“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh
I can’t stress enough the importance of small details that we often overlook or choose not to notice during our fitness journey. But these little things often matter the most to your success in any fitness program you are following! Of course we all have our own way of dealing with difficulties and obstacles which loosing weight and becoming more physically fit is. Some people can adapt to a drastic lifestyle change quickly, some don’t, and the majority of us can deal with a transformation of our daily habits pretty well if done in a step-by-step approach. So if you belong to the latter group and go at your pace then make sure that this pace (1) exists (meaning you took more then just one step) and (2) it isn’t too slow to get you at your final “destination” of a lean, toned and healthy body.
I often see people who think that their decision to take on a fitness regimen such as hiring a trainer, purchasing a workout plan or signing up for a gym is a guarantee of success…
“I’m showing up for my workouts with the trainer 3 times a week. What else do you want from me?”
“I signed up for a fitness challenge. I’m doing what I can if I have time of course”
“I just purchased a membership at that new hip studio. I’ll try to go 3 times a week. That should be enough.”
Loosing weight and re-sculpting your body is not like going to your hairdresser for a cut. A mere fact of having “an appointment” at the gym doesn’t mean anything! It doesn’t mean you’ll get intense enough workout, it doesn’t mean you can now allow yourself a little cheat meal every other day, it doesn’t mean you can actually loose weight or build a strong muscle in 3 months just because you’ve set up this random deadline. All three scenarios mentioned above are just an example of making the first step! Yes, just one step! But your success will depend on much more.
And there are just a few more “small things” that are absolutely crucial in achieving the “great things” for your body and fitness:
- Reevaluate your diet. Even if you think you know it all, even if you are vegan/vegetarian/paleo, etc…Make sure you are supporting your fitness goals with proper nutrition. You’ll be surprised but 90% of people who come and tell me: “I’m eating very healthy. My diet is good. Nutrition isn’t the reason why I’m not loosing weight….bla-bla-bla” are clueless about healthy eating! So please review its basics one more time, there is always something to learn and improve. (READ MORE–>BASICS OF HEALTHY NUTRITION)
- Make sure your workouts are intense and challenging. What doesn’t challenge you – doesn’t change you! If your muscles are not burning at the end of every set than you should either increase the weight or the number of reps. It’s that simple! Don’t look for an easy way out unless you are genetically blessed Victoria Secret Model type… So yoga won’t normally contribute to a significant weight loss in an average individual. Just so you know.
- Don’t slack off during your session with a trainer or in a class. Leave your drama at home! Gym is a place to WORK out. If you trust that your trainer can help you in achieving a goal then you should trust his/her methods! Women up girl!
- Exercising doesn’t excuse your bad food choices. Yes, you may have 1-2 cheat meals during the week even if you are trying to loose weight but the rest of your diet must be very clean & healthy! In some situation even 1 cheat meal a week is a luxury. Just think about it, you’ll need to burn EXTRA 3500 calories to loose a pound of fat a week. Consider that your average cardio session rarely require more than 300-500 calories.
- Step-up your cardio. If you are able to multitask during you cardio session (e.g. watch TV or read while on a cardio machine) then you absolutely have to step up your game! I understand that for some beginners even fast walking can be challenging. And this is totally ok because the key word here is “CHALLENGING”! Find a challenging pace for your level, try to keep it for 1-min and then slow down until you can breath normally. Repeat these intervals 7-10 times and you’ll end up completing a very intense and efficient cardio workout!
- Follow a workout program. Doing random workouts from some fitness app or taking classes at the gym is an option for an experience exerciser, a person who maintains certain (existing) fitness level or simply concern with health benefits of physical activity. For everyone else it’s extremely important to have a program – a systematically organized fitness routine that is designed based on your goals. If you hire a personal trainer then you have nothing to worry about besides following the regimen he/she develops for you. That’s the perfect scenario.(READ MORE–>MEET YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER) If you pick an online fitness program that fits your level, this is great too because you’ll have an exercise plan, weekly schedule, tutorials and sometimes other helpful tools. It’s way more budget friendly but will require a good amount of self discipline. (LEARN MORE–>12-WEEK FITNESS GUIDE”FIT EVER AFTER”).
Happy Transformation!
