New fitness goals? Seven (not so) secrets for success
New season, new fitness goals! Yes. Often we bash out of the starting blocks, raring to go with new resolve, new determination, new goals, only for things to fizzle out a month or so later when boredom, tiredness, or simply the busyness of every day life takes over.
In good news, the secrets to success for hitting, and sticking with your fitness goals, are in fact no secret at all.
They are simple. And will genuinely make a difference.
So here they are! In brief. A few top tips, just for you.
motivation gets you started, habit keeps you going
Routine routine routine. Figure out how much you want to / need to move, and build this into your day as an incontrovertible fact. Like cleaning your teeth, for instance. No-one skips the teeth clean, for obvious reasons. Take the same approach to your daily walk / jog / lacrosse training / Pilates core strengtheners / whatever, and you will feel the difference to your health in a hop skip and jump.
I find that if I take this approach to exercise, it’s better for my mind too. It’s one less thing to think about, because it’s there, factored in as a fact. It does also help that I have to be on the mat in tip top Pilates mode, teaching you lovely lot for a bunch of hours each week. Hoorahs! That’s some ace work life balance in my book. :)
Life does happen. Yes! Sometimes the routine needs to chop and change to flex a little with circumstances.
Example: I have a new pup. He has boundless energy one minute, and is fast asleep the next. My routine has had to adjust to his for the time being. But as soon as we can, we’ll get a settled routine going. And that will be good for him, and great for me.
After a flex, get settled into your new routine as soon as you can. Less thinking, more moving.
Then, month one you’ll build the habit, month two you’ll feel the difference, month three — you’ll actually see it. And so on.
do what you love
I mentioned in class the other day that ace ad campaign a few years back , This Girl Can. Do you remember it? If not, have a watch. It’s great.
Super motivating, and inspirational actually. For me the best part about it, is that in all the galloping, cycling, dancing, swimming, spinning — and definitely sweating — everyone looked like they were super enjoying their sport. And that’s the thing. Find what you love, and go after it.
I often say, Pilates should not be your only form of exercise. Quite right! Cardiovascular exercise is key for heart and lung health. And exercising outdoors, taking great gulps of good fresh air, is really the best of everything, for body and mind. Joseph Pilates was a great advocate of outdoor exercise, and at Lark we follow his lead on this, every chance we get!
be more tortoise
The hare blitzed all his energy and zonked out for a nap before he got to the finish line. The tortoise trotted along, slow and steady, and won the race.
We’re not necessarily talking races here, not at all, but nonetheless this fable (love this pic!) applies to our fitness goals. Much better to build steady and sure, to celebrate your achievements en route. And then to dream up and take on the next challenge.
With this approach, injury is far less likely, and you are far more likely to stick with your ace new health habit than if you push it too hard at the start.
A very simple rule of thumb, is just to do a little more each day, until you reach your goal. So for example, add an extra bit of distance to your walk, or even better, see if you can do it a little quicker each day.
use more core
A strong core will not only support your back in all your fitness adventures, it will also energise and power up your workout.
I often find on the last stretch of a run, or on the last hill of a hike, those moments when I feel myself beginning to tire — that if I fire up the core a little more and use my glutes a little more efficiently, I can access a little energy reserve to power on through to the end.
Pilates is for sure a great core workout. If you are keen to build core strength, consider it! You’d be super welcome at Lark Pilates. You can pop over here to find out more about our APPI Pilates classes.
hydrate and sleep
Unsure why today’s fitness adventure was a bit lacklustre? How did you sleep last night? How much water did you drink recently?
Often when you find your usual workout tougher than usual, it can be as simple as not enough rest, or not enough hydration.
If this is you right now, don’t ditch the work out, but take it gently, listen to your body. Tomorrow is a new day. :)
The water thing is quite an easy fix. But sleep can sometimes be a bit more of a challenge — it can be caused by any number of things. Usually for me a sleepless night is thanks to a whirling mind. But for sure, moving my body, getting some good exercise, fresh air and stretches in during the daytime can help break any tricky sleep cycles.
In Pilates we work on the mind body connection — moving with precision and control, each movement connected to breath. So Pilates can help relax, unwind, and challenge body and mind.
Pilates is mindful movement, which for me can help quiet my body and mind when restless.
If this is you, perhaps try a Pilates for relaxation class, or a class that uses resistance bands. Anecdotally, some of my Pilates clients report feeling more rested after a resistance class. And this has the added bonus of increasing the challenge to mind and muscle — all while building bone strength too!
exercise snacks
A desperate day at the desk? A long old drive ahead? Fear not. Whack some exercise snacks in between all the other business and busyness. Five minutes here, ten there, your body will thank you, and your mind will feel refreshed and focussed.
What on earth is an exercise snack? It can be anything you like, movement-wise — listen to what your body craves…
Is it a deep stretch for the shoulders or hips? Or maybe a bunch of squats to wake up those glutes. Or maybe it’s a quick set of ab curls or press ups or bicep curls with weights.
Got 15 minutes to get your moves on? Regular Lark clients can access a range of express classes through an online studio — a growing library of Pilates classes, accessible anytime, anywhere.
Don’t overthink it, don’t overdo it. Just throw some extra moves (maybe with weights) into your day, and build strength, energy, mobility, focus, balance, flexibility, et al., without any effort at all.
Try it. It’s nice.
cheer yourself on
Think positive.
Yup no body is perfect. We’ve all got something going on. But!
Our bodies are pretty ace bits of kit. So celebrate your can dos. Celebrate your achievements. Notice the extra strength, the improved balance, the comfier posture, the stronger stride, the greater confidence. This will cheer you on to achieve the next thing.
Even better, cheer your pals on too! Buddy up and bash on.
it’s not rocket science
In summary. It isn’t. Just jump on in and enjoy it! :)
Do you have any top (secret!) tips for fitness goal success? Bop them in the comments below. I’m interested!
And if you think Lark Pilates fits somewhere in your fitness mix, give me a shout. I’d be delighted. There are real life classes, live online classes, online studio classes that you can access anytime, anywhere, and private classes online or IRL.
See you on the mat.
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