In this post I am going to be sharing Practical Tips for Maintaining Your Fitness Goals. Whether you’re trying to lose or maintain your weight, this guide will help you. This is especially important when life comes crashing down and it seems we just can’t do anything right…
Calling it as I see it…
Okay, okay let’s first address the elephant in the room. We are living in some cray cray times, my friend! While some form of normalcy is returning slowly, we cannot pretend that a national pandemic is not occurring at this very moment. And let’s be real! A lot of people are being pushed to their max. Quarantine life has brought with it high demands of virtual learning, and caregiving while juggling remote work. These are life stressors that were previously foreign for the majority of us, but now we are expected to make the most out of each of these situations. So I completely understand if you are thinking to yourself…
Hey lady, back off! I’m just trying to survive at this point!
Once again I get it! But here’s the deal… I feel that we also have to acknowledge that some of these changes are temporary while others may be more permanent, and we may not immediately know which is which. With that said, I have personally noticed a huge spike in the perfectionist mindset in so many people since COVID has flipped our world upside down. So let me grant you some relief during these crazy times…take a deep breath and process this with me…
Everything doesn’t have to be “go big or go home”!
Done not perfect… is an acceptable mindset!
Doing something is better than giving up entirely because you can’t do everything!
So, let’s get directly into it. Here are my top practical tips for maintaining fitness goals. And don’t worry, even when everything is going crazy, these tips will still help you!
Practical Tips for Maintaining Your Fitness Goals
The Anti-all-or-nothing Strategy
While our current situations have brought on a new level of exhaustion and procrastination, the all or nothing mentality is one that has been holding back many people for many years. In my experience, about 99.9% of the women that I work with come to me with an ‘’all or nothing’’ mindset. And to put it bluntly, with everything that is going on in the world right now it is very unlikely that the ‘’all’’ option will beat the odds when you are staring chaos in the face.
So, guess what is likely to happen with this “all or nothing” mindset…
You guessed it! Most people throw in the towel and just let it be…
Procrastination rears its ugly head and the “what ifs” and “could have been” live to see another day.
OR…just hear me out here!
What if we changed our mindset from the “all or nothing” to “all or something”… because the reality is that consistently showing up to do ‘’something’’ will definitely win over becoming discouraged from trying to do ‘’all the things” occasionally.
So today I am going to share with you some of the strategies that I personally use to beat this “all or nothing” pitfall, as well as specifically address practical tips that I have been fine-tuning so that my clients can succeed using them as well!
1. Reduce the number of sets
Okay, so let’s say you are crunched for time (as most of us are) and you need to get a workout in. Your usual routine calls for 3 sets of 15 reps, but you have to cram whatever you can ASAP. Rather than giving up because you don’t have time to complete your usual workout, simply cut it down from 3 sets to 2, and roll with the punches. Even if you only have 15 minutes to spare, you are still making progress because 15 minutes is still better than ‘’no minutes’’! A short workout is better than no workout!
2. Reduce the rest time
Another great option to make your workout a bit more time effective when you are slammed for time is to reduce the amount of break time you allow yourself in between sets. In order to be effective and safe with this method, you may need to consider reducing the weight or load size, but remember the end goal is for you to increase your heart rate and to get your body moving!
3. Break your workout up in more than one sessions
I’ll admit, this is not my favorite strategy, but it has worked well for a lot of my clients so I’m here to suggest it! Often my clients will explain that they may only have small blocks of spare time throughout the day. So let’s say someone only has 15-20 minutes to spare, but they really want to get in a well-rounded 45-minute workout. Don’t throw your hands up and quit! Simply break the workout down. In these situations, I often suggest that they break their workout in 2 or 3 small chunks throughout the day. Side note, I have noticed that this works relatively well for busy moms because it allows them to complete their workout in small increments as their kids are preoccupied at different times throughout the day.
4. Increase your NEAT
Okay, this one may sound complicated, but it is seriously the easiest to implement! Neat stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. This is basically the calories you burn from your day-to-day activities. (Click here to learn more). You purposely plan extra movement in your everyday task. For example, parking your car further away when going to the store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and taking the dog for a walk rather than just letting him out the backdoor.
The goal is to increase your overall step count, which might I add, is a perfect opportunity to use a smartwatch to motivate you to increase the number of calories you burn without having to be in the gym or strapped to a cardio machine.
5. Adjust your Diet if you are unable to exercise
One of the biggest reasons for weight gain on those with the ‘’all or nothing’’ mindset is that people often think that just because they can’t exercise all hope is lost, and there is no point in trying at all. But, the reality is that you can 100% hold back on weight gain by adjusting your diet and understanding that you are not burning as many calories and your caloric intake, therefore you will need to reflect that in your choice of food. I wouldn’t be too worried about changing the diet if you just miss one day of workouts, but if you are going on a week or longer hiatus, then yes, I would definitely recommend analyzing the nutrition portion of your fitness/wellness goals.
6. Challenge Yourself!
My final practical tip for losing weight is challenging yourself!
Sometimes all that is missing is the motivation to push yourself! So signing yourself up for a challenge may give you that drive that you are lacking. I too go through phases where I struggle to bring myself to ‘’crush’’ my workouts, but if you are anything like me once the word ‘’competition’’ gets mentioned… well, the motivation and energy just seem to take over!
If these tips have resonated with you then listen up! As always, I’m here to support you in your fitness goals and let’s face it, it’s even more motivating to crush those goals when you don’t have to break the bank to do so! Are your ears perked yet?
The Mother Strong League is no different, and the support offered in our group is something the ladies who join the transformation always mention as what held them accountable. Click HERE to join!
I’m here for you mamas! Let’s conquer our goals together!
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