month to try and beat their weight loss.

 

Join weight loss groups

 

There are a large number of weight loss groups that can also provide encouragement. This could be a dieting group such as Weight Watchers in which everyone provides encouragement for each other. Alternatively, it could be an exercise group such as a spin class or a regimental fitness class – not everyone may be there to lose weight, but you’ll still have people encouraging you to work hard and attend the next class.

 

Get guidance from a professional

 

Another option could to hire the help of a professional. This could be a culinary nutrition expert who can help you to come up with a personalised diet or a personal trainer who can create a personalised exercise regime. Not only can these professionals advise you on the best ways to lose weight for your individual needs, they can also provide expert motivation. The incentive of paying for their advice also could encourage you to keep up the hard work.

 

Use weight loss apps

 

Apps may not be human beings, but they can still provide the outside encouragement needed to help you lose weight. There are apps that can count your steps, tell you how many calories are in certain foods, give you meal plan ideas or simply help you record your progress. There are lots of these weight loss apps out there – it could be worth testing multiple ones out until you find one that motivates you.

 

Encourage your friends and family to motivate you

 

Your friends and family can provide a vital influence on how well you follow your weight loss plan. You want to make sure that they’re supporting you – they shouldn’t be talking you out of exercise or eating unhealthy snacks in front of you, but instead helping to make healthy meals for you and driving you to the gym. Have a word with your friends and family if you think they’re being a negative influence. Your friends and family shouldn’t have to change their lifestyle to suit yours, however they should have the respect to let you follow your goals.

Filed Under: fit, Fitness, Health Reviews, Healthy, Uncategorized, Wellness

Cell phone arm band & running belt

January 29, 2018 Leave a Comment

 

Living in South Texas you wouldn’t think the cold weather would be an issue, but this year has been crazy. I was finally in a routine of walking 3 miles every morning with a group of friends only to have that postponed a few weeks due to this crazy weather.

It gave me an opportunity though to find an amazing cell phone arm band to use. I have a huge Iphone 6S plus and it is hard to carry while walking and forget it fitting into any pockets in my workout clothes. This was something I wanted but didn’t realize how much it would help.

We walk along a busy paved road so for safety it is important to have your phone with you at all times. I decided now that the weather has permitted to incorporate some jogging into my morning routine. The running belt works great for my huge phone.

I am super excited to share that if you buy through here: cell phone arm band you will save an addition 30% off the already amazing price.

You do not realize how much this will come in handy until you get one! This year I am focusing on getting healthy and taking care of me! This will surely help me get there!

 

 

Filed Under: Fitness

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