1. Have a game plan.
Sit down and write out both your long term and short term goals. So often I talk to people who want to lose weight and get healthier but when I ask them the simple question "What is your goal?" they're lost for a real answer. The start of any journey is having some kind of destination in mind and the journey to getting healthier is no different. Goals should be time-oriented and number based. For example, simply saying "I want to lose weight" isn't sufficient enough because how much weight does this "lose weight" mean -- 5kg, 10kg,... 30kg?! Make definite goals that have definite numbers because only then, once you've established your goals, are you able to map out a method of attack -- a game plan. And once you've written down your goals and game plan, remember to remind yourself of them. A little while back I wrote out a very detailed game plan of my goals (click HERE to check them out) and they're taped on the side of my office wall for me to see on a daily bases.
2. Prep your weekly meals beforehand.
Nothing is worse than coming up to meal time and being so unmotivated to cook. It's very easy to reach for something you perhaps wouldn't usually eat. That's where prepping your meals beforehand definitely scores mad points for helping you continually eat clean. These days I cook all my meals on Sunday and then I simply freeze them. Running a busy boxing club means I really don't have the extra time nor the extra energy to stop what I'm doing to cook a full meal. Instead, all I have to do is simply take one of my precooked meals out of the freezer and zap it in the microwave. A few minutes later and viola, a clean cooked meal is ready.
4. Keep "dirty food" on hand at a minimum.
By the term "dirty food" I am referring here to all snacks and foods that don't exactly fall into the healthy food description for clean eating. This includes such items like chips, chocolate, and ice cream. By keeping less of these items in your kitchen you're less likely to cheat on your clean eating. Out of sight may not mean out of mind but it'll definitely increase your chances of out of mouth.
5. Become a Pinterest junkie.
You think I'm joking but I'm not. Pinterest is an amazing source for not only exercise ideas and recipes but also motivational mantras, affirmations and inspirational before and after stories. I'm very much a visual person so I find the overdose of pictures an excellent source of focus for my own fitness path not to mention it has supplied me with some very challenging exercises to not only incorporate into my own training but also my crossfit classes.
6. Find an exercise you're interested in and incorporate it into your lifestyle.
The fact of the matter is if you like something then you're going to stick with it and exercise really shouldn't be a chore you role your eyes at. Too often I meet people who go all hardcore the first month into training, training every single day, and that's great to see they're motivated but I know at the back of the mind most won't keep it up. Pick an exercise you like and will continue as a part of your lifestyle. If you can continue training 5-6 days a week for the rest of your life then props to you but most likely you won't. You have to learn to think of exercise and staying active as a part of your lifestyle, like going to school or going to work, and not a short time fix.
7. Surround yourself with solid positive people who will help lift you up, not bring you down.
It's hard to be the only one trying to clean up their eating and hit the gym when friends are wanting to hit the local greasy spoon restaurant after a long day of work, I get that. It's important to note here though that you become what you surround yourself with. Friends are kind of like food in the sense that they either help you or hinder you and acknowledging the difference between the two and doing something about it is key. People who are constantly stirring up drama, spreading negative vibes and throwing pity parties aren't not the kind of people you should be hanging out with nor are they the kind of people you should want to be around. They only bring stress into your life and stress is yet another factor that's going to hinder your journey to getting healthy and staying fit. Maturity has taught me this as has opening up my own business. I am busy enough, too busy to deal with someone's immature he-said-she-said pathetic drama. I struggle enough with staying motivated and positive and now I have Pesty Parkers and donut-bringing random people to deal with, so yes you better believe I pick my friends wisely. It's all about quality not quantity.
8. Don't be so hard on yourself -- expect setbacks but learn from them.
Nothing in life is a mistake if it makes you stronger and you learn something from it and the same goes for getting healthy and fit. Sometimes it takes people to hit rock bottom, to have that terrible weigh-in or whatnot, to really re-evaluate things and come back stronger and with more determination.
9. Learn to disconnect yourself from everything and everyone.
In my house (aka my boxing club), I've made a "secret book nook" where I randomly go to escape the busyness of the club, it's loud thumping music and all the members looking for me. Inside my secret book nook is one super comfy chair and shelves stacked with books, pictures of loved ones and memorabilia of favourite past memories. I've got a hockey puck from a game in which one of the Leaf players personally invited me to, a picture of my father that sits smiling back at me when I sit in my chair, a bowl from my honeymoon, and so on. Learning to disconnect yourself doesn't necessarily mean making your own personal secret room but for me it's really helped me. Stress is such a leading factor in fitness failure and personal growth. It affects not only your physical health but also your mental and spiritual health. Prior to moving into Hulk's, my means of disconnecting myself was running -- it was kind of like a two in one perk. I'd get in a good exercise, do my body good and do my mind some good at the same time. Disconnecting yourself could involve something like meditation or simply a walk in the park, reading, or going for a run as was the case with me. The important thing here is to not ignore your mental frame of mind because what's good for the mind is what's good for the body (and what's good for the body is good for the mind). Becoming and staying healthy is very much a mind, body and soul thing so don't forget to keep your mind in check and feed your soul.
10. Don't be the walking textbook example of the word "insanity".
They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. And while people may laugh at me calling them crazy, those who do the same workout over and over or eat the same foods over and over, expecting to reach their fitness goals are really no different. Too often I see people training within their comfort zones. Whether it's the girl who doesn't want to break a sweat and have her bangs stick to her forehead, the guy that always works his chest, or the boxer who does the same routine day in and day out, they kind of are examples of insanity. It's only when you train outside of your comfort zone that the "magic" and changes happen. One of the ways I really try to help my members train out of their comfort zone is by hosting my daily crossfit classes. Often I even take it a step further and change some of the weights certain members pick up to use, to give them an even bigger push. And my weekend Crossfit Challenger class, it's exactly what its title suggests -- it's a challenge, even for me.
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