Time To Shape Up

Fallen out of love with fitness?

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

Fallen out of love with fitness? This easy-to-follow plan helps you get back into it by starting from scratch 

After running for what felt like a gold medal-worthy 20 metres for the bus, you realise your cardio fitness is a little lacking. It’s become obvious that whatever dedication to exercise you showed throughout the party season hasn’t really benefitted you that much. Regardless of whether it’s been two months since you donned your LBD or two years, the following advice will help equip you with the knowledge and tips you need to reignite your fitness mojo.

WHERE TO START?

This is often the hardest part, but with some good organisation and preparation it can become less daunting – exciting even. We’ve all heard the quote “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”; excuses are born from lack of planning, so it’s time to get sorted! Give yourself the best chance of sticking to your new fitness routine and aim to do the following:

ESTABLISH... your short- and longterm goals and write them down. People roll their eyes at goal setting but without a point of focus it is too easy to drift back into old habits. It can be as simple as setting a short-term goal of exercising a minimum of four times a week for the first month. Or a long-term goal maybe to run a 24-km marathon without giving up halfway. Write your goals down, frame it and leave it somewhere where you’ll look at it every day, or make it your phone’s screensaver.

DECIDE... when you would prefer to exercise. Be specific with the time and what activities you would like to do, then enter each session as recurring appointment in your calendar. For example, Monday – 30-minute walk at 7 pm; Wednesday – morning swim at 6.30 am; Friday – 1-hour HIIT training at the gym after work.

PREPARE... what you need the night before. If you’re swimming in the morning, for example, lay out your swimsuit and pack your gear and have what you’ll wear to work hanging up ready to throw on after your shower when you get back from your swim. If you have kids at school, pack their lunches before bed or have your husband help pack them in the morning so when your alarm goes off all you have to think about is getting out the door.

"Be specific with the time and what activities you would like to do, then enter each session as recurring appointment in your calendar"

 

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HOW DO I STAY MOTIVATED?

The third or fourth week of starting a new fitness regime is usually the danger zone where people start to drift off track and feel like it’s all too hard. It’s important to prepare for this and not rely on willpower alone. To keep motivation levels high, try these motivational tricks:

REWARDING YOURSELF The feeling of actually completing a planned workout is already intrinsically rewarding, but sometimes you need some external motivation to get you to the gym on that afternoon when your willpower is lacking and the couch is calling. Allow yourself to indulge in a massage or facial each time you complete 10 workouts in a fortnight, or wear a pedometer or Fitbit and splurge on a new piece of activewear every time you manage to clock up 500,000 steps.

DOWNLOAD a new song or two to your playlist each week – music is extremely motivating. Or listen to a gripping audiobook that lets you look forward to hearing the next chapter.

PUT YOURSELF in a situation where you are held accountable. You may have signed up to a new gym with the best of intentions but if you don’t turn up, the gym receptionist certainly won’t be calling you up to ask why you haven’t signed in that day. A personal trainer, on the other hand, will.

NOURISH and hydrate yourself well. By doing this you will be promoting any important functions including flushing toxins and balancing hormones, which in turn keeps us feeling energised and in a better mood overall.

What Activity Should I do?

Anything that gets you moving on a regular basis! This may involve starting out with three 30-minute walks a week for one person and three spin classes and two weights workouts for another. This depends on what your goals are as well as what’s convenient and realistic for you. Ideally a combination of activities that help improve flexibility, cardio fitness and strength is best. It’s equally important you choose to include activities that you like along with people whose company you enjoy; this way you will be more inclined to keep on track. Here are some examples of activities along with a few extra guidelines to help point you in the right direction: If you plan on joining a gym, research your options. Make sure it’s close by, financially viable, and you like the energy of the place. If you want to include weights in your routine and don’t have previous experience with resistance exercise, hire a trainer for a few sessions to teach you the correct technique and give you guidance as to what exercises are appropriate for you. You may prefer to work out at home, in which case a good option would be to follow some online workouts. If you love music and dancing, sign up to a 10-week salsa course – there’s 10 weeks of commitment right there!

YOUR 4-WEEK STARTER PLAN

WEEK 1

SUNDAY Do a grocery shop for nourishing food; write down your goals; have an idea of where you plan to walk to, as walking is going to be the start of your fitness plan; find or acquire at least two full sets of comfortable activewear, and lay one set out for Monday morning; set your alarm 45 minutes earlier than usual.

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY Rise and shine! Change into your activewear and head out for a 30-minute walk in the park.

WEEK 2

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY Repeat steps of last Sunday (except read goals instead of writing them) and call a friend to organise a game of tennis, a bike ride, a jog in the park, an exercise class or a yoga session at the gym for Tuesday.

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY Repeat previous week, but walk for 35 minutes.

TUESDAY Activity with friends or fitness buddies.

WEEK 3

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY Repeat steps of previous weekend.

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY Walk for 40 minutes on each day and at the end of each walk complete two sets of 12 reps of body weight squats, lunges, lying hip raises and knee push-ups.

TUESDAY Activity with friends or your fitness buddies.

WEEK 4

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY On top of repeating steps of the previous weekends, try a yoga or stretch class. If you aren’t able to attend a class, stream one from YouTube and follow along.

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY Repeat previous week but walk for 45 minutes and complete 2 x 15 reps of the body weight exercises.

TUESDAY Activity with friends or fitness buddies.

THE WEEKEND Round up the family or grab some friends and go for a relaxing nature walk, a swim at the beach or a bike ride.
 

TEXT: HEIDI LINDAHL/BAUERSYNDICATION.COM.AU / PHOTOS: 1243RF.COM