JOIN US There is simply no excuse for not following any fitness regime. Richard Lovatt reckons it’s not that diificult; once you start, it can only get better.
Being a frequent traveller, a business person or simply someone who doesn't have much spare time, things can be hard when it comes to health and fitness. The problem is, there is no excuse. Your health is the most important thing in your life and you should do your utmost to protect it. This can be done in several ways, of course. I guess you're imagining me persuade you into a long and gruelling workout followed by very strict dieting. Well, I have good news for you: that’s not what you need to do.
Just because you value your health doesn't mean things have to be as hard and as strict as possible. Each and every plan will be different. Not everyone should follow the same exercise routine or eating plan, but there are some basic rules that apply to all kinds of fitness regimes. For example, everyone’s nutrition plan should be consistent and tangible.
What I mean is, you should be able to follow it for the rest of your life. Instead of just thinking ahead for the next six weeks and investing that amount of time, why not give yourself 10 years? Instead of cutting out food groups, think about how you can get more nutritious variety of foods in your diet. Why not think about healthy habits that you can follow instead of choices that you can't maintain? After all, if you can follow a plan for 10 years, then that’s 10 years’ worth of results, instead of just six weeks!
When it comes to exercise, a lot of the same rules apply. There isn't a one-rule-fits-all approach. But you simply have to fit exercise into your schedule. If it’s realistic for you to exercise only twice a week, instead of cribbing about it, why not see that as two opportunities for you to be better than you were before. Make those two sessions really count? Maybe, in the future, you can progress to daily workout sessions, but, at least for now, do something that is sustainable in the long run. Two workouts a week for 10 years is better than six workouts a week, for a mere six weeks. Get the point?
So, think of it like this. Ask yourself what position you’re in and what your health means to you. Then ask yourself, how much time, realistically, you can give yourself and what habits you think you need to slowly change. This isn't going to be an easy answer, but for now, it could mean you allow yourself two hours set over the week and you are going to concentrate on eating three hand-sized portions of protein and two pieces of fruit per day. How easy does that sound? Set easy goals, hit them and move on.
Then, the best thing to do is to schedule your week as per the time you can allocate for exercising. There you go, you now have a week set out, with habits to implement and allocated exercise time. Make sure you do things you enjoy. For example, don't go running if you hate running. Try swimming if you like it. If you don't like eating broccoli, don't make yourself eat it all the time. Try and implement habits that you like, if not love, and make sure you stick to it. If you like dancing, zumba, aerobics and the like are fun enough to stick to. Go for something that will make you want to keep improving. Go for a walk. Go for a run. Go and lift weights. Try some press-ups and jumps. Try some sprints. Anything is better than what you are currently doing - which is nothing.
So there we have it, people. The message is quite simple; no matter how busy you are, there is simply no excuse for not following any fitness regime. The reason you may not have started already is because you think the road ahead is too hard and tiresome or because you think you may become less consistent with your daily work. But really, things needn't be too hard or difficult. Once you start, it can only get better, so make that start today and make your health your number one priority.
(The writer is a trainer and nutritionist, Physique Elite)