As somebody working in the fitness industry I witness the same fiasco every January. All of a sudden the regulars can’t move in the gym for newbies, it’s impossible to book a place in the spin classes and you see fathers and sons, mothers and daughters pounding the pavements. By March at the latest, everything has returned to normal. Many have got injured through doing too much too soon, others have got bored or burnt out or just forgotten those New Year Resolutions now and gone back to their old ways.
If you are the kind of person that needs a new year, a new month or a new week to start your fitness programme or ‘new diet’ or anything else for that matter it tells me a lot about you and why you won’t have the mentality to stick with it. You are the kind of person who clearly likes to procrastinate, instead of getting on with the job. You clearly don’t value life much because you don’t understand that you need to seize the day and that every day counts in a limited lifetime. It tells me also that you are somebody who likes to follow, not lead – everyone is making a fresh start then so you want to be part of that. When they give up, so will you, because you don’t want o be the one that stands out from the crowd – you want to be ordinary, not special and lack the focus to succeed. Like all the others, you want a quick fix and, if the going gets tough, you will look for a way out – an easier way. These are the people who just simply don’t ‘have time to exercise’ or can only slot in a session between important events like a trip to the hairdresser and the latest episode of Eastenders.
The people who I know are serious about making the most of their lives are those who book in for early morning sessions at the gym on a regular basis and commit to 10-15 sessions for starters, not those who just want to ‘pay as they go’. These are always the people who will cancel at the drop of a hat, finding all kinds of ‘good reasons’ why they can’t train. Committed people take the first step now, however small, knowing that procrastination means wasted time and an unfulfilled life and that every day counts. They know that every day they delay makes the job harder.
Saying all that, you don’t have to revolutionise your diet and lifestyle in the week before Christmas – this will be too difficult for most people. However, you can take that first small step now, then be kind to yourself over the next couple of weeks, allowing yourself to enjoy the festive period sensibly, then take it to the next level in the New Year.
Tiny first steps might be to build a daily 20 minute walk or jog into your routine, make an appointment with a personal trainer and commit to a programme (not a quick fix), find a training buddy for accountability and support, join the gym BEFORE Christmas. All of these actions signal to others and, more importantly, to yourself, that this time you mean business and you’re not just going to follow the crowd into January fads, followed by February failure. Remember always that a journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step, so take that step now and feel better about yourself through the Christmas period.
Contact me at info@roadstofreedom.net or on 07504439555 to lock into 2017 rates for 1:1 and small group personal training. My rates will be increasing on 1st January for new clients who have not previously registered interest in my services. You don’t have to pay anything until the New Year if Christmas has already broken the bank, but just take that first step so we both know you’re serious – it’s important to your success.
David.
ultrafit50plus 