I coach basketball as a hobby. There is a key difference between players that play late in the fourth quarter and those who sit on the bench in critical situations. It's not about skill, it's about mental stability and strength.
Same with reaching fitness goals. It's a battle and there are times when it's easy to give up.
Champions have a correct and positive visualization of the end goal and end point.
Part of the champion mentality is to have only a positive image of what the end result should be. I know many people who have been fat for years and only think of themselves as fat.
THAT HAS TO STOP.
You not only need to think of yourself as lean, healthy and strong. You have to "experience" it before the fact. That means touching your waistline and "feeling" the hard muscles below, that means speaking about your fitness goals as if you have already achieved them, that may even mean buying clothes 3 sizes too small because you WILL get there.
Also, avoid what are known as self-sabotaging thoughts. Our conscious mind wants something (money, muscles, fat loss whatever) but there are those sub conscious thoughts that get in the way. E.g.
(Conscious thought): I need to eat well to lose some fat. I want to get lean. I know that means no starchy foods unless I just did some exercise.
* I choose a few meat and leafy vegetable dishes from the restaurant.
* I begin to sit down and look at my plate
(Sub-conscious, self sabotaging thought): This is not going to make me feel full, where is the pile of rice I usually eat?...
(to me, the most damaging thought): "What is a meal without rice/noodles/potatoes?"
With all those self defeating thoughts, the conscious mind can only overcome for a while, and it cannot continuously overcome them.
Some things that help: Put your goal down on paper, and then read it a hundred times in a row. "I want to lose 5 kg in the next 2 months". As you read it, there will likely be self sabotaging thoughts that come up. Cut these down by focusing on the image of what it will be like to have achieved your goal easily and painlessly.
Champions have a desire for excellence.
You can't live a healthy lifestyle in moderation. You need excellence. Moderation is actually a set up for failure. This probably isn't' what most people want to hear. But it's WAR out there. We need to b tough.
Moderation is not the way to win a war. We need to aggressively take massive and decisive action. No we don't need to be perfect, none of us are. But 90% and above is good enough.
2. Social support for Success
Human beings need a community for continued success. Changing a behavior has 3 components. First is awareness. The realization that there is a need for change and that change will bring about positive effects. The second is intervention. The actually change of behavior. In this case it may be hiring a personal trainer, or starting a good diet and exercise program. The final stage actually makes or breaks the process. It is called sustenance. It means making the change permanent - when we are talking about reaching fitness goals, it is long term success that matters most.
To do this, an encouraging and positive community is vital. There is a saying that "you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with." If your family and closest friends are all pizza and beer fans who's idea of excessive exercise is golf on the Nintendo wii, what do you think your chances of keeping to an exercise plan will be? Yup, close to nil.
I beleive community is one of the reasons that fitness classes like Pilates, yoga, step aerobics and boot camps are so popular. Are their training programs better than a top end personal trainer. Certainly not. But there is the factor of community and social support that encourages people to come back. That's certainly a positive thing.
3. A Will to change
While this is linked to no.1 I think it bears special mention. Change is a scary thing for many people because it can be uncomfortable and it brings about uncertainty. People tend to do things which they know the outcome of because its safe.
However there are some changes we cannot afford NOT to make if we want to reach our fitness goals. One example is a client of mine who simply loved to jog. He had knee, back and lower leg problems but just would not stop. Physically I knew exactly what he needed to do, but he just wouldn't.
What prompts an individual to make changes to his/her actions? Often it is not persuasive arguments but rather experiences that make a profound impact. I challenged him to stop and trade jogging for 8 weeks of sprint cycling and weight training. If he did not absolutely love the results of these 8 weeks, I would give him a full refund of his money as well as a free session with a top physio therapist in the area. He agreed and after 8 weeks, he became pain free, stronger, more muscular, and leaner. I don't think excessive jogging will ever be a problem again for this man.
