New Year, new you! Part 2 ( by Lucas McEmery )

This next post is a contribution from a good friend and great trainer. He gives great advice, I recommend reading below.

1.Setting realistic goals
2.Healthy lifestyle changes as a means of fitness
3.Fitness as a lifestyle

The holidays have come and gone; now it’s time for the excitement of New Year. The problem is the excitement is short-lived, right? Just like years past, people flood to the gym to lose holiday poundage and “get back in shape”. If you are like most, and that includes me, you will fluctuate between pretty good shape and pretty, with all do respect terrible shape. Lately, I have finally found what was missing in my “fitness” goals and that was, anticipatory pause… my health!

Hundreds of thousands of people each year fall victim to the inevitable loss if interest in their “getting back in shape” goals. This post is to help those victims become success stories.

This is not a magical cure! Getting back in shape takes sweat, hard work, and determination. Like I said earlier, the first thing to start with is your health…

For the most part, fitness or “getting in shape” shouldn’t be the number one priority. Living a healthier lifestyle should be your absolute goal. When you make lifestyle changes as opposed to strict diets that rarely fit and crazy fitness goals, like workout 7 times a week, then and only then do you start to approach the “fitness” you are looking for. Fitness should be a by-product of your healthy lifestyle!

The next thing for you to do is to set realistic goals. Focus on little things for your diet like, eating more fruits and vegetables, eating out less, eating healthier snacks, etc. Don’t go on a diet! That only sets you up to come off of it, which we all know that when we do, we come off hard and fast.

Also, set realistic goals for the gym. If you are just starting in the gym then possibly look into a trainer for guidance in the beginning, shameless self-promotion! If that isn’t in the cards for you then start slow, try to get to the gym 3 times a week. Make sure to put in good, hard, intense work for those 3 days, using different modalities because 3 really good days in the gym is a whole lot better than 7 lack-luster days. Also, this goes back to the healthy lifestyle, but on your days not in the gym you still should be active! Take the kids to the park, play with your dogs, jog, and try new things like dancing or adult-gymnastics.

These are just a few basic things that can promote a huge change in your life, more energy, more self-confidence, and in the end, a better form a fitness which is where you wanted to be in the first place.
Remember, “Fitness” is a lifestyle!