We are constantly being bombarded with information about how important it is to workout and eat right. We have started to even see Fast Food restaurants offering “healthier” choices. Supermarkets are making more of an effort to enhance their organic food selection and are offering more variety in what they already have. The fitness industry is booming as well with new programs, gyms and ways to workout! With everything out there we can very easily become overwhelmed. Sometimes there are too many choices that we fall into a state of analysis paralysis. Instead of choosing one, we spend too much time analyzing and never making a decision. So, how do you pick the right program for you? I have complete several different fitness programs and followed various nutrition plans over the years. Some have been fantastic, some, not so much. I have achieved success and a lot of failure. Some of the failure was my own, some of it was the unrealistic expectations of the programs or plans I followed. I have boiled some of the key factors you want to consider when choosing a program. 1. Is there a nutrition plan? You can’t outwork a bad diet. Is your fitness program paired with a nutrition plan? Is it a plan that you understand and can follow? More importantly, is it a plan that is realistic and you can follow long term? 2. What kind of workouts do you enjoy? It is important that you choose a workout that you will enjoy doing. If you choos e something you hate, you won’t stick with it. If you are someone who does not enjoy cardio, you don’t want to pick a program that is primarily cardio. If you don’t like lifting weights, you won’t want a program that is all weightlifting. Yes, we want to mix things up and yes, we should try things that are difficult to us, but it does us no good to choose a program we will not do. 3. How much time are you willing to make? Notice this question isn’t asking how much time do you have. Most of us don’t have time in our day, but we make time for things that are important and things that matter. Your health is important and needs to matter! I have found amazing programs that are as short as 10 minutes! Most of us can’t make an hour in our day, but we can usually find a few blocks of 10 minutes, or even a 30 minutes chunk of time. 4. What kind of equipment and space do you have at home and are you willing to invest in any equipment? Space and equipment are often concerns when looking to workout from home. Programs can range from no equipment to needing bands, chin up bars, benches or needing several different dumbbells. It is important to consider what you will need in order to fully participate in the program you choose. If you don’t have the equipment needed, are you willing to invest in it? If not, you will want to look at other options. When it comes to figuring out space, most of us don’t have gyms in our home. Most of us don’t have spare rooms to use as workout space either. When looking to do a program from home, be sure to look at the amount of space you need. Many programs can be done in your living room (you may need to slide a table out of the way). I have found the majority of programs I choose need a little more space than a yoga mat in order to do fully do them. 5. Do you have injuries or medical conditions you need to work around?I have a knee injury that limits my running and jumping. When choosing a program it is important to look at the impact it will have on your body and determine if your body can handle it safely, or if the program lends itself to modifications. If not, you will want to look at something else. The fitness industry has begun to understand this and has added modification in many workouts on the market. 6. What are your goals? Are you looking to become more flexible? Are you looking to slim down? Are you looking to tone up? Are you looking to add some bulk? These are all questions you want to consider when choosing a program. Many programs out there are designed with a specific purpose, so know your goals before selecting. One of the advantages to the programs I use is their money back guarantee! If for some reason you look at all these factors and find the program you selected isn’t what you thought it would be or you don’t like it for any reason, you can return it! This has helped me to not fall into that analysis paralysis trap. No one wants to figure out a program, spend money and then not like it or not see a return! I would love to talk to you more about finding a program and connecting you with my next challenge group! LET’S CONNECT ************************************************************************************* I have created a Facebook community for those looking to bring out the athlete within them. I have discovered that you can take the girl out of competitive sports but you can’t take the Athlete out of the Girl! I wanted to design a community where former athletes can go to in order to feel part of a team again. Where they can be around other like minded individuals and have a community where others “get” them. I want a community where we can look for ways to become healthier physically, emotionally and spiritually. I would love to have you join us at Finding My Fierce
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Welcome!I am a former dual sport collegiate athlete sharing my story, how you can gain strength, confidence and discipline too, and how I apply lessons learned from competative sports and how to turn them into real life success. Archives
April 2019
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