'Tis the season for setting new goals and I'm writing this to hopefully help you follow THROUGH with them! Remember the main aspect of reaching your goals is CONSISTENCY! Stick with your plan and you will reach the finish line!
Some strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Exercise:
Barrier: Lack of Time
Strategy: Take the time to plan and organize your weeks, making exercise a top priority, you will find a way to fit it into your routine. Try signing up at a gym that has access for its members 24 hours a day.
Barrier: Lack of Motivation
Strategy: Try new and different exercise options. Find ways to make the workout more enjoyable, such as playing your favorite music when training. Find new workout material by reading books, magazines or browsing articles on the internet. Or you can always hire a personal trainer. :)
Barrier: Poor body image
Strategy: Focus on your personal accomplishments and do not compare yourself to others! When you find someone at the gym that distracts you with negative thoughts, remind yourself that they are here working hard on their body too! Do not judge them, they are not judging you! Focus on the many health and lifestyle benefits of exercise. Understand it is a PROCESS!
Barrier: Need for support
Strategy: Arrange to have a partner or exercise with a small group of colleagues. Communicate to your friends/family that this is extremely important to you and you need their support to follow through to your goals.
Barrier: Guilt
Strategy: Find how to seek support of your family and/or friends so that you can remove the feeling of guilt about the time spent exercising. For example, explain to them the healthier you are, the more energy and vitality you will have to spend with family and friends.
Make sure to log your physical activity and try adding some variety into your cardiovascular routine!
How often to you plan on getting in some cardio during the week? 4 days a week? 5 days a week? Do you pay attention to your heart rate while you are training? It's a great way to monitor how hard your body is working. Make sure to key in your weight and age, so it's as accurate as possible! Here is an example of a 6 week cardio program.
To determine your maximum heart rate: 220- your age. Ex. For me its 220-25 = 195 MHR
Week 1: 3 days/week at 35 min 50-65% max heart rate
Week 2: 4 days/week at 40 min 50-65% MHR
Week 3: 4 days/week- 2 sessions at 85% MHR other 2 sessions 50-65% heart rate
Week 4: 5 days/week-30 min total, 10 min on treadmill, 10 min on stair master, 10 min on elliptical 50-65% MHR
Week 5: 3 days/week-all sessions at 75-85% MHR High intensity training
Week 6: 4 days/week 45 min 50-65% MHR
Try adding Hoop Dance to your cardiovascular exercise routine!
http://www.hooping.org/2010/12/ace-hooping-fitness-study-finds-it-r...
There are 3,500 calories in 1 lb of fat, so if you do the math to loose one pound of fat a week you have to hoop for about 8 hours every week. :)Good Luck! and as always, I'm here for any questions you have! :)