How To Get Back On Track With Your Fitness Resolution

How To Get Back On Track With Your Fitness Resolution

HAPPY  SPRING from the number 1 choice for personal training in St. Petersburg Florida for over 50 bodies !

I just love this time of year with the humidity free coolness to the air and the extra  hours every night to enjoy all that St Petersburg has to offer ! It’s also that time of year where people fall into 1 of 2 categories.

They are either part of  the 25%  who are still headed towards their fitness goals like the  group fitness training members in our Downtown St Pete and Tierra Verde Groups or, more than likely, part of the 75% who have given up and abandoned their dreams of a more fit, energetic body that looks and feels amazing.

Have you ever noticed that every January, our T.Vs,  Magazines  social media outlets are  flooded by “fitness experts” and articles with their best tips, tricks and “how to’s” about keeping motivated and achieving your new year’s resolution? (Raises hand, we  do it too).

After 20 years as a personal trainer and fitness consultant, I’ve also noticed that 75% of people fail to reach their goals and have long since abandoned any hope of fitness or feeling good until it’s time to “diet for swim suit season” . That just doesn’t work for a person who has spent 20 years teaching and empowering people to step off the dieting merry go round and achieve life in a body they love and that’s why I’m sitting inside on this glorious Sunday writing this post

If you are part of the 25% , CONGRATULATIONS !

If you are part of the 75%, you are not alone. Most  people begin an exercise program with vigor only to abandon it before Easter.

Don’t worry. If you don’t want to be running for the latest starvation diet to get back into your swimsuit come May or June,  there is still plenty of time to get yourself on track and ROCK your spring and summer clothes. Check out my post Simple Steps for Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions.  I guarantee it’s different than any other “how to keep your resolution” articles you have read. These are  the very same tools and strategies  our group fitness program members and personal training clients have been using for 20 years to be part of the 8% who live in bodies that look and feel decades younger than they are !  In fact, 92% of our group fitness members and private training clients who started with us for our Hot For The Holidays and Total Body Transformation Challenge are still going strong towards their goals ! It’s worked for them and I promise it  will work for you !

If you are part of the 25% still on track towards your goals.. WOOOHOOOO .  Here are your next milestones, the pitfalls that usually derail folks and what YOU can do to overcome them and be part of the 8% !

WEEK 12 THROUGH MONTH 6: Almost there

PROBLEM: Reality hits – Vacations, illness, work, and life in general can cause missed workouts and scattered eating. Not only can this cause a break in the exercise habits that you are trying to create, it can also lead to an “all or nothing mentality” of “well I missed this whole week (or session), lost all my gains, it won’t hurt to miss this one more workout/week”.

SOLUTION : If you’ve been forcing yourself to do something that you don’t enjoy, you are likely to find an excuse why you can’t do it. Find a type of exercise that you enjoy and that fits your goals, needs and personality. (e.g: group personal training programs vs individual in-home personal training, vs. outdoor park personal training vs. health club, morning vs. evening, etc.) .

Focus on the things that you enjoy about your fitness routine. Also, concentrate on the positive changes that you are seeing (fitting into clothes, looking better, more energy, better mobility, better capability to cope with stress, better sports performance, fewer aches and pains, etc) .

This is the time in their programs , we have our private clients and group fitness members  sit down and make a list of all the positive changes they have made and look at where they were when they first came to us.

SOLUTION: Reevaluate Your Resolutions Often . Many times, the amazing, lean body, that you envisioned or strict diet and 5 day a week rigorous fitness program when you set your resolution in January doesn’t match up with the reality of your lifestyle or fitness level.

Stop and take a realistic look at your lifestyle, fitness level and goals and realize that it is perfectly okay to take the slow and steady approach of 2 -3 days a week of workouts and “mostly” healthy food plans.

I have maintained a 40 pound weight loss for over 30 years by being realistic about my lifestyle (at various points) and time constraints.

Let’s face it, even the busiest of us can find 2 -3 hours out of the 168 in the week to workout out and an hour to plan and prep our food or meals for the week. It’s just a matter of being realistic and creating habits that fit into our lifestyles. (habits is a whole other blog post entirely and I will address them soon).

MONTHS 6 – 9 Plateau Factor

MISTAKE :  Lack Of Goals – If you’ve made it this far, you are probably pretty close to your goals, looking and feeling better and enjoying improved self confidence, reduced tension, lower cholesterol, blood pressure and body fat levels. As the mental benefits become a normal part of your life, you may forget what not feeling good is like. Improvements will begin to level off as you become fitter and further progression will require greater intensity and/or frequency.

SOLUTION:  The key here is two fold.

First, remember how you looked and felt prior to beginning your fitness program. Revisit the clothes that you are now wearing, new activities that you are enjoying, pain relief, etc. Concentrate on the many positive changes that you have been enjoying. Remember, further gains will be incremental, since you have probably achieved your biggest improvements.

Second, plan your next course of action. Set new goals to take your body and fitness program to the next level. The key is to think long term. If you are not satisfied with your fitness gains, increase your intensity/ or frequency, but be realistic. Set new goals that make sense to you and your lifestyle. Track all of your workouts in a workout journal. If you started off walking for 15 minutes 3x per week and are now jogging for 30 minutes or making it through an entire exercise tape, that’s measurable progress and something to be proud of! This is the point in their programs where our personal training clients and group members sit down again and list all of their accomplishments, positive changes and sit down and set new goals.

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Committed To Your Success & Awesomeness,

Dianne Villano, THE Fitness & Transformation Expert For YOUR Over 50 Body

Fitness St. Pete I Tierra Verde Fitness

P.S. Hearing from our readers is one of the best parts of my day. Drop a comment if you have any questions or just to let me know what you think about this!