This post is part of a series called Fitness for Beginners - check out my last post here, if you'd like to see the post explaining my motivation for this series, click here.
Motivation is great, but living a healthy lifestyle is about making habits...
Motivation never lasts forever, think of it as the spark that starts the fire, it's vital for a successful fire, but fire isn't just a bunch of sparks. Fitness in any form is about making a plan and sticking to it, motivation is there when you need to create the plan and it's the thing that helps you give it your all, but you shouldn't rely on it. Nobody stays motivated forever...
Habits
You need to make healthy habits like working out each morning, taking a walk each night, drinking plenty of water at lunch break etc.. At first you will hate getting up early, having to leave your warm bed to take a walk, feeling bloated from drinking more water than you're used to... But over time you'll get so used to it, you won't even know you're doing it.
Motivation kicks in at times like these:
- you wake up in the morning and feel sick, but you still get a work out in.
- it's really cold outside and you really don't want to leave your cozy home, but you still go for a walk, because progress is more important to you than laziness.
- you really don't have time for a lunch break, so you take a drink with you to keep your body hydrated.
Making habits
Habits shouldn't be just vague statements like work out in the morning etc.. You need to be very specific at what you're going to be doing or you'll just be wasting your time. Make a real plan like : "When I wake up in the morning, I'm going to do 100 pushups, a 3 km run and 50 squats." That way you know exactly what to do and don't waste your time thinking about what you meant by working out.
Having fun
Fitness should become a hobby for you, something you're proud of doing and look forward to. Don't just blindly follow a fitness plan you hate, don't take away foods you love, you can still get in shape while enjoying things you like.
Stressing out over results
Fitness is a long term effort, there is no healthy way of getting in shape fast. Don't constantly measure your body, don't stare at your weight every morning, you're working hard, listening to good advice, eating the way you should - results are coming, so stop stressing over them.
If you stress about your looks everyday, you are setting yourself up for a path of horrible self image issues I wouldn't wish on anyone. Diseases like Bulimia, Anorexia and others are a really horrible thing to be dealing with, so please take fitness as a long term hobby that you do mainly for fun, always think long term.
How to make it fun
Instead of challenging yourself to look a certain way, challenge yourself to accomplish some fitness goal, make small increments as you get better, always challenge yourself, don't just blindly follow a workout routine that no longer works for you:
- I'd like to do 1 pushup.
- I'd like to walk up stairs without heavy breathing.
- I'd like to be able to hold the plank position for a minute.
- I'd like to run a 1k run without sweating through my shirt.
- I'd like to benchpress 135 lbs.
- I'd like to be able to do a handstand.
- I'd like to master the human flag.
- I'd like to benchpress 350 lbs....
Write all your little goals down and as you progress through time change the former sentences the following way:
- I can do 1 pushup.
- I can walk up the stairs without heavy breathing.
- I can hold the plank position for a minute.
- I can run a 1k run without sweating through my shirt....
If you find the next goal too difficult, look at all the progress you already made, you started from the bottom and now you're here, if you keep going you're going to become legend.
Breaking down difficult goals
Always break down hard goals into smaller parts, you can't go from a pushup to benchpressing 350 lbs :
- 1 pushup
- 5 pushups
- 10 pushups
- 35 pushups
- 50 pushups
Move to benchpress, you're too strong for pushups:
- 135 lbs
- 150 lbs
- 175 lbs
- 200 lbs
- 225 lbs etc...
Gradually make your way to your goal and when you reach it, set a higher goal !
Hitting plateaus
The better you get, the harder it's going to be to improve yourself even further. You won't be making the same gains you did before, when you start noticing this, it's time to congratulate yourself, you're getting to a point where you can't get any better!
That doesn't mean you can't improve by smaller steps, maybe you won't be adding 25 lbs to your benchpress every week like you did before, but you can still add 5 lbs a week etc. When you can't make any more progress, try a different approach, focus on parts of you that are underdeveloped and progress those. You can lift 400 lbs, but do you know what photosynthesis is ?
You know what photosynthesis is, but do you know how to secure your future financially ? etc.. etc..
There is always room for improvement, so stop pretending you don't see it !
