Success at Obtaining Fitness Goals (Part 1)

It's time for another guest blogger series.  This month our guest is PROMATx Health Club owner and trainer, Brad Covington.  In his 4-part series, Brad will discuss what keeps people from obtaining their goals at the gym and what they can do to be successful.

There are a lot of determining factors to make sure you are successful when deciding to embark on a "fitter you".

• Discipline
• Focus
• Drive
• Motivation
• Consistency
• Nutrition
• Knowledge

The first two I will focus on is "discipline" and "focus".   Without these two vital steps, obtaining your fitness goals will be a challenge.

DISCIPLINE

What defines who you are, what drives you, and how can you make sure to stay disciplined when you embark on your fitness journey?  The first step to help with your discipline is to find accountability.  This can come in different forms and I recommend doing all of them if you are serious about changing the current state in which you live and function.

• Make sure to have someone you are accountable to...don't leave it to chance.
• Hire a personal trainer, get a workout buddy, post it on Facebook or some other type of social media...anything that will have some external force to keep you accountable and on track.
• The more accountability you have the more compliant you will be.  This will keep you on the right path to success.
• Keep a food/exercise journal.

• Research has shown you will lose 64% more weight if you keep track of everything you are doing.
• Not only does it make you more aware of your caloric intake, water consumption, and consistency of your exercise patterns, it will also aid you in taking it to a more experienced person who could make modifications to your program if you reach a plateau. 

FOCUS

How can you zero in on your goals without letting life get in the way?  This is one thing that can compromise your fitness program to the point of no return!

• Visualization will help you stay the course and stay focused.
• What is visualization, you ask?  Get a picture that you would like to look like or a pair of jeans you would like to fit into.  Look at that picture or jeans every day.
• This will serve as a reminder as to why you are doing the things you are doing to get into better shape.
• When things get tough, take a look and this will serve as a reminder and help keep you focused on your goals you have set up for yourself.
• Remember to always set goals for yourself.
• By doing this you will again increase the level of focus and help you maintain it.
• When you are setting goals, make sure to set up short-term and long-term goals.
• The short-term goals will keep you focused on the task at hand while the long-term goals will make sure you stay the course.
• Make sure the goals are attainable and realistic.  By hitting these goals it will help you vault yourself to the next goal!!

Stay tuned for more tips from Brad on being successful at obtaining your fitness goals.  In the meantime, be sure to go back and check out our blog entry on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals.