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Importance of Having a Plan in your Fitness Journey

Fitness Education

Have you ever felt like you “plateaued” in your fitness journey?  Or that you felt like you were working out for 30 days in a row but just not seeing “results”?  This is due to a lack of a plan!  The first start of your fitness journey is just getting started, but once you are consistent, it’s important to back your consistency up with strategy.  So what does a plan look like?  We are here to make it simple for you.

#1:  What are your fitness goals?

Your fitness plan is determined based on your fitness goals.  If your goal is to “tone” up, then we need to understand what that means. “Toning” is what we call a filler word in fitness. Clients looking to “tone” are usually referencing higher levels of unwanted fat in certain areas. To accomplish this, we know that we cannot spot reduce fat.  The only way to lose fat is a caloric deficit and the only way to gain muscle is in a caloric surplus. This is why your trainer should be assisting you with building your program into phases. The first phase should tackle the goal that is most important to you. So if that is higher levels of fat or weight loss then the first phase of your workout plan should address that. After which you should reassess with your trainer (about 4 to 6 weeks in) and determine if the plan needs more time or it’s time to switch focus to muscle building or continued weight loss. The goal of this is to reveal muscle and provide definition. To do this you need to maintain a certain level of body fat percentage overall. In short “Toning” comes from the belief we can target certain areas at a time to reduce fat, and as we can see it’s not the case.

#2:  Understand the role Nutrition plays in your fitness goals

You can workout until you are blue in the face, but if your Nutrition does just complement your fitness plan, then you will not see results.  Most people think they have to eat 1,200 calories a day and follow some strict meal plan….this is not the case.  EVERYBODY is different and there are multiple factors that impact our Nutrition.  This can include hormone imbalances, food sensitivities and bloating, to overall activity levels.  And the 1,200 calorie mark that someone made up is actually not a realistic number for most adults (this is actually where children normally are placed.)  So before you decide to start following some cookie cutter meal plan on the internet, start with going to your primary care doctor to get bloodwork.  And from there, a Registered Dietitian can give you a guideline of what’s best for YOUR body.

#3:  Staying consistent and repetition

The hardest part of changing your lifestyle is just getting started, but it can be SO hard to stay motivated if we are “not seeing results”.  So before you decide to throw in the towel, remember that “results” take time with a good plan!  If you have no plan, then you may never see results.  But when we think about “results”, we typically associate that to the way we look when results are much deeper than just looks.  Did you know, if you walk for just 30 minutes a day, you can increase your cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, boost muscle power and endurance?  As well as you reduce your risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and some cancers!  So while we may not care about all of that in the moment, in 10-20 years from now, we most certainly will.

Also, understand that even with a good plan in place, you have to do it OVER and OVER to see results.  So instead of giving yourself a 3 month timeframe, change your mentality and lifestyle to be “forever”.  There is no time limit on living a healthy lifestyle.

So what are the next steps to putting together the BEST plan for you?  At a minimum, have an EDUCATED and EXPERIENCED Personal Trainer put together a plan that’s individualized for you and your goals.  You can also work with a Registered Dietitian to put together a Nutrition game plan for you (tip:  MOST insurance companies will actually pay a percentage if not all of the cost to see a Registered Dietitian).  And then finally, don’t give up!  Stay consistent and find other ways to stay motivated other than the physical component of it all.

Need help with putting together a custom plan for you?  Get an ENTIRE MONTH for FREE in February here! Use code: FREEFEB

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