It’s 2020 and that means it’s finally time to stick to that New Years Resolution you’ve been putting off since Y2K – lose the extra 25 pounds you’ve been carrying around since college.
Every year approximately 160 million Americans attempt to lose weight. Yet obesity rates among these same Americans are at record highs and continue to increase with the same consistency.
This shows a disturbing disconnect between our fitness goals and our ability to achieve them as a country. It’s not because all Americans are lazy. It’s because modern society presents so may temptations to overindulge.
Fast food companies make billions of dollars by exploiting this trend. Organic food and home-cooked meals are expensive and time-consuming. Drive through fried chicken is cheap and painless (at first). Going to the gym and walking 20 minutes a day requires planning and discipline, while couch surfing is a spontaneous and effortless activity.
We work hard enough in our professional lives. No one wants to spend precious leisure time doing extra work. That’s why it’s imperative that you make exercise fun.
Passion is a necessary ingredient in the recipe for success. Whether it’s in your career, your love life or your fitness regimen, passion is the only thing that will give you the endurance and consistency to succeed.
You may be asking yourself, I’m not a fitness junky, how am I ever going to be passionate about working out?
The answer is simple – get creative!
Maybe lifting weights isn’t your raison d’être, but you’re super into your Sunday afternoon kickball league. Instead of hitting the weight room three times a week, practice your kickball game with that time.
Spend 15 minutes on the treadmill to improve your base running abilities. Do some squats to get your leg muscles fully toned and ready to kick. Just make sure you show the other muscle groups some love as well.
Working out only seems like a chore when done in isolation. So gear your exercise goals toward an activity that you enjoy it feels like you’re actually accomplishing something rather than doing busy work for the sake of being vaguely healthier. The more specifically you target your workouts and the more pleasure you can derive from the achievement of your goals, the more likely you are to stay consistent long enough to see meaningful results.
Another helpful tip is to remember that practice makes perfect. Starting something new is always difficult are requires time and effort to master.
It may be that you have a passion for running but don’t know it. If you’ve only ever run in situations of panic or high school gym class it will naturally seem like an unpleasant activity.
Try running a few laps around the local track at your own pace. Now try that again for 10 days in a row. At first, you’ll be huffing and puffing. But, once you develop the stamina to push through the pain, you may discover that the ‘runner’s high’ everyone talks about is a real thing.
How you choose to structure your workouts is up to you. But staying active is of vital importance to your overall health and well being.
Don’t let the past dictate your future – today is the day you change your life. All you have to do is reframe your mindset and take control of how you exercise.
If you need a little additional nudge, Mahar Fitness has personal trainers and fitness programs geared toward beginners and amateur bodybuilders alike. Give them a call today at (555) 204-2123 to learn more.
