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A 3 Part Plan to Achieving Your Fitness Goals

Many of us spend too much time on our problem(s) – like I can’t seem to lose weight or I can’t fit into my clothes. We should spend much more time on finding a solution and move forward with it. Let’s put a realistic part plan together that makes slow and steady progress that will inspire us to keep moving forward.

Part 1: Get In Touch With Your Reasons (AKA Your Why)

To break out of old patterns and habits of behavior that do not support our goals; like over indulging in sweets or a sedentary lifestyle, we have to have a compelling reason to change.  We need not just a goal but a vision of the body that we want to have so that when life confronts us – like donuts at the breakroom, we will make the smart choice to walk on by.

Ask yourself what you really want and why. Do you want to look good for an upcoming event? Or maybe you want to be able to run around playing with your kids or grandkids. It could be anything that inspires you to change. I remember a client telling me that when she realized that she couldn’t reach her toes to paint them, she knew she had to change. Whatever your reason is, write it down and keep reminding yourself daily why you are making a change. This will help when the initial excitement of achieving your goal, meets the tedium of the consistent effort it will take to achieve that goal. You have to keep remembering why you are making the change.

Part 2: Pick A Plan and Stick With it


Now that you have a reason to make a change, you must decide how you are going to get there. Develop a plan that will help you reach your goal in achievable steps. Think of your end goal as the last leg of a long journey and then break down steps to get you there. If you were driving across the entire country, you would map out destinations to stop at along the way or mini-goals within that longer term goal. Fitness can be viewed the same way. As an example, if you want to run a marathon this year, unless you are already a runner, you would need to start with a series of smaller goals. If you are new to running, you might start with running continuously for 2 to 5 minutes and work up to 10 minutes, then 1 mile and so one. Breaking down any fitness goal can be down similarly. You do not lose 50 lbs at once (healthily), you lose a pound or two a week.

Any plan you make should include a component of a diet change to healthier eating and an increase in movement or exercise plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated either. You can start with cutting out desserts six days a week and incorporate more veggies while you add a walking goal of 20-30 minutes a day as a start. Each week or two you can make other small changes to keep up progress. Maybe in a few weeks you might incorporate two days of resistance training with light weights to start. If you need help developing a road map, get a fit buddy or a personal trainer to help.

Don’t give up. Remember that you haven’t failed if you haven’t given up. If it turns out that your particular strategy isn’t working (after you tried it for long enough to tell), then just congratulate yourself for trying and adopt a new strategy to test out. Do not get hung up about your lack of progress, just adjust your steering to keep you on course. Anyone who has ever achieved great things had to go through many trials and errors to find what works best for them.

Part 3: You are not alone. Find Mentors or Accountability Partners

Now that you have a reason and a starting plan to achieve your goal, be on the look-out for motivation from success stories. You can easily find such stories on social media, in books/magazine, in movies of others that achieved their tremendous goals. You will soon realize that you are not alone. Others have faced similar challenges (and much worse obstacles) and have made changes that worked for them. Use these stories to keep yourself inspired and on course. Not only will their success stories inspire you but also give you clues that you can learn from and adapt to your own plan.

Additionally, the level of devotion and drive of these mentors can help brainwash you into having a similar, can-do attitude, which goes a long way to help you put in the effort to stay on course.

Life is like a marathon. No one achieves their goals without consistent effort over time. Find your mentors to keep you inspired so that you won’t give up. You can also tell everyone in your life so they can help hold you accountable and maybe even join you on your journey. If you need extra accountability, personal trainers are great since you won’t want to waste the money that you invested in their services.

Good luck and may all your goals be achieved!

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