You belong to a gym that you rarely use, you have books about fad diets and weight loss on your bookshelf, and you’ve even had a consultation with a personal trainer, but you still can’t seem to get yourself off the couch and out of the house.
Is it fear of failure or commitment? Is it a lack of motivation and desire? Are you afraid to try something new and unknown? Do you just not know what to do and where to start? Whatever it may be, it all starts with goals and your belief to get to that prized end result. Steven Binns, Jr., a Sport Psychology Consultant in Los Angeles, California states:
“Confidence and goals go together like breathing and air. You can take a short breath or deep breath, the air stays the same. If your goal is to complete a marathon or lose 100 pounds, make it your main goal. The deep breath. Smaller goals bring you to your main goal, right? So let’s make small, realistic, attainable goals, like jogging for 10 minutes, your short breaths. Your confidence engine will start to build. It feels good when that engine builds because mentally, it’s a good predictor of how you’ll do on your next task.”
The first step is finding out and naming your ultimate health and fitness goal. Then you need to break that big goal down into smaller ones. Remember to take one step at a time, be mindful and make adjustments according to your current lifestyle.
Let’s look at an example: You want to start a new physical activity to help you improve your health and fitness. It must be one that is fun, yet challenging and the opposite of monotony. After doing some research you discover the Spartan Race. According to Wikipedia:
“Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 miles to marathon distances. They are held in USA and franchised to 14 countries including Canada, many European countries, South Korea, and Australia. The series include the Spartan Sprint (3+ miles of obstacle racing, 20+ obstacles), the Super Spartan (8+ miles, 25+ obstacles), the Spartan Beast (13+ miles, 30+ obstacles), and the Ultra Beast (26+ miles, 60+ obstacles – one of two marathon obstacle courses along with Mudderthon).”
Now doesn’t that sound daunting, challenging, exciting and fun at the same time?! Beginners (anyone can do this) should start with the Sprint, the shortest course, at your own pace… walking, running or both. Your pace is dependent on your training.
So let’s get busy. Here’s your first freebee set of short-term goals: 1) Register for a Spartan Sprint race, 2) Start a training program using Spartan’s complimentary ‘Couch-to-Sprint Training Plan,’ or hire one of their Spartan SGX-Certified coaches like myself and 3) Improve your nutrition with Spartan’s complimentary daily nutrition tips.
Sure everyone gets nervous before a race, even pro and elite athletes, especially when there’s an unknown adventure ahead. But to ease your anxiety, as you can see, Spartan offers you all the resources you need to prepare for your first Spartan race. You can’t cross the finish line until you get to the starting line.
“Athletes of all fitness levels will enjoy participating in a Spartan Race and the feeling of accomplishment that comes at the finish line.” – Spartan
What is your ultimate health and fitness goal and what steps will you take to get there? AROO!!
