What is your fitness Dream this year?
Take a minute and write it down, but be VERY specific (for example, “I will lose 10lbs by April 1, 2011 at 7:15pm”).
Take a minute and write it down, but be VERY specific (for example, “I will lose 10lbs by April 1, 2011 at 7:15pm”).
Now for the hard part. What are you prepared to do to make that happen?
I pulled the following out of Be Iron Fit by Don Fink. It says it all.
THE DREAM
While many are touch by The Dream, far fewer act on it. It’s so easy to find a reason not to attempt it. It seems too risky. The training is probably too complicated. You don’t have enough time. There is too much to learn.
For those who do act on The Dream, the rewards are greater than they had ever anticipated. People who complete their goals look back on the moment when they finished as one of the most significant and powerful moments in their lives. Not only that, most of them also look back on the entire journey as one of the most rewarding periods of their lives. That’s right. The training is not a painful, grinding process. If you know what to do and you have the right program, every day of your journey is exciting and rewarding. It is a great thrill to have that completion date on your calendar and to get up every day anxious to implement the plan that will make The Dream a reality.
It does something wonderful to you, and it’s not just the thrill of finishing. It starts when you make the commitment and it continues well beyond. It’s an amazing journey of self-discovery that carries on after you cross the finish line and continues for the rest of your life.
So, for all of you out there with The Dream in the back of your head, I am talking to you. You can do it. You will never regret doing it. You will almost definitely regret, deeply regret, not doing it. You need only to decide to take the journey, the most amazing journey of your life.
Ok. You just read the above and you’re pumped. You have the desire and you’re ready to commit to what your wrote down. Yikes! How do you get there? Read on.
THE TRAINING
We do not improve fitness merely by stressing the body. We grow strong by stressing the body in a very specific way, and then resting it and allowing it to adapt. Those who randomly pack together their workouts violate this principle and thereby diminish or negate the training benefit of yesterday’s workout, today’s workout, and possibly tomorrow’s.
What if you could select just the right workout for today, one that would not only yield a specific training benefit, but would also prepare your body for what you plan to do tomorrow? And what if tomorrow your selected workout not only allowed your body to further absorb today’s workout but also derived another specific training benefit and prepared your body for the following day’s work?
Now that would be highly effective training in which the total benefit is greater than the sum of its parts. This is exactly what an effective training plan does. Today’s workout should provide a training benefit to tomorrow’s workout, this week should provide a training benefit and set up next week, and this month should provide a training benefit and set up next month.
WHY GOAL SETTING IS SO DIFFICULT
Setting goals is uncomfortable. By setting goals, we establish a commitment. By establishing a commitment, we risk failure. Commitment. Failure. These are powerful words.
Why not keep our goals a little fuzzy? Isn’t it just safer to say, “I will try to do my best”? Those who find the greatest fulfillment in improving their fitness, however, must be prepared to leave their comfort zone. Instead of avoiding the fear of commitment and failure, use it to your advantage. If you confront your fears and examine them, you will find the upside far outweighs the downside.
SETTING AND COMMITTING TO YOUR GOALS
Before you embark on your fitness journey, or even if you’ve already begun, establish specific goals and write them down. Again, be very specific. Take your Dream and establish a date you will achieved it. For instance, I will complete the Ironman Panama City, FL on 11/5 in under 12 hours. Now, post your Dream on your bathroom mirror (it’s the first thing you look at every morning) and at work. Then, tell as many people you can about it. It sounds like overkill, but it really works.
Three things happen when you post your Dreams and tell others about it.
1. It’s a commitment. Your goals are not hidden away somewhere.
2. The more people you tell the more committed to it you become.
3. You will gradually feel that your goals are more and more attainable.
So, what will it be?
Choice 1: Same ‘ol same ‘ol, get limited or no results, and have regrets?
Choice 2: Commit to a fitness and nutritional regiment that will help you make YOUR DREAM a reality? If this is the one then contact me ASAP and let's do this!
Your call. Your fitness. Your life.
