By 
Rushing to the gym, trying to get an extra workout in and running those miles on the road just to squeeze out that extra bit of training thinking it will get us the big result. If this is you then, please stop now.
So many people believe if they train more days a week, at a higher intensity and for longer, they will hit their health and fitness goals. When I started off in the health and fitness industry I too thought that pushing myself and others to the limit and adding in more training session was the answer, how wrong was I.
I did see instant results but then the problems started to happen: Injuries, weight being put straight back on, motivation levels dropping and in some cases some people were worse off than when they started.
I used to blame it on their own attitudes, making up excuses and old habits.
These things played a huge role but it was up to me to lead them in the right direction towards a healthy, happy and active lifestyle, instead of a short term goal with little chance of long-term results.
So what was the answer?
For the next few years I thought it was nutrition and I was getting better results not only with clients but myself as well.
I thought nutrition was the key, but there were still people who were following my advice and not getting the results they wanted.
Then the penny dropped.
The starting point for all your health, fitness, life and even business goals is mindset.
It doesn’t matter if you train as hard as you can or eat as well as you can; if you believe that you won’t get there or you hit a bump on the road and don’t have the mental strength to carry on, then you will never reach and sustain the results you want.
When it comes to mindset you must firstly start believing that you have already achieved your goal.
And I mean really believe.
Visualise yourself having the body you always wanted, how do you feel when you see this? Hold that thought and believe it has already happened. Once you do this you are on the right path.
The next thing when it comes to mindset is finding your ‘why’.
Why do you want to look a certain way or achieve your overall goal? This has to be a strong why, something that when the days are getting tough you can visualise yourself having achieved your goal and it is backed up by your why.
If your why is soft, for example ‘I want to feel good’, that’s not strong enough. Instead you should say ‘I want to feel good in my body to give me that extra confidence and energy to improve the relationships in my life’. Make your why as detailed and as personal as you like.
After you have your why you can start training mind daily rather than focusing on training the body daily. One simple way to do this is to start a gratitude journal. Every morning, and I mean every morning, write down three to five things that you are grateful for.
This could be family, friends, your job, or your morning coffee.
Next, write down three to five things that match your health, fitness and life goals. When you do this write it in the present tense – for example: ‘I am so happy and grateful now that I have my amazing, strong and healthy body’.
You can make this as long or as short as you like. Once you have done this sit back, take five minutes and
visualise yourself again reaching your goal and go into detail in your mind of what you are doing and how you feel now that you have reached this goal.
This might sound very simple and maybe not worthwhile at all. But it takes the same amount of energy to think of yourself in a negative frame of mind that it does to think positively about yourself.
We always revert back to why we aren’t good at certain things. To change this habit, we need to work on it daily. So the simple habit of gratitude writing and visualisation could be life changing for you.
Focusing on mindset, nutrition and training in that order for me is the key to reaching your health and fitness goals. Switch them around or take one out and you will find it a harder path to follow.
Take the path of least resistance and enjoy the journey.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)