It takes a lot of work to reach your fitness goals.
You will feel discouraged at times and want to quit.
You need to be held accountable for your actions and behavior in order to get through difficult times. We encourage our clients to create a support network for their fitness. You will need a network of people, friends, family, habits, and behaviors that can help you achieve your goals.
Here are six steps to help you build your fitness support network.
1) Tell your friends and family
Tell your family and friends about your goals. Your goals will be more real if you tell your friends and family about them. Ask your friends to hold yourself accountable. If you feel unmotivated, a simple text asking you to check in on yourself or reminding you to prepare your meals for the week can make a big difference.
2) Find a Workout Buddy
Find someone who has similar goals and make friends with them. Get together and exercise whenever you can. Take a walk together when you are not at the gym. A scheduled partner for your workouts will give you an extra layer of accountability. It’s one thing not to do a workout. But it’s quite another to neglect a friend.
3) Be the decision maker
Take control of the decision-making process. Be comfortable making decisions with your family and friends. This could include choosing a restaurant to eat at or making plans for the day.
Sometimes being the decision-maker is difficult. While you may be subject to criticism, the end result is that you will be able to thank yourself.
4) Identify the Environments and Relationships that Drive Poor Habits
Next, find out what relationships and environments are causing poor habits. Pay attention to where you are straying from your goals. What are your relationships with? Who do you work with?
Next, you need to take steps to get out of those situations. Negative choices tend to multiply, while positive ones can be reversed. You may find that you go to bed earlier and wake up feeling refreshed when you skip Friday’s happy hours to eat dinner at your home.
5) Plan Healthy Activities
Step 4: Plan healthy activities to support your goals. Do you want to meet up with someone you haven’t seen in a while but would like to? Instead of drinking wine, take a stroll around the neighborhood or park. It’s possible that you will find the conversation better outdoors.
Learn to Say No
Learn to say no. This can be difficult and takes practice. Start saying no to things you don’t believe in. You can practice saying no to food that is already full, extra food that you don’t need, or activities that hinder your progress.
It is OK to remember that you are the first priority. You must first help yourself to be able to help others.
Support Equals Success
Although you can achieve your goals on your own, it is much easier to have help.
Do you want your own personal fitness support group? Then contact Apex Performance now!
This post was written by Darryl Johnson, Co-Owner of Apex performance. At Apex performance we are a community of highly trained experts looking to provide performance enhancement and a permanent lifestyle change for our clients in a fun and interactive environment. Members can take advantage of group fitness in Tampa, small group classes and specialized courses for a wide variety of athletics, sports training and body goals!
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