8 Ways To Overcome Fitness Obstacles

via Nike Blog

Perhaps you have seen this viral marketing campaign that Nike has been doing to promote activity – hopefully aided by their products. It sure gets the message across! 

It got me thinking of some of the other obstacles that can often stand in our way on the path to fitness and some of the ways we have overcome them to stay On Track to our goals. While none are as drastic as the image above, they are equally as effective.

  1.   Five Minutes

You don’t feel like it. You have had a long day. A long week.

Don’t do the full workout then, just do it for five minutes.

Once you are doing it for 5 minutes you will feel better, energized and motivated. So why not another 5 minutes? Then another? Work out in 5 minute increments.

I think you see my trick here. 

  2.  Throughout the Day

You don’t have 1 hour to devote to yourself? What – Do you work full time, have a long commute, a family to take care of, a demanding boss, going to school too, etc.?

Yes, there is always something demanding on our time. Your health should demand some as well. 

If you have a lot of demands pulling you in different directions and you don’t have one hour to devote to yourself - add your workout throughout the day. This is a big part of On Track Daily’s philosophy if you have been reading us for a while.

Perhaps 15 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch, and some more at the end of the day.

Another great way is to challenge yourself to do 5 sets of 50 throughout the day. Those 50 things can be pushups, lunges, crunches, or anything – just meet that goal sometime throughout the day.

3.       First Thing

Get it out of the way! Feel a sense of accomplishment throughout the day by getting that morning jog in, weight lifting routine or yoga. This can be hard if you rely on team sports for fitness but very attainable if you focus more on individual actions. Replace your slippers with your shoes so you hop out of bed ready to go.

4.       Schedule It

Make your fitness time like any other important appointment. Put in on your calendar and once it is there it is set in stone. You wouldn’t cancel an appointment with your boss or client, so don’t cancel the one you make with yourself either.

5.       Show Up

Building on the idea of 5 minutes, if you go to a gym, dojang, court or somewhere else to do your fitness this is a great method. There is a quote by Woody Allen that 90% of life is just showing up. So take that to heart and at least go to the place. You may not feel like it, you may not be able to give it your all, but you are reinforcing the habit of making fitness a priority. Once you are there you may feel more energized by those around you too!

Plus, once you start making excuses on why you can’t go today – it’s even easier not to go tomorrow. So just show up and reinforce that positive habit!

6.       Team Up

Join a team or find a workout partner to keep you motivated. If you are accountable to someone else to participate in an event, train, or be their spotter you will be much more likely to engage in the activity yourself.  You won’t want to let the other person down and simultaneously you won’t let yourself down.

7.       Reward yourself

You did it! You went to the gym all week. You did yoga three times. You ran 10 miles. Congratulations! Whatever goal you set for yourself, you accomplished it. Don’t let that go unrewarded. Perhaps you made a bet with someone; it’s time for them to pay up. Maybe you made the bet with yourself and now $10 is going in the vacation fund, or toward a concert, or some other item. 

One caveat though: try not to reward yourself with food or drink and negate all your efforts. Working out all week to indulge in a chocolate cake is not sending yourself the right message. Treat food as part of your lifestyle, not a reward for another part of it.

8.       Visualize it

This can be a powerful method that can be done in a great variety of ways. You can leave your gym clothes or running shoes out in plain sight as a constant reminder as if they are saying, “Put me on and use me!” You can also hang pictures of yourself that show how you used to look and where you are trying to be again or pictures of yourself at your worst to make sure you never go there again. This last one is a bit extreme, but it really motivates some people.

Inspired by the picture that started the blog, you can remove the couch cushions as a cue to get going. However, you do need somewhere to recover - so keep them handy!

Try one of these or all of them to see what works best for you, and then let me know.

What ways do you stay on track to meeting your fitness goals?

.:MF