How to Achieve Your Fitness Goals

You're ready to make a change. You're at your wit's end with how your body looks and you have set a goal of losing 10 pounds of fat. You bought some exercise equipment and maybe even hired a trainer. You set a date for when you want to achieve this goal and you’re excited.

The first week passes without a flaw and you lose a pound. Second week passes no problem, and you lose another pound. You're unstoppable! You're determined and there's nothing that's going to get in your way. Nothing!

Then, out of nowhere, things begin unraveling at the seams. You go out to dinner with friends and they pressure you into splitting a pizza. Ok, no problem, I'll be better tomorrow, you say. Then tomorrow comes and between work and family, you miss your workout. You start to feel a little down on yourself and then you think, Focus! I can do this.

Even so, pretty soon, you’re overeating on the wrong foods and become inconsistent with workouts. Consequently, your weight loss comes to a screeching halt. Now, you say to yourself, Why do I always do this to myself? Why can't I just commit to my goal!

Here are a few things to remember when you start your transformation process to avoid this situation.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• The will to get fit

1. Create a Single, Solid Fitness Goal
   Its absolutely vital that you come up with a compelling reason to change your body beyond I want to lose 10 pounds of fat. If you're goal is weak, why would you work as hard as you need to achieve it? Your goal should be precise, compelling, and motivating. It should get you excited just thinking about it. You need to WANT that goal more than anything because that desire is what's going to take you through the rough times, the times where you feel that there is no way on earth that you are going to achieve that goal. It needs to be specific and it needs to be invigorating.
   
   For example: Let's say that you want to lose weight to fit into a bikini you haven't fit into in years. You need to think about how much body fat so you have an exact number to shoot for. Once that's done, you need to figure out exactly what needs to be done, step by step to get there such as hiring a trainer or learning about kettlebells, but even more importantly, you need to visualize what it means to achieve that goal. How are you going to feel when you get to where you want to be? How will be people react to you? The more realistic your visualization, the better.
   
   For another example, to show how detailed you need to be, let's say one's goal is to deadlift 500lbs. They need to figure out what they are currently at and then create a program around that to make sure they are getting closer and closer to their goal. The point is, you need to make a clear and concise so that once it's achieved, you will know. Feeling better and looking good are too vague. Set some inspiring, motivating goals and you'll be on your way.

2. Get Obsessed with Your Fitness Goal
   So now that you've selected a goal and you're ready to work on it. Remember, you need to be 100% focused on your goal at all times. If you're not working on your goal, you need to be thinking about it, and if you're not thinking about it, you need to be working on it. If this kind of obsession doesn’t seem doable, your current fitness goal might be too weak. Take a step back and think of a new one.

3. Don’t Quit When You Falter
   No matter who you are, chances are, you’re going to falter at some point on the way to reaching your fitness goal. It’s not about perfection, it’s about having the discipline to get back on track immediately after you screw up. While you might indulge a little on a pizza or desert at some point, realize that this is temporary and prepare yourself mentally to correct yourself in the future, so when cravings or overeating rears it's ugly head, you will be ready. This alone will keep you from getting down on yourself and furthering the indulgence or laziness with further indulgences and laziness.

4. Do it now!
   Don’t wish for better circumstances. If I had this then I'd do this mentality will get you nowhere. Instead of wishing for things to be better, become better. Take the challenge that you have presented yourself as an opportunity to show what you're made of. Are you going to give up because it's hard or get down on yourself because you made a mistake? Or are you going to finish what you started and accomplish something worthwhile? The choice is yours.

Resources

• www.MBodyStrength.com