Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” In the journey toward better fitness, continuously being hungry has its rewards. There is always room for growth. A new chapter. The next level. Whether you are sitting on your couch or are bored exercising 6 days a week, you CAN improve your fitness. Here are some catalysts that will focus your efforts and reward your hunger.
1- Choose one thing in which you want to see improvement. Set an activity related goal to achieve THIS WEEK. For example, if you want to lose 10 pounds commit this week to brushing the dust off your bike and going for a short ride. This goal should be easy and manageable. Think “small success”.
2- Shorten your workouts. Yes, you read it right. Shorten. 10 min of burpees beats 30 min of walking.
3- Increase your intensity. If you are going from a zero (sitting on the couch binge watching Netflix) to a 3 (got up and went for a walk) that counts. If you already exercise at a 6 on a scale of 1-10, find exercises that get you to an 8. Try sprinting or working up to a 3 rep maximum deadlift (if you’ve never deadlifted, click here.) Looking for a spring program?Try this: Sample Peak-8 Sprint workout
4- Tell someone your goal. The more public the better. Your reputation is on the line. It’s uncomfortable and risky to tell others your plans, but that’s OK. What you think might be a terrible failure or shortcoming will actually be an inspiration to THEM. If the voice in your head yells at how embarrassed you’re going to be, ignore it. Tell someone anyway.
5- Hire a coach. One that works with athletes or clients at least one level above you. You may not like it at first, but that trainer has a success record of training his athletes to a certain level and he will bring you up to it.
6- Track your food. Despite being cliche, truth does not get any clearer than black and white. Three days is what you want. A week is even better.
7- Commit to a multi-week program. Make sure it’s fee based. You need some skin in the game to take it seriously and there’s nothing like putting money on the table to keep you coming back. Additionally, the program will get you through the low times when you don’t want to keep going.
8- Find a “buddy” who wants to change like you. You don’t even have to like them. If they show up and have a smile on their face, they pass.
9- Read fitness related material. Although this is sometimes a band-aid solution, what’s on the mind will effect your actions. An inspiring success story is sometimes the nudge you need to resist that tempting 3pm snack.
10- Make it a priority. This may seem obvious, but sometimes what starts on the front burner in Week 1, slips to the back by Week 3. Keeping your goal a priority will help you say “Yes! I’m going to fit this in today!” versus letting the day pass you by. Reinforce your goal visually by placing it on your nightstand, vanity, refrigerator, place mat and steering wheel.
If you’re hungry to accelerate your fitness, you will face resistance. Internal and external. We all do when we change. It’s just part of the growth process. Whether you embrace it or fight it, press through the resistance and you will find what you’re looking for: a better version of you.
Priscilla Jones is a mother of four and co-owner with her husband of Blue Wave Fit: Home to CrossFit 1088, a family-friendly CrossFit and concierge personal facility in Ocala, FL. You can reach her at priscilla@bluewavefitocala.com.
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