Oct 23, 2020

I speak from experience when I say that it is difficult to commit to something. And especially when this is a lifestyle change or something what your body and mind sometimes try to reject and/or work against.😥

You want, for example, to be able to run a 5K without a break or some rest during that run. Starting with the first run is quite easy. But during the run you will find out that there are a few things you haven’t thought about or are different from your expectations. It can be boring, difficult, you don’t know what you’re doing. Your motivation decreases, you skip a workout and after a while you can start at zero again. 😕

Aren’t you tired of going through that same cycle over and over again? I totally get that and to help you I have made a list of some tips for everyone who wants to start a new fitness journey. This doesn’t have to be fitness, it can be all kinds of sports activities like: running, dancing, cycling, swimming and much more!🥳

📝𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬
The first and most important thing to do and make sure that you’re getting closer to what you want to accomplish is writing down your goals. Make a plan. Write down your Why? What? And How? This will make it visual, clear and easy to follow and keep track of. I’ll show you an example:
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭?
I want to lose weight. Again, why? Because I can't do what I love anymore and I feel insecure about my appearance. Why? Again. I weigh too much and this makes my knees hurt during physical activity.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞?
I want to lose …KG in … Weeks. I want to be able to run 1 km without taking a rest and I want to get rid of the pain in my knees
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬?
Eat healthier and a bit less. Work out for at least 30 minutes 4 times a week, so I need to get a gym subscription. Schedule the workouts before the next week starts. Stick to the plan and don’t miss a workout.

🤝𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
If you commit yourself to this journey you will begin to notice that it gets easier when you stick to your schedule. Also, you will notice that it’s really difficult to get back on track when you miss only one workout. So, my tip: Don’t even miss one workout! And what if your day changes and you don’t have time for a whole workout? Just do something different! Switch it up, do a home workout instead of going to the gym. But do not skip the workout.

💣𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐮𝐩
Most people who start a new commitment immediately go all-in and put a lot of time and energy into it and that’s okay! But it costs you a lot and you will most likely give up faster this way. Get your Why, What and how and start making a schedule. Start with 3 days a week and scale this up when things go well. Don’t quit when it starts to get too hard, just adapt your schedule a little.

👯𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲
It has been proven that when you make an appointment or tell someone you are going to do something, the chance that you will not do it is greatly reduced. This is true because you don’t want to disappoint another or let them think that you’re lazy or weak. So start today by joining a running group, sign up for the group lessons at your local gym, make appointments with friends of a personal trainer to do a workout. This will really help you to stay motivated and you might have some fun as well!

👍𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬
you will face setbacks in everything you do. And this isn't bad, this doesn’t mean that you can't do it or that you'll have to give up or need to find something else. Just take a little time to think, evaluate and stick to your commitment. It’s possible that you need to change something in your schedule, but that’s okay! You learn from setbacks, and they make sure that you’re doing the right thing and that you stay on the right path.

📈𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
How awesome is it to see progression? Everyone gets happy by seeing what they've accomplished. This generates motivation and makes you want to stick to what you’re doing because it obviously works. Write down the weights you’re using, the amount of KM you have run, the amount of KG you’re weighing at the moment. I promise that when you stick to your commitment and when you look at your results one month from the day you started that there will be a positive difference.

🤩𝐓𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧
It is more likely to stick to something you like instead of doing something you don’t even like to do. So make it fun. As I’ve said before: partner up. Fitness doesn’t have to be boring. Listen to music you like, run through that beautiful park or join a family boot camp.

🏋️‍♀️𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬
How cool is it to do something you never thought that you could do. Like doing 10 push-ups on your toes, being able to do one pull-up, run for 5k straight or something else challenging. This will make your journey a bit more competitive. Give yourself, or let someone else think of something, a challenge and a time cap.

I hope this is going to help you with your journey.😄

Don't forget to share your accomplishments during your journey.❤️

Lisa Westera