Reach Your Fitness Goals Easier and Faster

Achieve Your Fitness Goals

You are successful in many areas of your life. Your finances are in order, your relationships are solid, and your career is on an upward trajectory. You are now at that phase in life where you would like to become fit again. To feel strong and energized and comfortable in your body. Yet, you try and try and you seem to "fall off the wagon" too often.

What's the best workout program? What is the best dietary program? Seems everywhere you look the are opposing viewpoints.

Is it one that will give you the biggest pecs in the shortest time? Or the strongest glutes and thighs? May the one that focuses on improving movement and preventing injury?

Should you follow low carb? Or low fat? Should you become vegan or go carnivore? 

Or should your fitness and nutrition programs be just fun and enjoyable?

That last one was along the right lines but really the best program is the one you stick to.

Look even if you are sticking to a poorly designed training program will get you stronger and fitter and closer to where you want to be. Consistency outweighs specificity.

Even if you're just doing push-ups and pull-ups with no rhyme or reason – that's better than nothing. Even if you are just cutting out junk food it is better than relentlessly counting calories and tracking your macros.

Just doing something is way more beneficial than a professional training program full of mesocycles and rest periods and splits, or using fancy gadgets to measure every biorhythm and fluctuation before and after meals.

Set Yourself Up to Win

Keep it simple. One of the worst things that can happen with any program is that you fail to stick to it and get disheartened. If you give up after the first week this doesn't just put you back at square one – it puts you at square one along with additional guilt and disappointment. And that in turn means you're less likely to stick to your future fitness and health goals – if you even have the courage to attempt them!

The most important thing to think about when starting a new training program is to make sure that your goals are achievable so that you can keep making progress and keep winning.

Keep Your Goals Small and Manageable

And one of the best ways to do this is to keep your goals small.

Matt Mullenweg is the founder of WordPress and is pretty well known for his 'systems' approach to thinking. Matt said that when he wanted to get back to fitness, he started by deciding to do just one push-up a day. This low barrier to entry is a very logical way to start exercising.

Similarly, deciding not to snack after dinner is a decent way to start a fat loss program. 

One push-up a day or not snacking after dinner is something everyone can do. I don't think it is even worth the effort to talk yourself out of one push-up.

Matt's simple one push-up goal would often energize him into doing more push-ups. And he'd feel a sense of achievement for having done them.

That sense of achievement is what restores belief in yourself. Stringing days together is what creates the habit of exercising.

To be successful at starting a new health regime, you need to be successful. And this all starts by writing goals that are highly achievable so that you're setting yourself up to win and not setting yourself up to fail.

Bonus tip: Check off your achievement. As the checks add up they will bolster your sense of accomplishment. As you build the momentum you will build the courage and desire to raise the bar.

Don't forget: Keep it simple - have a low barrier for entry. Habits take time. Be patient with yourself. 

Learn more with Living This Life Well.