Happy new year one and all and with the new year will come the usuall raft of well wishers who want to shape up after the festive spurging. Welcome to 2 months of full CV rooms and squat rack curling hitting epidemic proportions.
With the new year in mind I would like to take this opertunity to turn some attention for novices both those looking to get in better shape or those looking just looking to get into the physical culture a bit more.
What follows is a short list of things that can be applied to nearly any fitness or health related goal in the new year.
1 – Set Realistic Goals.
This is one of the biggest reasons why people end up failing or jacking in the gym during the new year. People come into with the zeal of a Jihadist looking to undue years if not decades of neglect in a few weeks and get disheartened when they realise the futility of quick physical change. This is the main reason why gyms live off the 20% rule. That is of all the people who sign up for gym memberships roughly 20% will use the facilities on a regular basis.
The best goals to set are quantifinable goals or those that are fitness related if you set out to run 5km without stopping instead of looking to get a six pack or toned you will win in the long run as your goals will topple and as fitness goals topple so do physique goals.
2 – Find Something you Enjoy.
The best way to retain adherence to exercise is to find something you genuinly have an intrest in or enjoy. Bodybuilders don’t end up looking heavily muscled and lean by accident, the vast majority of them either love the feeling of lifting or love the look that it brings this positive feedback is what keeps them coming back for more.
For the average punter the best thing to do is to try a wide host of things at the start keep a note of what you like and start to make your prefrence the mainstay of your gym experiance. You will become more consistent as a result and get much better gains in the process.
3 – Get a competitive partner.
Pal up with someone with the same goals or with someone who is closer to your end goal or at your end goal. A gym partner makes you far more accountable and can embody your goals making them seem more obtainable.
If your of a competitive nature a gym partner is probably the single best thing you can add to your fitness experiance.
That about does it for now.
Good luck with your endevours in 2011 and let’s hope it’s a good one.
Marc.