Everybody wants to look like Adonis, nobody wants to work out
We hear it all the time.
You have to work out more. Being physically active is important. Eating healthy is important. Sitting is the new smoking.
So, what if you work all day and just want to relax when you get home? Working out is the last thing on your mind.
Why eat broccoli when there is pizza and beer?
This post is about sparking a fire in you. The reader. I know that eating healthy and being physically active changes who you are. It boosts your energy, your confidence. You start to shine from the inside and incarnate a certain aura.
Don’t let the pain of not working out become too big. I know you can do better than this.
Let’s get to it!
Start slow
If someone would have put me into a boot-camp for 5 hours for a week straight quitting would probably have been one possibility.
It doesn’t matter how slow you go. As long as you move forward. If you’re starting at total zero try getting a short walk in every other day.
Now, I’m sure many of you are more advanced. Maybe even have a gym membership. In this case, you can start with a full body routine 2-3 times a week. This will create the perfect base to build on.
Get a fun workout routine
Now, you managed to get to the gym 2-3 times a week. But your plan is absolutely horrendous. After 5 minutes you wish you could go home.
Don’t do that to yourself.
You won’t stick to it if you hate it.
I see it all the time. People that look like they are about to die never coming back ever again. It’s such a shame.
This is a sport. It is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. So, make sure that your workout plan supports these goals.
Pick exercises that are fun and do the job. Which leads us to the next point.
Keep it simple
Don’t overcomplicate stuff with fancy machines or workout circles.
If you stick to the basics and improve there you will see results. Especially as a beginner but the basics do the job up to pretty advanced levels.
Squats, deadlifts, bench press, pull-/chin-ups, dips, row. Compound movements. Master the movement and improve. The best part is that these exercises are fun.
Try them out.
Accountability
Some people just need a kick in the butt every now and then.
There are a couple ways to achieve accountability.
Get a workout partner. Not the best or easiest way. But it can work in the beginning.
If it’s the two of you that start or better somebody ahead of you making sure you show up you’re less likely to quit.
But what if you can’t find a workout partner or that guy or gal suddenly quits. Or comes up with excuses all the time.
Hold yourself accountable.
Announce somewhere what your goal is. Now, it would be ridiculous to fail, right.
Put your workout sessions on your calendar. Now, there’s a dedicated time for working out. Don’t cancel these appointments you have set up. You are the boss and bosses don’t cancel.
Pick a time and be in the gym at that time. After a while, it becomes second nature.
“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”
Promise your mum that you will get in shape. Whatever. Get creative with this one.
Eat healthy
What? Now you want me to not only work out but change my eating habits? Are you nuts?!
Listen to me. This is not a one-hour-a-day-live-to-200-magic pill. It is an overall change. Where do you want to get your energy from to pull off those workouts?
We are what we eat. Make sure to not treat your body like a waste basket.
Furthermore, it is easier to get your workout in when you eat healthy. It adds to this feeling of doing something good for your body.
Stay hydrated, eat good stuff and work out.
It gets even easier when you (almost) only have healthy foods at home. You can’t eat ice-cream if you don’t have it around.
I don’t want you to never eat chocolate ever again. That’s the wrong approach. Don’t torture yourself. Simply be more aware of what you eat.
Enjoy the process
This is point one on a macro level. Point one describes the micro level. The day to day work
Here I want to tell you that it takes time. There’s no easy way to the finish line.
As a matter of fact, this sport doesn’t have a finish line. For most. There is always something you can improve.
But nonetheless, you can’t expect results too quick.
Don’t give up too early.
Once you see results it becomes an addiction.
It gets easier after the first couple months. You get the hang of it, enjoy the healthy meals. You wouldn’t even know what it would be like to not work out anymore.
Success! Celebrate your small victories and reinforce your newfound habit.
Your body is your most important project
We aren’t our body. We are our mind.
But we live in our body and we need it to do great things.
Visualize what it will be like to have your dream body and start working at it.