January 17, 2017
By Jason Nelson, personal trainer
The beginning of a New Year brings with it a mindset of change and possibilities, all positive, to go forward and make it your best year ever.
Starting a fitness program is exciting, but when the novelty wears off, how do we stay focused?
As trainers, fitness professionals and health coaches, we always emphasize goal setting to keep clients on track. We set short and long term goals and use various types of body composition and performance metrics to increase accountability and adherence to your program. While I strongly agree that these tools are important to clients’ successes, clients need to believe they can achieve their goals. Working together to strengthen that internal belief – system and the desire for change creates a mindset that easily overcomes setbacks.
Transmuting these new and exciting emotions into its physical equivalent cannot be possible without the positive actions that crystallize into habits, which are conducive to success. Strength training, circuit training, boot camps and yoga, to name just a few, are only vehicles to get you there but the habits that facilitate your lifestyle change is the fuel! There are 168 hours in a week. If we dedicate just 5 hours to our health and fitness, is that really enough to achieve even our short term goals, which are set to help keep us motivated to attain the bigger, more elusive ones? It may for a short while but then progress is halted along with motivation. Doubt steps in and then, failure. This is the New Year’s Resolution statistic formula.
The key to avoiding this trap is to manage the time and actions you spend outside of the gym. The habits that you create helps you stay on track with your current program thus increasing your chances of success. Habits such as getting enough sleep, planned meal preparation and limited alcohol, sugar and processed food consumption is the catalyst behind my most successful clients. These habits when combined with emotion and self-belief forms a powerful antidote against negative self-talk which inadvertently leads to failure.
The magazine. It’s rare to find an adult male of any age who has never flipped through an issue of Men’s Health. They are full of great information for men. Every month you can find an article for Rock Hard Abs, Bigger Arms, or Tree Trunk Legs. These are programs that have worked for certain people and in many cases the programs can appeal to the masses. Often, these programs are designed by a personal trainer or exercise physiologist.
Brooklyn Fitness
Global Strongman Gym
Lapine Fitness Studio
PRAKTICE
Triomph Fitness, Health & Wellness
pound.
Between chilly temperatures, shorter daylight hours, travel to visit with family, food-oriented gatherings, and shopping schedules, squeezing physical activity is tough. Turn congested parking lots into opportunities to burn some calories. Park far away from the entrance, and walk at a pace of 4mph. Take the stairs instead of crowded escalators, take longer walks, even book an extra session with us, just make sure you keep moving! Commit to at least 10 minutes a day of exercise. It may not seem like much, but it will help you keep in your routine. Try walking a mile or working out for 10 minutes for every $10 you spend on holiday shopping!
Last week I held a Meetup at As 1 Fitness. I began planning it two months back with owner Mark Merchant. As 1 Fitness has gone through quite a bit of transformation since we did an article on them back in 2013.
I could not have asked for better comments at the end. To hear from attendees, “I thought it was great,” and “Very informative. I really liked the speaker,” was very satisfying. To hear from Mark, “It was awesome!” was super satisfying.
Our speaker, Stacee Mandeville, owner of Redleaf Coaching, provided the trainers with some great public speaking tips. At the top of the list was pausing when speaking to emphasize a point. Something most New Yorkers struggle with is definitely pausing. We always seem to be rushed and cramming things into a packed schedule. The group seemed locked into her every word.
