Getting started is sometimes a bit of a challenge but staying “started” is the tricky part. In my 26 years of experience in the fitness field, I have seen it all. Indeed, I have gained great insight regarding why people seem to fail at their New Year’s Resolutions. Let me share a few tips I have learned through my professional experience.
Motivation/Dedication:
Why have you chosen to make fitness goals? I believe it is important to understand what is driving you. Making this a lifestyle change, a reason to stay healthy to improve all aspects of your life has been proven to be among the best drivers. By making a yearly appointment with a comprehensive medical team, you are most equipped to see your long-term progress. Research boasts that exercise has a plethora of overall health benefits. From weight loss to heart disease, controlling STRESS and diabetes, we really cannot afford to lose our motivation. In fact, exercise reduces the chance for chronic pain. A study following 20,000 people over 11 years found that those who exercised on a regular basis, experienced less pain. And among those who exercised more than 3 times per week, chronic widespread pain was 28% less common.
Accountability:
Multiple means of accountability will ensure success. Choose a workout partner, or two partners, to help you stay on track. Try making a “workout partner contract” with your buddies. For example: “I promise to text you every Monday and Wednesday 2 hours before class.” Make sure your partners understand the plan is to support each other and not “shame” or be negative. Schedule your workouts in advance, and hopefully recurring. Each week, put time aside for exercise and try to not let things infringe on the times you have dedicated to your workouts. Research proves that accountability may help you reach your goals with a higher success rate, faster, and without as many detours. By sharing your desires with others, you now face a consequence for quitting!
Understand the Financial Value:
A recent study concluded that inactivity costs the world economy almost $68 billion annually in medical expenses and lost productivity. In the United States alone, the total was almost $28 billion. The research goes on to state on average, those who exercise save themselves at least $2500.00/year. Those numbers included annual savings of about $400 on prescription medicines and far fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations for people who regularly exercised. Choosing to pay in advance for a fitness program, is both a better value for your pocket book and gives you a reason to SHOW UP! You are worth it, invest in yourself to look and feel better and your bank account will also benefit!
Injury Prevention
To make physical improvements, your body needs to be pushed to an appropriate level where gains can occur. Making sure that your form and intensity are appropriate is KEY! Exercising in an environment with highly trained individuals, a low class to instructor ratio will increase your success! To maximize your exercise gains and minimize injury risk, it is important to be realistic about your activity threshold and to be able to differentiate between moderate muscle soreness and pain. Often, individuals will use an ailment to sideline them from their fitness routine. If one seeks treatment and advice from a professional medical team, they are often able to resume their fitness regime with minimal modifications. VARY your routine! Don’t run every day, don’t lift every day, don’t just stretch every day!
At S2S Functional Performance we have a true team of professionals. We want to be a place you are excited to go to for your fitness needs. Our instructors make the classes interesting, effective and fun. Intensity comes in may forms, from Hard Core, to Yoga, and Pilates. Let us help you get started, whether for the first time or again and we will do our best to help you stay motivated and successful for the long term.
Christi Brown has been in the fitness industry for over 26 years. She is a certified personal trainer and holds a Level II certification in Pilates through Merrithew Health and Fitness. Christi was nominated and WON Best Pilates Instructor of Denton County in 2017. She has blessed the lives of many as a top-notch instructor with S2S Functional Performance since 2009. She started as an aerobics Instructor when her youngest daughter was just turning two years old. She then decided to become a certified Personal Trainer and enjoyed working one on one with clients. After discovering Pilates, she completed every course they offered, and now teaches every kind of class to all age ranges. Both of her daughters are independent adults, and she states, “wow that time went fast. I’ve seen it all and heard it all and even lived through some of the things that cause us to lose our motivation and dedication to our fitness goals.”