THERE are a lot of different forms of fitness out there vying for your hard earned dollars. Bootcamps, one-on-one personal trainers, Boxercise, Zumba, Hot Yoga, F45, High Intensity Interval Training, weight lifting, CrossFit, Pilates, etc, etc.
All have their merits. None is good or bad of itself, or better than any other. What makes it good or bad comes down to two things – is it right for you and are you right for it.
FIRST, lets look at what is right for you.
To be able to identify this you need to know what your specific needs are. These needs range from your fitness levels, medical conditions and age to body type, time and access restraints, finances and what you enjoy doing.
Yoga and pilates are great for flexibility and core strength, but probably aren’t going to help you lose weight.
HIIT is the best for shedding excess fat, but you won’t last long if you launch into it without a decent cardio and strength base first.
Lifting weight is a great start for anyone. It provides you with a strength base, prepares your muscles, joints and bones if you wish to diversify/ progress to HIIT or Cross fit. It also burns fat and improves your general health.
Long distance cardio can turn you into a Zen master, help you lose weight and improve your heart and lung capacity but many don’t have the time or patience to spend hours running, cycling or swimming.
So first of all, narrow it down to the type of exercise a) your body will benefit most from and b) you are likely to want to show up and persist with.
HOWEVER, none of that matters a bit if you can’t do one thing - Commit. This is where the “Are you right for the exercise?” comes into it. Don’t believe that any form of exercise or piece of exercise equipment will make you fit without you putting in the effort. This means not finding excuses to miss sessions and when you turn up for your workout, making your workout your primary focus. It is fine to workout with a social group and enjoy each other’s company. But each lift you do needs to have your 100% concentration and commitment. Have a chat and relax between sets, but when you’re under or over the bar, focus entirely on the muscles you need to be using and putting in the effort required to gain maximum benefit.
If it is interval training then push yourself hard to the end of each interval. The hurt won’t last, you will feel better for it after and you will walk away with a sense of achievement that will help your confidence, health and self esteem. It will also make it easier next time you turn up for a workout, which will eventually lead to exercise becoming an integral, valued part of your life, not a resented chore.
There is not much point in going to F45 classes if you only do them at 60%. Likewise you are not getting the benefits from your bootcamp if you are talking during your exercises. If either of these sounds like you then stop it – save your money. You can get general health benefits from low intensity exercise like walking. It will help you live longer and be healthier but you will not shift those extra kgs or reach your personal goals. To achieve your goals means persisting when things start getting difficult. Doing that last rep even though your muscles feel close to giving out, or maintaining/lifting the tempo in the last 15 seconds of each exercise of your F45 or HIIT workout, or holding the yoga or pilates position until the instructor says “release” despite the feeling your muscles are about to combust. It is in those moments that you gain the benefits you seek. That’s when your body shifts into overdrive and you make the gains you are after – the ones you are paying for.
The down side is it is not easy. The good thing is nothing good is easy. This is where the psychology comes into it. The toughest challenge a PT faces is to get a client to embrace the difficulty of the challenge. In essence the client has to learn to become comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. The only way to do that is to commit and persist. Learn to embrace the hard parts, rather than shying away from them and saying “No more”. The rewards will be worth it. Only then will you start to see the results and benefits you imagined when you signed up for your exercise.