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Every year people try to make healthy lifestyle changes and get in shape, only to give up on their goals after a few weeks or a couple of months. If you want to reach your fitness goals and make these changes stick, you need these three simple tips to stay fit forever.
Fail to Plan and You Plan to Fail
Putting on your running shoes and going for a run or a jog is certainly a step in the right direction, but the reason many people hang up their trainers after a week or two of regular runs is that they failed to make a proper fitness plan. Without setting goals and working out how you are going to achieve them, it is hard to maintain your focus and keep going, which is the key that unlocks better health.
Between runs, jogs, and cycling sessions, do a little paperwork. Give yourself a weight goal, and plan exercises, gym sessions, or ‘miles-per-week’ or jogging to help you get there. Set yourself strength targets too. How much can you lift now and how much would you like to be lifting in a month, three months, or next year? Set yourself targets to help motivate you when times get tough, the weather looks bad, or you feel you don’t have the time. These targets will push you to put your running shoes back on and get out there.
Pick a Personal Trainer
If you want a job done properly, you call a professional. Though you can achieve a lot at the gym, and regular fitness sessions will help you keep the pounds off, for real and lasting fitness you need professional help. You can tap into their knowledge and experience to find fitness exercises that suit your body and your goals.
AS Personal Training is a personal trainer in Edinburgh that offers private personal training which focuses on you and your goals, helping you to achieve better health more efficiently and effectively. A personal trainer is not a relentless taskmaster; they work with you and invest in your fitness. Your goals become their goals, and your wins become their wins. Having someone by your side to guide you, inspire you, and at times, motivate you, can be the difference between losing a little weight and making a lasting and healthy change to your body.
Monitor Your Progress
Before and after pictures are popular on social media, but many people don’t want to take that first snap. It can be intimidating to ‘let it all hang out’ and pose in the mirror for a fitness selfie. If this is not your type of thing, that’s fine, but you do need to measure and monitor your progress to help you see how far you have come later on. This can be incredibly motivating and validating.
This is where some smartphone fitness apps can come in handy. You can keep track of your weight, register your workouts, and even add your calorie counts on an app and it will give you the data you need to realise your gains. Analysing this data can yield valuable insights too. Maybe running for miles and miles is not as effective as your weight-lifting sessions at the gym. You can switch focus and reach your goals more quickly and maintain your gains.
These tips are pretty easy to follow, but the hard work is done in the gym and on the road. If you want to succeed in fitness and achieve your health goals, you need to utilise these techniques to make your lifestyle changes stick. Now get out there and win fitness.