(Disclaimer:
I am not a certified personal trainer or a fitness professional,
everything expressed in this blog is just my opinion).So you have been poked and provoked by assorted friends, family, and possibly a voice in your head that says you should hit the gym and stop eating crap.
You go for the first week of the New Year, by the end of the week, you are thinking...this is SO boring, I need a chocolate milkshake (or another instant gratification alternative).
Another scenario, you go for a month, see no results and give up.
The primary reason that this happens?: You go the gym, end up doing a bit of everything: trying all the cardio machines, levered weights etc... there is no goal, focus or direction. Trust me I have been there as a first-timer as well. Persisting without any results: not fun.
So what do you do to get the body you want? The same thing you do to get the job you want, the grades you want etc. : F-o-c-u-s. Look at yourself and decide what it is that you want your workout to do for you. A small hint: weight loss is a very broad goal, think beyond...how do you want to feel? what do you want to look like? Think of how you would want to contour yourself if you were getting cosmetic surgery and then plan a non-cosmetic way to go about it. I cannot tell you how to go about to get what you want because I don't know your goals but I can share my experience. These are the steps that I went through:
1. Identify Goal: Endurance Training. There are three options: 1. Body building (bulking up) - usually lower reps (6-7) with high weights; 2: Strength - medium reps (10-12) and 3. Endurance - higher reps (20-25) with lower weights. I know a lot of you are cardio-lovers but in my very biased blog I assume that incorporating weight-training goes without saying. Also, ladies, don't worry, you-will-not-bulk-up if you do weights, unless you have the testosterone level of a guy, and I sure hope you don't.
2. Research: Every good workout goal can only be accomplished by paying attention to your training schedule and nutrition. I cannot stress this enough. Trust me, you really are what you eat. I read up on the net as well as spoke to trainers I know. Personal preference: Women's Health magazine and www.bodybuilding.com.
3. Formulate your plan: I knew I could workout 5 days a week and decided how I want to split strength training and cardio. Concurrently, I thought up a menu I can stick to for the week, which is balanced and caters to my work-out goals.
4. Implementation: Hit the gym and do not expect anything for at least 3 weeks. Everyone's body is different and after a while you'll figure out how your body works and responds to diet and exercise. It took me a while too but I think I've cracked the code and am feeling pretty good about it :-) This is the hardest step, and the only way you can stick to your goals is motivating yourself from within (click this link for a fitness article I came across that I thought was pretty good). Remember, to get results, YOU have to want this, only you.
