As we all know 2012 is upon us, and it’s that time when a
lot of people make some kind of New Year’s resolution. There are a lot of popular resolutions, and
one of the most popular ones is to get into shape. I myself have been slacking in my workouts
and plan to seriously restart working out in the New Year. I have never had a problem committing to the
workout and physical aspect of weight loss, but I have always had difficulties
maintaining a descent diet. This time
not only do I plan on trying a new workout program, and I will attempt to
maintain a healthy diet. If you share
the same resolution for the New Year, or just want to get in shape in general
here are five tips that may help you to make some progress at the gym and get
into shape:
1. Show Up –
Just making it to the gym is a large part of the battle. I find that by investing the time and energy
into getting ready for the gym and getting there that I have already won part of the battle of consistently exercising. Working out at home has never
really worked for me because I don’t find that disconnect between the gym and
home. I find it really easy to cop out
of my workouts when I don’t have to go anywhere to do them. Whether it be going to a park to workout, or
to a gym, just getting out and away from home should help to get you moving.
 |
| Electronic Body Fat Percentage Calculator |
2. Size Matters – Although a lot of people like to
gauge their fitness gains by measuring how much weight they have lost it’s not necessarily
the best or most accurate way to gauge your progress. A good way to track how well you’re doing is
measuring your body fat percentage or measuring and recording waist/arm/etc
sizes to show progress. Since muscle
weighs more than fat, you weight could stay the same, but you are actually
losing fat and gaining muscle mass.
Especially as your gains start to shrink, it becomes much more difficult
to track progress with just weight.
3. Be Motivated – When you do show up at the gym,
and do start working out, invest in the time your spending. You are only going to get out of your
workouts what you invest into them. If
you aren't sweating, and don’t feel tired or worn out after your workouts, you’re
probably not pushing yourself. The more
you sweat and harder you work, the more you will get out of the experience.
4. Positive Thinking – Don’t underestimate this one. Most of the time you can push your body
harder than you think you can. If you go
to work out and think that you can’t lift some weight, or run some distance you’re
already fighting a losing battle. The
worst that can happen from thinking positive is that it has no effect. The best that can happen is that positive thinking helps
you. On the other hand the worst that
can happen from thinking negative would be that it hinders your progress. The best case scenario from thinking negative
would be nothing.
5. Track Progress – Something I find very helpful when
working out is writing down everything I do.
Since I like to lift weights I will write the exercise, number or
repetitions, number or sets, and sometimes how I feel for each set. I find that being able to see what I did last
time can inspire me to either maintain that progress, or even try to surpass
it. This can be a double edged sword because
your progress will fluctuate, and there will be times you make no don’t make
progress, or lose some of your gains.
Don’t let this kill your motivation or keep you from wanting to continue
your workouts.
I hope these suggestions help you whether you have some
exercise routine, or plan on starting one soon.
Remember don’t make it a job to exercise, have fun with it, enjoy it,
and stick with it. The say Rome wasn’t
built in a day, and you shouldn’t expect to change in a week. Stay the course and after six months you
should see some real changes take place.
