Working out only works out when you do it often enough and consistently.
But life can get in the way, which means priorities change, and that day we take off to do something or not do something can very quickly turn into a week, a month, and so on. The scale, the mirror, and most certainly your favorite pair of pants start talking to you about the shape you are in, and the desire to look different takes seed and starts to grow.
It’s important to see that three things need to happen if you truly want to be successful at this.
Number one: While you may desire to look differently than you do now, that may not mean you have a desire to do the work to reach that goal. As soon as progress stalls or you find the work too difficult or inconvenient, annoying, boring, or whatever emotion you are feeling that day; there is a high probability that you will quit again for one of the many reasons you have in the past. The work has to be pleasurable at some level so you may want to plan an activity or workout you find pleasurable.
Number two: Fitness is a lifestyle. This clever little cliche essentially means that fitness is affected by almost everything you do so if being fit is a priority, you must be committed to your workouts but also to eating right, getting enough rest, avoiding unhealthy habits, and generally treating your body, mind, and spirit well so you can recover from your workouts and so your body can function optimally.
Number three: Goals are reached over time. It took you a minute to get your body into the mess it’s in and it will take a minute to make any significant change to that. So many people start a fitness program and want unrealistic results in an unrealistic amount of time. Yes you can lose a lot of weight in a short time by taking drastic measures but your body will adapt to whatever you are doing and that “progress” will come to a screeching halt. To get weight loss progress, for instance, you either have to do more work or consume fewer calories so if you are surviving on almost no calories and training extensively every day, there isn’t much room to make adjustments.
If your goals and plan are reasonable and neither require drastic changes, you have a much greater probability of success than taking the drastic approach. Our bodies are adaptive organisms. When the inputs change, our body adapts by changing to service that input. If you never walk for exercise and you decide you want to walk to reduce body fat, you don’t need to walk for hours each day to make changes. For instance, if you are mostly sedentary, you may want to start with a 5, 10, or 15-minute walk outside each morning. After two to four weeks increase it slightly until you have worked your way up to 30 minutes. Then try walking a little faster so you cover a greater distance in that 30-minute time frame. Later you can add 5 bodyweight squats every ten minutes, then every five. The idea is to push your body to adapt by improving cardiovascular fitness, then muscular strength and endurance.
Balance that with healthy eating and your body will begin to adapt by becoming more fit and looking more fit. You may perhaps drop some body fat, or increase muscle tone, or size. Or your results may include better skin texture and tone, nicer hair, improved vision, mental acuity, or a host of other improvements, or negative issues, gone.
In summary: When you want to get back into shape, the goal should be to train consistently and do an activity you enjoy. Look after your body, and feed it the nutrients it needs to function at its very best. And if you get bored, try something new, but most importantly, be consistent with your training and nutrition plan knowing it won’t be easy at times.
And remember, your body will respond to what you do, not your excuses for why you couldn’t do it. Do the hard thing when you have to but never give up.
Stay committed, stay consistent, and enjoy the lasting rewards of the process.
