Hello to all the fitness lovers! This guest post is definitely one for you. It highlights 5 very important tips for how you can achieve your fitness goals and comes from Will who is a fitness enthusiast looking to share his knowledge.
Will’s passion began after completing the famous Arnold Schwarzenegger Blueprint challenge back in 2011. Throughout the years he has researched in abundance on how the body reacts and changes to different exercises/foods.
If you’d like to get in touch please feel free to tweet him @Will_Chiverz. He’d love to know your fitness methods!
5 Motivation Tips For Reaching Your Fitness Goals
One of the hardest aspects of keeping fit is motivation. Some days, you may find yourself inexplicably compelled to go above and beyond your goals, and others you’ll feel utterly deflated, wondering to yourself what it’s all for? When you start questioning your goals, your motivation ends up suffering drastically. As such, you’ll feel less and less compelled each day to actually work-out in any capacity, and having nothing to keep you going could put you at a dead end.
When it comes to motivation, it comes down to what works for you personally. Motivation is a mental trait, and we all have something that spurs us on each day; it’s up to us to channel these sentiments and put them to use in reaching our fitness goals. Everyone has their own personal motivating factor, but there are plenty of other effective means of motivation that everyone should consider when aiming to improve their fitness.
1: Notice Your Progress
The progress you’ve made can be the biggest motivator of all. It can take a while to realise just how far you’ve come, but all it takes is a little reminder for you to clock on; could be a noticeably trimmer waistline, wearing a pair of jeans that you previously couldn’t fit into, or even a compliment from someone before you realise just how well you’ve done.
Use the progress you’ve made so far to keep you going, especially at times when you’re struggling; seeing your achievements manifest themselves physically can be hugely rewarding. Just remember, if you can get to this point, think how much further you could go! You certainly don’t want all your hard work so far to go to waste, so keep up the good work.
2: Use your Fitness to Help Others
Sometimes, our own health and wellbeing isn’t enough to keep us going. In these cases, pledge your ongoing fitness efforts to helping others and you’ll feel a lot worse about potentially bailing on them. Sign up for some charity runs or bike rides; these will help not only diversify your established work-out routines, but also increase your fitness level with some new challenges.
Most charity events require you pass a certain fundraising threshold in order to compete. Start raising money as soon as possible to ensure your place in an event, as well as to ensure you don’t give up at the first hurdle.
3: Diversify Your Workout
As I previously mentioned, adding some variety to your fitness routine will ensure you don’t get bored or overly used to your existing routine. Not spicing up your workout with some variation means your body becomes acclimatized, and therefore your exercise is much less effective. This is a very common catalyst for killing motivation and can feel like a massive roadblock for many people. If you need a change of scenery, do some exercise in your local park, or start a home gym. You can pick up some of the one of Best elliptical under 1000 dollars and you can find more gym equipment for less. There’s no excuses, you just have to find the right environment to work in.
If you find yourself in this position, it’s essential not let it get to you. Take it as your body becoming stronger and in need of some new exercises to take you to that next level; kind of like a checkpoint of sorts. Do your research, learn something new, and give it a try at least once. You never know, it could be something you want to try again!
4: Treat Yourself
Whilst it’s great that you’ve found the discipline to work towards your fitness goals, you’ll never reach them if you’re too strict on yourself. Taking the time to enjoy a treat every so often is just as important to your ongoing success as discipline itself. If you’ve had a particularly good week, there’s nothing wrong with spoiling yourself at the weekend with something sweet or saturated.
Some people recommend treating yourself with a night off from your usual exercise routine, but I believe this is a bad idea, as it can lead to bad habits which potentially break the cycle of discipline you’ve worked very hard to establish. Unless it’s an emergency, always follow through with your workout to keep yourself on track.
5: Have Fun
This is a slight extension of our previous point, but is still relevant in itself. If you don’t enjoy your workouts or exercise routines, you’ll find it infinitely harder to maintain any motivation at all. Try to find little nuggets of joy in everything you do. Focus on the positive aspects of conducting your workout and you’ll find yourself on a much more resilient path to success.