If you are beyond the first seventeen days in the New Year and
in a slump, with little or no movement or progress towards your fitness and
health goals, don’t feel alone. Millions are struggling right about now
and need a boost to continue or ever get started. Consider this, “Are you
in the same place now as you were last year or even years
before?” If the answer is yes, you may be a prime candidate for a “triathlon awakening”, a renewal of the
mind, body and soul.
Athletically, a triathlon is a contest of strength and endurance
in three levels often associated with swimming, cycling and long-distant
running. Whether an athletic or not, our minds and bodies need
similar types of endurance disciplines to navigate successfully through our
challenges, and focus on creating a healthy lifestyle. This is the
race of life. How we care for our bodies has a direct result on
whether we will go a short or long distance.
We all have an opportunity to experience a healthy
lifestyle. All we need do is carefully prepare and train with
exercise, fitness and proper nutrition. The analogy of
implementing disciplines similar to an athletics’ training, is to highlight
their passion and dedication to whatever their desired goals and the measures
it takes to achieve them. The healthy development of one’s body will create a
direct flow of energy to the mind for a soul-satisfying experience.
Even though we are pass the beginning of 2016; you can still
experience the excitement of achieving success in your health and fitness
goals. Here are a few tips triathlon athletics incorporate
that can be useful for anyone desiring a transformation lifestyle.
Set Goals - Goals are important to provide a road map to guide you on your journey. Your goals must be clear, precise and realistic. Write down your goals in journals or create a vision board.
Periodization - Refers to a process in which athletics divide time into manageable blocks designed to produce specific fitness and performance results. Set your goals so they will be manageable within the time frame you have on a day-to-day basis. A desire for fast results may soon become discouraging. If you assign specific blocks of time for each life change objective and pace yourself, results will be more long-standing.
Motivation - Make it personal. Why do you want to have a transformation lifestyle? Do you want to shed pounds for a specific event? Do you have a physical challenge or want to look and feel better for a lifetime? Consider things that will fuel your motivation for achieving your goal. We should all strive for a lifetime lifestyle.
Measure - How will you measure your results? Give yourself specific parameters such as losing inches, reducing body fat, quit smoking.... Remember, a healthy lifestyle is more than losing weight.
Time Frame - Give yourself a defined period of time to achieve your goals. If you wish to lose 30 pounds, determine how and when you will achieve the goal. For example, I will lose 5 pounds a month over the next 6 months by planning my meals and implemented a workout regimen suitable to to help me reach my goals. Each time you meet your goal, you will get excited about the next interval. Don't set a goal to lose 30 pounds in one month. It may be too much too soon. Be realistic.
Challenge - Goals should be challenging. Keep your meals interesting by trying new, healthy recipes. Get your family and friends involved in sharing healthy dishes. Diversify your fitness routine by experiencing different workouts. The same workout everyday will eventually bore you. Register for marathon races,
run/walk events for charity, or join group fitness classes. You can
also start your own challenge among family, friends and colleagues, which helps
to motivate you and others by making it fun. Be creative.
Envision - Can you see the pounds dropping off, the positive doctor's report, the beautiful outfit in your closet fitting you or crossing the finish line? How would that make you feel? The wonderful thing about vision, it helps you to see what the future can look like. As mentioned before, create a vision board or simply create a vision where your goals are firmly planted in your mind.
Don’t give up because you have not begun the program or reached
the goals you so eagerly resolved to do in 2016. You can always
start anew at any time realizing each day is a new beginning. Once
you start, if you fall short, pick up where you left off and begin
again. We are all in the race and everyone has an opportunity to
cross the finish line. Love yourself enough to care about your health.
Sheila L. Agnew McCoy is a author, entrepreneur, speaker and personal trainer @2016
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