Now that we’re well into March, how are your new year fitness goals going? Hopefully you’re on track, motivated and loving every minute? Ah, who are we kidding? Nobody loves every minute of difficult journeys, right? Well, some do I guess, but you know… When you set yourself a fitness goal, you’re setting yourself a personal challenge, and the clue is in the name. It’s hard work. It’s a challenge. It’s supposed to get you working to better yourself, to improve, to strive for more. But did you know that you could be destroying your goals without even realising it? Read on to find out about the three most common ways to sabotage your fitness goals…
You train too hard
Yes, there is such a thing. There’s a trend taking place right now that experts are calling ‘extreme fitness’. It’s a practise by which participants are training so hard, so intensely that they’re pushing themselves to achieve elite athlete standards of fitness. And this often results in injury, disappointment and feelings of failure. Why so? Because the majority of us are not elite athletes! Training to hard can be detrimental to our physical and emotional wellbeing and it can be the start of the downward slope when it comes to our fitness goals. How to tell you’re training too hard?
- You’ve plateaued. And you just can’t seem to get past it.
- You’ve lost your mojo. Dreading the next workout? Where there’s no pleasure, there’s pain- and how long are you going to put up with that?
- Your mood, sleep and appetite are suffering. Sure signs of stress.
- You want ALL the sugar, like RIGHT NOW. That’s your body’s way of telling you that your blood sugar levels are unstable, possibly due to over training.
- You only feel energised after a workout. The rest of the time? You’re low. That’s not good!
- You’re obsessed with training. Yes, exercise is good- but it shouldn’t be your life!
You don’t schedule your workouts
Now, on the other end of the scale we have those who don’t prioritise their fitness goal enough. These people work out ‘now and then’ and are disappointed when they don’t get the results on the scales that they had expected. Weight loss, muscle gain- whatever you’re striving for- doesn’t come overnight, and it doesn’t come without effort. You need to show some commitment to working towards your goals if you want to achieve them. So how to do this?
- Write a schedule you can manage, and stick to it. Pin it on the fridge, or wherever you’re more likely to see it every day and make sure you look at it. It takes two weeks for something to become a habit, so the sooner you start the sooner you’ll see the benefits.
- Become a planner. Plan your workout sessions carefully to make sure that you are targeting the areas you want to work on.
- Hire a personal trainer. No better motivation!
- Workout with a friend. You’re less likely to let someone else down, and they’ll have your back when you want to give in too.
You don’t sleep enough
Sleep is so important! If you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body is not going to respond in the way that you want it to when it comes to your fitness goals. There’s no two ways about it. Your body needs sleep to recharge and refuel after a workout, and you need to realise the impact that it can have on your workouts too.
Lack of sleep is disastrous for your metabolism, energy levels and mind set. Set your alarm for an early workout (lots of us perform best first thing, and our body continues to burn fat throughout the day at a better rate) but make sure you get an early-ish night so that it isn’t a chore.
