21 Jan Stick to your fitness goals
Tips that can help you stick to your fitness goals all year.
Have a supportive fitness community or workout buddy
Fitness communities make you happier and can lead to quality friendships. When you regularly work out with others, you make connections and start to develop a group of friends with similar interests. As human beings, we need a sense of belonging, and that sense of belonging is the building blocks of the many friendships we develop in our life. Working out as part of a community also helps to keep people motivated, there is a certain level of accountability that will never be experienced by training alone. If a regular person misses a group class or a workout with a buddy, other group members or the buddy will typically take note and ask about him or her, which helps hold you accountable. Having a fitness community is where one finds the balance between physical and mental fitness and it makes a workout more than just fitness for your body, it enhances your life.
Picking the right type of workout or group class
You may already be active or just starting out. If you already get some type of regular cardio exercise and run, bike, swim, or power walk, that’s a great start, but eventually, you’re going to stop seeing results if you don’t diversify your workout. Since you’ve already got the cardio down, find a class that blends strength training with flexibility. This type of cross-training can also help protect you from injury and will make you stronger, faster, and more fit. Barre classes are all about isolating and working individual muscle groups that lengthen and improve posture, these classes also focus on a great deal of flexibility. If you are just starting out remember to listen to your body and pick classes that meet your level but progress slowly. Sometimes doing an exercise wrong or pushing yourself too much is worse than not doing it at all. Pilates focuses on the natural alignment of the spine and can be very rehabilitative to the body.
If you want to get your cardio and strength training all in one session, picking a fun fast paced high-intensity interval style class that can be found in many types of workouts including TRX, Barre and Pilates will offer aerobic cardiovascular moves that get your heart pumping as well as functional full body exercise that strengthen and tone.
Finding a workout that you like and is fun to do keeps you motivated longer and more likely to stick to the program to meet your fitness goals.
Finding the right Fitness professional
Every fitness journey is unique this is why finding the right fitness professional can make all the difference. Finding the right professional to work with your body type and or injury will provide greater results and enhance your journey. Questions to consider…Does my fitness professional keep me accountable and encouraged. Does my fitness professional help me set small achievable goals? What are my fitness professional’s credentials?
And lastly, ask a fitness professional for testimonials. It’s always a great idea to see how your fitness professional has helped other people in your community.
In the United States Fitness is on a rise. A growing number of professionals are now seeking formal educations. This trend is due to clients becoming smarter about how to pick their fitness professional.