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The first thing to know about getting fit is that you absolutely can do it. The second is that no program, diet, pill or drink has the magic power to turn a person overnight into a lithe creature from Greek mythology. You can do this, but it can’t happen in twenty-four hours. Part of any workout program should be to confront the reality that what you are about to do is to change your lifestyle. If you are only planning to work out for a couple of days and give it up if it doesn’t work, you might as well not begin. Getting fit is about more than just physical toning; it’s about mental, emotional and spiritual health. It’s not as complicated as any of it sounds and while there are dozens upon dozens of programs involving exercise or diet or both available; don’t let yourself get caught up in the hype. Just because Atkins worked for a friend, doesn’t mean it will work for you. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it, but pay attention because diet and exercise are both components of fitness, not separate ways of achieving it. Commitment to a fitness program is not just saying you will give it a shot for a week or two. Commitment means you are going to give it every effort, for many months and not let discouragement force you to quit. The first workouts are not the hardest. The second workouts aren’t the hardest. It’s after those workouts in week two or three when you are sore or tired or worked too late or got up too early. It’s in the third and fourth weeks that the excuses come out; little bit by little bit. If you tell yourself that you can’t, you begin to erode your own confidence. Psyching yourself to get fit requires you to recognize that it’s both a long-term and short-term project. You need to recognize that there are going to be some initial drawbacks; the easiest to identify is the muscle soreness your body is going to experience. Accept that soreness is not a bad thing. Pain is bad. Soreness is the body’s way of communicating that the muscles did the job they were asked to do and they are now repairing themselves. It’s a promise that they will be stronger and more flexible next time. By accepting that you will be sore, you are mentally preparing yourself for the challenges facing the body. Your body won’t fail your mind as long as your mind doesn’t shy from the task. So now you’ve made the decision to get fit. Your decision may mean you’ve decided to buy a bike and ride it three times a week; join a gym or use the one at work; get some home based exercise equipment or walk the dog twice a day on longer and longer routes. You’ve made the commitment and told someone about it. That’s actually the easiest step of all, because that step doesn’t require any physical action. It’s only a thought; it’s not quite real yet. The next step is action. Many plans recommend that you find a fitness partner – whether it’s your spouse or a friend, to work out with. Some recommend a personal trainer. The reason a fitness partner or a personal trainer benefits you beyond the obvious benefits of companionship and/or expertise, is the far more important aspect of accountability. The accountability factor means you disappoint more than just yourself if you don’t show up for the workout. Moreover, if you have a personal trainer, failure to show up often means you’ve paid for a training session you didn’t use. That by itself can often be a source of motivation. Yes, personal trainers can be expensive. However, it may help to view hiring one as an investment in oneself. No one enjoys losing an investment. Thus, we tend to work harder when there’s money at stake. And although engaging a personal trainer can be cost prohibitive for many people, many trainers offer packages that lower cost if you buy a bulk number of sessions. Overall, there is a benefit to using a personal trainer that may make the cost worth it. A personal trainer can really help during the first few weeks of your exercise program by encouraging you to stay committed. Trainers know what you are going through. They can encourage, support and help you over the hurdles. They won’t laugh when you mess up and they won’t think your questions are stupid. They will tailor the workouts to emphasize the areas where you are weaker and to keep the workouts different and challenging. Personal trainers can teach you a lot about not only the equipment but also the way to maintain your own program and have fun. Can you get fit without a personal trainer or an expensive gym membership? Absolutely. Walking is free. Once you’ve bought a bike, so is biking. There are exercises for flexibility and strength that don’t require investing a lot of dollars, but they do require a lot of commitment. Deciding you need to get fit is easy. Acting is harder. More than sixty percent of all people who decide to get fit because it’s New Year’s don’t make it past the second month of the year. So, the New Year may be less than the optimal time to get started on your fitness program. Also, you may not want to plan your workout on what you ‘think’ of as the first day of the week. Mondays, or first days of the week, are stressful days for many people. If your first ‘work day’ of the week is a Sunday, then don’t workout on that day to start off. Choose a Tuesday or a Wednesday, pick the time of day you feel most upbeat and energetic. Someone who s to get up early is going to be more likely to shut off the alarm than bounce up every morning to run two miles. Arrange your workout program to maximize your chances to succeed. The final step is to choose a fitness plan that works for you. If you running, you will not get into shape running. It’s not because running doesn’t promote physical health, but when was the last time you could really make yourself do something you didn’t enjoy day in and day out? If you like to dance, try aerobics whether at the gym or with a home video. More people stay fit by doing what they enjoy than by forcing themselves to do something they don’t like. If you don’t know what you would enjoy, experiment. Do something different each week, until you discover where your preferences lie. It’s very important to note that anything you do that causes real pain, not just soreness, is probably not good. Muscles should be exercised to fatigue, not failure. Sharp, pain will not make you more fit; quite the opposite, it will likely encourage you to give up exercising. When you work out at a time of day when your energy is high, at an activity you enjoy, your motivation to keep it up is going to be higher. When you feel the pleasant burn – yes, pleasant – in your muscles at the end of a workout, you will have accomplished one goal. There are early returns on any fitness program: self-respect, achievement, better sleep and less stress. Beyond those early returns, avoid the temptation to measure yourself in the first few weeks of your program. You can achieve a better sense of overall fitness. You can get healthier. You can be happier. You can enjoy exercise more than you do now, and you can do it all in so many ways that you are sure to find the way that makes it enjoyable and worth committing to. Be positive, decide to exercise, and do it. There will be days when you wake up and just plain don’t feel like working out, these are the days when it is most important that you do not skip the routine. Don’t surrender! Getting fit is a lifestyle change and it takes place gradually. When you are forced to miss a workout and you genuinely regret it for no other reason than you miss the feeling of it, then you’ve arrived. You’ve taken yourself to a place where you are embracing fitness and making it a part of you. It takes less time than most people think to get to that place. ________________________ By Heather Long
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