7 Tips to Get in the Best Shape of Your Life in 2019!
This time of year is a great time to start thinking about the future and the fresh year ahead of us.
It's also a fantastic time to think about 2018 and all the great things you accomplished, both big and small over the last year.
You should be proud!
As we move into 2019, many of us start by setting a New Year's Resolution or two.
Can you guess what the most popular resolution is?
Yup! It's weight loss.
Every year millions of people start the year off by making the resolution to get in shape but ultimately end up in the same position they started the year in, unable to make a lasting commitment to fitness.
80-90% of people who make a fitness related New Years Resolution quit within the first month.
Moreover, almost 97% of people who start their fitness journey quit within the first 5 months.
So, where is the disconnect?
Why is it so difficult to get into and stay in a consistent workout routine?
Let's discuss in the video below! ⬇️
It's our goal to make sure you are not part of that 97% and make 2019 the year of fitness commitment.
We're here to change the gym experience forever!
We want to help you not just make a New Years Resolution, but make some real, lasting changes in 2019.
Let's get into our 6 ways to make 2019 your most fit year ever!
Enjoy :)
#1 Set Goals (long & short-term)
"If you aim at nothing, you will hit every time!" - Zig Ziglar
To get started in 2019, it is crucial for you to set goals -- both long and short term.
We encourage you to think and plan short term but don't forget to also think big and long-term.
The problem is many of us set ourselves up for failure by only thinking big and long-term.
If we don't quickly reach those goals, we get discouraged and give up.
Goal setting is crucial for success in all areas of life, especially our health.
They keep you focused, on track, committed, and excited!
When you set realistic goals, your actions and habits begin to change, moving you closer and closer to your desired outcome.
To get the most out of your goal setting, make sure they are:
1. Exciting!
This is our #1 rule.
Boring, uninspiring goals don't excite you.
They don't get you out of bed in the morning.
Big, exciting dreams do.
They create movement, consistency, and most importantly change. They inspire!
This year, I challenge you.
I challenge you to think bigger, to raise your standards.
Get excited for 2019. It starts with thinking BIGGER!
2. Specific
"My goal is to lose 20lbs" is much more effective than "my goal is to lose weight."
3. Measurable
Be sure to focus goals around measurable areas of your health like water intake, body fat %, cholesterol, how many times/week you get to the gym, etc.
We need the ability to measure our progress to ensure we are on track and moving in the right direction.
How else will you know if you're making progress or need to change your action plan?
4. On a Time Limit
Put a time limit on your goals. This will put the pressure on and force you to stay on track and consistently working hard toward your goals.
With no timetable it will be too easy to put it off.
You'll start to say things like, "I'll start on Monday."
Suddenly 6-months have gone by with no real change.
Set a deadline.
5. Your Goals
These goals must be yours alone, not your friends or your family's but yours. It is much easier to put in hard work and make time for your own vision vs. someone else's. After all, only you can motivate you!
6. Written Down
This is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do when setting goals! It makes your goals more tangible than just having them as thoughts.
Put it somewhere you can see it everyday.
This will keep it fresh in your mind so you can work on your goals daily.
Bonus points: put it somewhere your friends and coworkers can see it for a little peer pressure.
Make sure your goals meet all the requirements above, write them down and keep them close.
Keeping your goals within sight (on the fridge, on the night stand, etc.) keeps them in mind and keeps you focused on working towards reaching them everyday.
#2 Celebrate the Small Wins
One of the biggest reasons people fail to reach their fitness goals is that they fail to see the small wins.
They focus solely on the end goal instead of focusing on the small victories happening along the way that allow you to reach that end goal.
Maybe you've gone from going to the gym 0 times per week to 2 time per week -- small win.
Maybe you are able to jog :30 longer than last week -- small win.
Maybe you eat a homemade salad for lunch instead of the usual take out -- small win.
The cool thing about small wins is that they add up and you start to gain momentum.
You start to see progress and realize that tackling this fitness resolution is possible.
Imagine the changes you can make to your health from weeks and months of small, daily wins.
That is where the true magic is made!
#3 Have a Support System
There is something truly special about the power of a support system.
We see it everyday within our Adult Group and Women's Group Training when complete strangers make others feel comfortable as well as push and encourage each other to succeed.
The evidence is very clear.
It is much easier to succeed when you have the comfort and support of people with similar goals.
There is a deep desire from our members to encourage each other to improve and celebrate even the smallest of victories.
We all have those days where we just aren't feeling it.
Maybe it's tough to get to the gym or push through that last set.
We're only human and this is bound to happen at times.
A solid support system does wonders to keep you accountable, consistent and committed, making reaching your goals much easier than going at it alone.
Research has shown time after time that joining a group or working out with a friend or spouse drastically increases your level of commitment and results.
Studies have shown the first reason why people see better results working out with a buddy or in a group class is consistency.
Some research has even shown a 40-50% increase in workout consistency!
When you look forward to seeing your workout buddy or group, you know they are counting on you to be there, and you actually get excited to go (yes, working out can and should be FUN), accountability grows and consistency starts to soar!
The more consistent you are, the better your results will be.
How about performance?
Studies have also shown that those who exercise with a partner or in a group setting work harder.
Not only that, but they workout longer too.
Thank you, friendly competition!
You see, we've all been there. You're working out alone, no one is around, and for any number of reasons you call it quits. Maybe you turn that treadmill off before you reached the time or distance goal you had set for yourself or skimp out on the last few reps of a set. No one is there to notice or care.
