4 Tips For Reaching Your Fitness Goal In Time For Your Wedding | A Guest Blog Post by Fitness Trainer, Dane Schils
Dane Schils is a Personal Trainer with a B.S. in Movement Science from the University of Michigan. Throughout the past 5 years, he has helped people reach their fitness goals in areas like Ann Arbor, Rockford, and Hastings. He is currently working with people in the Hastings area and online. See the links at the end of the blog post if you would like to know more about how Dane can help you.
- Start Now!
Whether your wedding is 2 weeks away or 2 years away, start the process toward reaching your goal today. As humans, we are really good at telling ourselves why today is not a good day to start and why tomorrow or next week or next year is a better time to start. But if you start today, even by just taking one small or simple action, it will create the momentum needed to make each successive action feel easier. Remember: in one week/month/year, you will be so glad that you started today! Alternatively, if you don’t start today, in one week/month/year, you will wish you started today!
- Set a Goal
When deciding to make a health or fitness related change, most people have a goal in mind. However, most people don’t set goals properly. I will teach you how to set a good goal, but before I do, let me give you an example of a bad goal and a good goal:
Bad goal: I am going to lose some weight.
Good goal: I am going to lose 10 lbs by the end of the next 2 months.
The bad goal example is such because it is not specific. It doesn’t require the goal-setter to commit to a specific achievement or timeframe; there is no way to tell whether or not this particular goal was or was not reached. In contrast, the good goal example does include these things. The goal-setter can measure their progress and know whether or not the goal was reached. If the goal wasn’t reached in the timeframe that was set, then it allows for the goal-setter to make changes, adjust the goal, and continue with their progress.
To summarize: decide what you want to achieve and state it in a way that can be measured, then decide on a timeframe in which you want to achieve it. The next step is to state how you are going to reach the goal. This is called an Action Plan.
- Create an Action Plan
Once your goal is set, you need to decide how you are going to make it happen. Your Action Plan can be simple or complex (your goal will help to determine this), but it, like the goal itself, needs to be specific. Examples:
I will go to the gym 3 times per week.
I will replace my unhealthy afternoon snack with a fruit and/or vegetable.
I will bring a healthy lunch to work instead of eating out every day.
Each action within your Action Plan should be chosen because it will help you to achieve your goal AND you are confident that you will be able to do it. If that means you start with an action that is small or simple, that’s ok. You can always add to it, build upon, or adjust your Action Plan along the way.
- Shift Your Perspective
People that are unsuccessful at reaching health and fitness related goals tend to think of themselves as ‘someone who is trying to…’ People that are successful at reaching their goals tend to think of themselves as ‘someone who is…’
“I am someone who is trying to lose weight” should become “I am someone who lives a healthy lifestyle.”
“I am someone who is trying to go to the gym 3 days per week” should become “I am someone who goes to the gym 3 days per week.”
This subtle shift in how you view yourself can have a huge impact on your ability to reach your goal. Here’s why:
Your brain likes it when the actions you take align with what you believe. When your actions and beliefs don’t match, you tend to subconsciously make changes to either your actions or your beliefs until they do. So when you believe that you are ‘someone who is trying to…’ then engaging in the behaviors that you want to change aligns with the belief that you are ‘trying.’ Since your actions and beliefs align, your subconscious doesn’t feel the need to make the change. If, instead, you believe that you are ‘someone who is…’ then engaging in the behaviors you want to change does not align with your belief and you will subconsciously feel the need to change something – causing you to eliminate those behaviors.
As I finish this post, I’d like to strongly encourage you to take a step toward accomplishing your goal today. Everything in this post can be implemented immediately. Remember – small steps are ok 🙂
If you enjoyed this blog post and are interested in receiving more awesome content on topics related to health, fitness, nutrition, reaching your goals, etc. you can sign up for my email newsletter by clicking here.
If you would like help with any of the above or with anything else related to your fitness goals I am offering FREE consultations to those who sign up here.
Thank you for reading and I hope to talk with many of you again soon 🙂
Dane