If you want fitness success, you have to have the right mindset. Exercising and eating healthy is more than just a physical activity, it takes focus and is just as much of a mental activity, too. When you workout, you’re not just training your body, you’re training the neurons in the brain. There have been a number of studies showing that mental practice helps improve performance as much as physical practice. Visualization has helped both Olympic champions improve their performance, as well as helping POWs survive and remain as healthy as possible in extremely poor conditions.
When you change your mindset, you can also change your outcome.
Do you dread going to the gym? It might show in how hard you workout and even in your results. It’s far easier to skip a workout when you have a negative attitude and allow things like feeling slightly out of sorts or a tough day get in the way. Find ways to give yourself a mental hug for every successful activity or each time you not only conquered your goal but exceeded it.
Being a curmudgeon never got anyone fitter.
Picture all the crabby people in your head. You don’t often think of attractive ones, but old curmudgeons that could kill Tinkerbell with their bad attitude. If you’re overweight, don’t beat yourself up because of past indiscretions with food. You can’t change the past, just make a better, more appealing future. Leave negativity at the door and don’t think of your workout as punishment, but a treat for your body to become healthier.
Don’t let the scales slap you around, they’re your helper, not your master.
Too often I see people fearing a weigh-in and even getting depressed when the numbers aren’t what they hoped. Of course, you have to track your progress, but weight loss isn’t the only one to track. Some times, you lose inches instead of pounds. Muscle weighs more per cubic inch than fat does, so a pound of muscle will take up less space, which means you lose inches, but not pounds. That’s still great!!! AND IS PROGRESS. Don’t weigh in every hour, but save it for once or twice a week at the same time each day.
- The gym may be where you start your effort for a healthier life, but it’s not the ultimate place. You workout to have energy for an active lifestyle. Remember that. Doing fun, active things for enjoyment is just as important. Go out dancing, take a hike or ride a bike!
- Find ways to boost your fitness on a daily basis. Park further from the grocery store door, take the stairs at work or get up and walk a few minutes of each hour.
- Enjoy your workout more with a workout buddy. Not only will working out with someone keep you accountable, it makes it more fun. It’s one reason our small group training is so popular.
- If you want to create more of a social atmosphere, get a group to sign up for Body Sculptors’ online program for healthy eating and exercise. Make it a guys’, couples’ or girls’ project toward good health and use it for socializing and fitness.