He had the will to change, sure it took some incentives but incentives are never a real problem. There are so many definite benefits to getting fit and lean. And deep inside I believe that he knew that the painful and stagnant jogging protocol wasn't getting the job done. Similarly the TV watching and potato chip eating protocol isn't going to get the jog done either. Change is needed.
4. A will to learn
Desire to do something is directly co related to competence in that activity. Good personal trainers and coaches care that clients continue with a healthy lifestyle even when they are no longer employing them. That's why part of every session i coach is a review and education session as to why we just did what we just did. This builds the client's knowledge base and makes them more and more competent so that they are more and more likely to do healthy activity. Trainers who simply count reps and cheer-lead clients are just not doing their jobs.
Even if you are not employing a trainer or fitness coach, learn all you can about fitness, nutrition, how your body works. I can assure you that when you continually learn how awesomely created your body is, you will want to train and you will not feel like putting bad food into the wonderful machine that is your body.
Right now go to amazon.com and buy a book about a fitness topic. It really doesn't matter which one because you never ever get dumber by reading a book. "don't believe everything you read, but don't just read things you believe". It's a great attitude to learning. In fact studies show that after genetics (not much you can do about that), the next greatest determinant of IQ is the number of books a person reads (ALOT you can do about that!).
5. A will to fight through to the finish
Easier said than done. How long does one of my fat loss programs last? 12-16 weeks. Are the results awesome yes. But still its 16 weeks. Its actually very quick, after all, a person may spend 30 years getting fat, whats 16 weeks for fat loss? But! That is eight times longer than the promises made by slimming centers, TV infomercials and dangerous diet pills. And the uninformed customer may choose based on this "promise".
In this age of 5 minute meals, instant downloads (how long did it take for this page to load?) and quick fix fitness, the will to "finish strong" is very much overlooked.
However take heart. You will be rewarded. Pushing hard to the finish point is very much part of the champion mindset. I have met some of my athletes who have the will to win but not all of them have the will to PREPARE to win. They love to play in games but they don't want to put in the hours and effort in training. A champion boxer once said that you can cheat on your training in the darkness of the early morning, but you will be found out in the bright lights of the stadium.
That's what this is about, the long haul, consistent will to make the choices that get you to your fitness goals. Stay strong and good luck!
Personal Trainer Fitness Software
Unfortunately, there is a wide variety in the quality of instruction and coaching in boot camps here in Singapore. This can be a HUGE downside.
Many fitness instructors want to start boot camps simply to earn a "quick buck" because there is a lot of money to be made in the fitness and beauty industry in Singapore. These instructors may or may not have any of the skills or experience to design custom workouts for the wide variety of fitness levels typical in large group training. Here are my top 10 tips on how to select a boot camp that will get you results and keep you safe, healthy and happy at the same time:
The Top 10 Tips For Boot Camp Safety
1.) The Instructor(s) Must Be experienced coaches with years of exercise and coaching experience under their belt. There are many online pay-for-certifications where people can get a certificate with little or no knowledge of proper training methods. In Singapore there are some basic exercise courses and fitness instructor courses that ANYBODY could pass with just a weekend's worth of reading the textbook. Can you put your health, fitness and future in the hands of this person? Lousy coaching is what makes the fitness industry look bad due to injuries to clients!
2.The coaches that guide you through the bootcamp must look the part! They should be fit and lean or else the program clearly does not work. If the trainer takes physical fitness seriously and is up to date with the latest training methodologies, they will be fit and look fit themselves, plain and simple. Have you seen people who wear a polo T-shirt with "fitness instructor" printed on the back, but a big belly on the front? I have. It's embarrassing to the fitness industry. After all, who wants to take advice from someone who is in worse shape than they are!
3.) The Instructor(s) must Be Experts with Exercise Progressions and modifications. Every exercise has the appropriate regression and progression based on your current fitness level. Overweight, de-conditioned beginners SHOULD NOT perform the exact same exercises as their more fit counterparts. If you ask your trainer if he/she can show an exercise modification that better suits your particular situation, fitness level and past injury history, and they give you a blank stare, that "instructor" is not worth your hard earned cash!