When you're surround by people and friends something changes.
You push harder. You fatigue less quickly. You feed off of each other's energy. You do things in your workout you didn't know were possible.
And the results are that much better!
Not only is this support system going to increase your consistency but it is also a great way to make your workouts more fun and enjoyable!
#4 Embrace Imperfection
Things are not going to be perfect.
Like life, you're going to face ups and downs, success and failure in your fitness journey.
Success is not always linear.
At times it will come easier and at times you will feel stuck.
Fitness and health success is more like a rollercoaster than straight line.
You will make mistakes, you will encounter failure.
You will plateau at times.
The good news is, this is all part of the journey, and a big part of our ultimate success.
It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "Nothing worth having comes easy!"
Next time you face adversity or frustration in reaching your fitness goals, don't give up!
Use the situation to learn from, adjust and focus on progress -- not perfection.
This will keep you moving in the right direction.
#5 Throw Away the Scale
When it comes to tracking your results, we encourage our members to toss the scale, especially initially.
We've even written an entire article on the very topic, HERE!
Early on, there might not be a massive dip in weight but that certainly does not mean you're not making progress.
This is crucial to understand early in your fitness journey.
It's easy to get frustrated, lose momentum, and quit.
One can actually make incredible progress without dropping a single pound.
How you ask?
Your weight is just one measurement tool and doesn't tell the whole picture of your well-being.
It is easy to obsess about the scale. For many of us, it's even ingrained into our daily habits.
Your actions (whether healthy or not) can start to shift, just in a quest to change a silly number on the scale. When that number doesn't change a whole lot it's easy to get discouraged and quit.
Instead, focus on areas like:
Your energy levels
As your fitness and nutrition improves, something cool happens. You actually start to gain more energy throughout the day. It's not as hard to get out of bed. You aren't so drained at the end of a long work day. Your workouts, your hydration and intake of nutritious foods all play a large role in boosting energy. This is one of the first things our members tell us changes when they start training with us.
How your clothes fit
Just start a new exercise routine. Exercise, especially weight training, builds muscle, increases the density of your bones, burns fat and often makes areas of your body smaller and firmer. This may actually show as you maintaining or even adding weight even though you are losing fat and inches. This is why a better indictor of your training program is how your clothes are fitting.
Stress levels
We often hear our members talk about how good they feel both physically and mentally after a few short weeks of training with us. Their confidence and moods start to improve in and outside of the gym. They know if they can tackle that tough workout, they can tackle anything. Exercise has a profound impact on our brain and has been shown to improve anxiety, depression, memory and learning.
Increases in fitness (strength, endurance, flexibility, etc.)
We love seeing our members make progress in the gym.
This can be seen in a variety of forms like adding weights to an exercise or increasing weights, improving technique, balance, or being able to push longer in an exercise. You will see you are able to do more work and at higher-intensities and not be so run down or sore after workouts.
#6 Change Your Daily Rituals
Many people agree that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time.
So, what makes Tom Brady one of the greatest to EVER play football?
There's certainly a lot that goes into it.
But there's something very different about Tom Brady and it has to do with his daily rituals.
If you were able to see any episodes of the "Tom vs. Time" Facebook series you caught a glimpse of what goes into his days behind the scenes.
His daily rituals, or the actions he takes each day, directly and positively impact his performance on the field.
Every day is an opportunity to make progress toward your goals, even if they are the smallest of activities.
Tom Brady is focused on putting the best foods possible into his body, getting his workouts in, and making sure his body is recovering through stretching, massage, and getting adequate sleep.
His daily actions reflect his present and future success.
It's the accumulation of all the small, microlevel actions and decisions that he's made that makes him so successful on game day.
This is no different for you and your goals.
Say, for example, your goal is to lose 30lbs.
Let's look at your daily rituals.
If they consist of hitting the snooze button to skip your workout, grabbing your breakfast and lunch at fast-food restaurants and getting little to no sleep, then reaching that 30lb weight loss goal just isn't going to happen.
To move towards your ultimate goal, we need to change our actions or daily rituals and make sure they are pulling us towards our goals and not hindering them.
In other words, they help us make progress.
Things like getting to the gym 2-3x/week.
Getting 7+ hours of sleep per night.
Cooking most of your meals at home.
The accumulation of these daily rituals define your current results and either pull you towards your goals, keep you stagnant, or push you in the wrong direction.
#7 Join our Group Training Programs
Meet Dawn (down 88lbs)
Meet Jeremy (down 100lbs)
Meet Shelley (down 65lbs)
Meet Brian (down 40lbs)
Meet Deb (down 90lbs)
The four success stories above started exactly where many of us sit today.
Ready for change.
Ready to have more energy.
Ready to get into a consistent workout routine.
Ready to get rid of those stiff, achy joints.
Ready to gain confidence and feel their absolute best.
Ready to get healthy and feel happy.
Your time is NOW and we would love to help!
Feeling a bit intimidated? We certainly get it.
And the four DSC members above felt the exact same way!
Over the years we've built quite a niche for helping our members get into a consistent workout routine.
Most members have either never worked out before or have not been in a routine in many, many years.
That's why our coaches are here!
We're here to get you comfortable, help you ease into your workouts, work around any injuries, and set you on a path to feeling your best.
If you're ready to get started, click HERE, fill out the form and we'll give you a call to learn about you, your goals, and figure out which program is best for you.
We cannot wait to work with you!
#BringOn2019