The 6 Questions You MUST Ask Yourself if You Want to Get Fit!!

You often hear me talk about how one thing affects another with exercise and fitness programs.  For instance, if you constantly exercise without warming up, then your chance of injury is enhanced, or if you don’t address nutrition, then your body will eventually break down if you continue to exercise.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “I just want to get a little momentum going by starting my exercise program, and I’ll worry about the nutrition later…it’s just too overwhelming for me right now”. Famous last words.

Don’t worry, this isn’t another rant to get you to eat well.  You’re all adults, and can take responsibility for what goes in your mouth.  This is more about the synergy of putting an exercise program together that works and challenges your current thought process.  You’ve heard me mention the term synergy before.  It refers to a holistic approach…combining good nutrition, strategically placed cardio workouts, and resistance-based workouts that build a little lean muscle to burn more fat.  All of this, however, doesn’t matter if your head isn’t in the right place.

As a fitness trainer, I see frustration set in all too often.  It usually comes about from as a result of a few different reasons…namely unrealistic expectations about what can be achieved with what effort, and in what amount of time.  It all really boils down to that, doesn’t it?  It’s the basis for all trainer/client arguments.  We all want to have our cake and eat it too, but like anything else in life that’s hard to do.

In this realm, my challenge to you this week is to take some time and ask yourself a few serious questions about your personal fitness quest…whether you are currently working with a trainer or not.  I’ve come up with 6 of them that are crucial.  Here they are…

1)      Am I committed? – Sounds trite, but really, this is the basis for which all successful exercise programs boil down to.  How do you really know?  A few examples…If you miss a training session, do you make it up?  Are you willing to come at a different time to make sure you make it up (even if that means getting up at the crack of dawn)?  Are you willing to say NO when the gals get together and are pressuring you to eat this or drink that?  Are you willing to make yourself a healthier version of what you are making the kids? If not, it might be time to re-evaluate some things

2)      Am I putting myself in an environment that is conducive to success? – What’s in the pantry?  You know as well as I do that if it’s around, temptation abounds!  Is your spouse supportive of your cause?  Not to meddle in your marriages or relationships, but I can speak from experience that when both parties are not on the same page, then it might be a bit difficult to keep a lean physique.  Look, you know how us guys are; sometimes we need to have things explained in black and white.  If your guy is the one that is always encouraging the, let’s say…
“high-calorie social stuff”, it might be time to have a talk with him.  Listen, I don’t know of any guy who would be against a wife’s cause to get fit.  He’ll understand….and maybe he’ll hop on board with you.  He’s getting a little spare tire too J

3)      Have I set realistic expectations based on my current fitness level? – You didn’t get here in a day, and you certainly won’t get out of here in a day.  Can you get aggressive and see major results in a short period of time?  Absolutely!  It’ll take what I like to call “massive action” though, and the journey doesn’t include excuses such as “I can’t” or “I won’t”.  Furthermore, ask your trainer to help your properly assess what is achievable in what time period for what age.

4)      Do I trust my trainer and what he or she says? – This might be bigger than you think.  Why did you hire your trainer or boot camp instructor?  That is what you did.  You didn’t just pay for an exercise class with he or she because they looked pretty did ya?  There’s a lot of crap trainers out there…I’ve seen them in action.  So the question is…do you trust them?  If not, you might want to consider getting on the same page as your trainer.  If you haven’t already, open a dialogue.  If you don’t know where your trainer stands on certain fitness issues, then have a sit down.  Communicate!  You don’t want to end up in a situation where you are going against your trainer because you heard from a friend that it’s not OK to eat carbs.

5)     Do I drink too much wine? – Just a general throw in question

6)    Am I pushing myself to the max when I work out? – Generally speaking, best results occur when we push our bodies to the MAX!  What does that mean?  Well, it means that when you are finished, you should feel spent.  If you are spending more than an hour on any workout, then chances are you are not working out hard enough, or efficient enough.  Digressing to my statement above about “not getting here overnight”, body fat is a stubborn thing.  You must “wage war” on it to get rid of it.  That means attacking each workout like you want to get rid of it.   This includes general resistance training AND cardio.

There you have it…6 crucial questions to ask yourself.  If there is any doubt or confusion to any of the above, take some time to re-evaluate and set some goals (or new goals) to keep you motivated and focused.  Put those goals on paper and review them a couple times per day.  They’ll become ingrained, and you can’t help but be successful.  Have a great weekend!

Jason

Quotes for the week –

“Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves–to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today, to do our work with more force than ever before” ~Stewart Johnson

“Did you ever wonder if the person in the puddle is real, and you’re just a reflection of him?
~Calvin and Hobbes

Did you know that BodyBack! Boot Camps in now offering a BEGINNER’S Boot Camp!  In our Women’s only Beginner’s class you will be able to progress at your own pace with the guidance and instruction from our Certified Instructors.  Each class will combine cardio, strength training, and core exercises that work the entire body.

We are limiting the spots in the Beginner’s class to ensure you receive the individualized attention needed…so that means the spots are going to fill up fast!!

This class is available during our 5:30am and 9:00am classes so don’t miss out!  Click on the link below and sign up now! 

http://www.mariettabootcamps.com/marietta-boot-camps-registration.html

If you would like more fitness and weight loss tips click the “Free Report” link to the right of this article and get my latest reports “Finally…The Truth About Weight Loss” and “10 Ways to Lose Weight…FAST!”  They will be emailed to you immediately!