4.) The Instructor(s) Must Provide A Personal Touch. Although a good trainer can effectively train the group as a whole and still give that personal touch, he/she must be willing to speak with clients before AND after every workout to address any individual needs that might arise within the scope of your training or in related to other very important topics like your nutrition, corrective exercise to improve your posture and muscle imbalances or your injury history.
5.) The Program Must Emphasize Body Weight Before External Resistance. There should be no added weight to any movements until you have mastered the key foundational body weight exercises in full ranges of motion like push-ups, squats, lunges, etc. A red flag should be raised if you are being instructed to add weight to a movement that you have yet to master with your body weight alone. This one's important because it's not a matter of if you will get hurt... it's a matter of when!
6.) The Training System Must Focus on Body Weight Circuit Training and Cardio Interval Training. High-Intensity Interval Training is scientifically proven to burn 9x more fat, in half the time! This is in comparison to aerobic training like jogging or swimming.
Thus it is critical that both the resistance training AND cardio programs provided incorporate intervals since, in my 10 years of real world experience with clients of all ages and fitness goals, the aim of 99% of fitness enthusiasts is fat loss.
Furthermore, most people are seeking for the lean, athletic look of a men's health or women's health cover model respectively, and this is easily accomplished with 2-5 body weight resistance training movements organized in a circuit fashion with the proper pre-programmed work to rest periods between exercises.
A good coach can get you a great workout without too much equipment or fancy gadgets!
7.) The Program Must Provide Nutritional Coaching. Nutrition is a huge part of the weight loss battle. In fact, it is impossible to "out train" bad nutrition. You would simply be wasting your money on your boot camp since there is no amount of exercise that can compensate for poor dietary habits. However, In reality, most people are too busy, and to be frank...too lazy, so the nutrition program needs to be clearly outlined and easy to follow. Nutrition plans must build habits not just "cookie cutter recipes" because habits stay with you for life and life long health and fitness should be the aim of any boot camp provider.
8.) The Program Must Have A Website AND An Interactive Web 2.0 Social Network. In today's world, any service must have a comprehensive and informative website. Personal training is not just about "training," it is a business and it needs to be approached that way. Furthermore, social support must extend outside of the boot camp workout. There are several web 2.0 interactive social networks (e.g. Facebook, NING) that offer member profiles, blogging, and a forum where trainers and clients can interact with each other for FREE, so there is no excuse not to set this up for boot camp clients.
9.) The Program Must Have Social Proof And Raving Fans who are walking, talking billboards for the effectiveness of the program. Client testimonials are one of the best forms of proof that the program works. Their previous clients should have results and be raving about all of the benefits and results that they have received from the program. Ask for before and after pictures and written or video testimonials of their services before signing up (again, this should be made available on the company website). In fact, you should go as far as to ask for the email addresses of former clients so that you can get "first hand" info about the quality of the service and the results that these other clients have gotten.
And remember, it's NOT just about the weight loss. Benefits should include, but not be limited to, increased energy levels, dress/pant size reduction, improved health profiles, increased strength and flexibility, less joint pain, etc.
10.) The Program Must Offer A FREE Trial or Satisfaction Guarantee. If the program is confident about what they have to offer, then they will let you come in and try it for free or they will guarantee your satisfaction or your money back to completely eliminate the risk on your end. A program that guarantees you results, will minimize the barriers for prospects like yourself to enter the program, because they know that once you experiences the benefits of the program firsthand they will surely buy!
Jonathan Wong has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Trainer, Finances and Personal Trainer. Coach Jonathan Wong is Singapore's Top Personal Trainer and Fitness Expert. He is a sought after author on fitness topics and is a member of Men's Health Advisory Panel. Clients come to him to improve their health, fitness and sports performance. He has h. Jonathan Wong's top article generates over 6600 views. Bookmark Jonathan Wong to your Favourites.
