Approaching Fitness with a Different Mindset

Malik B., BS Health and Fitness Management, Schwinn Cycle Instructor, AFAA Primary GF Instructor, Corporate Health Unlimited

There is an importance nowadays regarding a person’s way of approaching how he or she sees fitness. Your mindset is everything in many ways, it helps you conquer so many things, but it also can have you deviate from your plans. Have you ever seen yourself wanting to accomplish a fitness goal but knew you didn’t have the mindset for it? Who said that fitness has to be a chore rather than a hobby? Who said that you must be full blown sweaty and out of breath after you leave the gym? These are a few questions that need to be answered in order to get rid of such stigma. You should want to accomplish as many fitness goals as possible but if we are being realistic half of us won’t get close to a lot of the goals we first set off for. 3 things to help change your mindset and how you see fitness!

1. Start small with goals, a game plan is everything. What I mean by small goals is you should have in mind some specific things you want to tackle in the beginning. The saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” might sound cliché but then again there is a whole lot of truth to it. Your game plan should consist of S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Bound).

The goals you choose should always have a timeline and purpose.

2. Take the small victories however they should come. Say that your goal is to increase your Muscular Strength/Endurance. When you started your fitness journey and could only get 5 push-ups and 3 weeks later you could muster a total of 10- pushups. You end up not reaching your 4-week goal of 20 reps but can still manage to pump out a challenging 15 reps. This is an example of taking the small victories in the “war”, every little victory counts. A negative mindset will not recognize the growth of what was accomplished in just 3 weeks’ time. Noticing how far you have come and visualize how far you can go.

3. Remember why you started your fitness journey. Everyone has their own reasons on why they are interested in a healthy lifestyle. There could be a plethora of reasons why you want change. For instance, maybe you want to be around for your children/grandchildren, perhaps you want to knock out your 1st marathon or it could be that you just want to sleep comfortably at night. Fitness, nutrition and a positive mindset are what can help. All journeys have hiccups along the way and setbacks happen daily, however there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s a little advice…. never let fitness “psyche” you out! It should be fun and something you can do fit into your daily or weekly routine. Fitness is such a broad component of your life so… don’t let yourself get boxed into just gym settings. Pick up neat hobbies such as biking, hiking, jogging, swimming etc. Get outdoors, take a group fitness class, get active with your pets. Fitness is what you make it! The body is ready to go, it’s the mind who you need to convince.