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Nutri-Sport Training Tip: 6 steps to get out of a slump

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Your hands circle the warm coffee mug as you breathe in the delicious pumpkin fragrance.

FallBright orange, yellow, and red leaves crunch under your feet as the sun begins to descend a little

earlier each day. You look forward to this time of year, the season for pumpkin spice lattes,

pumpkin scented candles, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin colored…well, everything under the sun.

Sweatpants and warm, over-sized hoodies take the place of shorts, swimsuits, and sleeveless

shirts. Football season is in full swing and friends gather to watch the game, fill up on chips and

dips, and kick back with a few cold brews.

 

Despite the seasonal joys, your motivation and drive begin to drop, along with your gym

attendance. Your blankets get cozier and your desire to look fit begins to fade like a distant

memory. Although many Americans look forward to the upcoming bonfires, holidays, tasty

treats, and seasonal traditions, this is also the time of year when a motivational slump hits.

Whether you experience clinical seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or simply begin to feel a

restless, unsatisfied edginess, studies show, “Seasonal affective disorder is estimated to affect

10 million Americans. Another 10 percent to 20 percent may have mild SAD.” SAD affects

serotonin and melatonin levels, sleep, and energy. Strength training is a useful tool in preventing

these negative effects, yet it becomes one of the last priorities.

 

Regular exercise reduces stress, increases quality sleep, decreases symptoms of depression and

mood changes, and prevents a number of diseases. With this reality, it’s worth taking a few steps

to make time, because the time you refuse to put in now could be filled with setbacks that affect

the rest of your life.

• Write it down.

Recently, Forbes Magazine released a study showing the drastic difference when a group

of business professionals wrote their goals. During this study, “The 13% of the class who

had goals, but did not write them down was earning twice the amount of the 84% who

had no goals. The 3% who had written goals were earning, on average, ten times as

much as the other 97% of the class combined!”

While you’re enjoying your pumpkin spice latte, grab a notebook and pen and start

scribbling in your fitness journal. This journal will serve as a valuable accountability tool.

The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends effective goal setting with the

acronym, SMART = Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

When you choose fitness goals, go beyond wishes for smaller hips, bigger muscles, and

six pack abs. Set a primary goal related to your quality of life mentally and physically,

not your appearance. This goal will be the foundation of your success, the one you hold

onto when you cannot see your body changing. Appearance is subjective, the scale is

skewed, but a goal based on life achievements is timeless.

checklist• Schedule it.

When you schedule an appointment with your boss, you do not make excuses, call in

sick, or oversleep. Treat the gym the way you would an appointment with your boss. If

you desire to be successful in any career or relationship, you keep appointments. You

invest time and money and you show up on the job regardless of your mood each day.

Set a consistent, attainable time each week (for many, this will start with 30 minutes,

three days a week), put alerts on your phone, lace up your tennis shoes, and show

up. In time, this will become a habit if you choose to show up without excuses. Your

commitment to yourself is just as important as your commitment to others. The way you

treat your gym appointments will carry over to the rest of life.

• Plan ahead.

As you schedule your dates with Gym, plan ahead to succeed. Set your clothes out the

night before, pack a gym bag and keep it in your car. Choose a gym you will drive by

on your way to work. Leave yourself no wiggle room. If you know you have to get up at

6 a.m. to workout before you go to work, go to bed on time the night before. Planning

ahead gives you the extra incentive not to waste your preparation time by skipping out.

• Bring help.

Hire a personal trainer. Accountability is a key factor in remaining committed to any

goal. Invest in your health and your success rate will improve dramatically. When you

pay someone to be your guide, you are far less likely to waste your own money.

Quality personal trainers are not simply there to drive you through a workout. They are

both mental and physical support to you – utilize them. In addition, a trainer will help

reduce the risk of injury and increase your rate of success. (See “Top Ten Reasons to

Hire a Personal Trainer” by American Council on Exercise”)

• Communicate.

When your routine becomes boring or you struggle to make it to the gym, be honest with

those around you. Seek their support. More importantly, be honest with yourself. Being

able to acknowledge your lack of motivation and inviting your support group to be part of

the journey will prevent you from slipping further into a rut.

• Picture it.

Envision success. Often, people quit from a fear of failure and rattle off a plethora of

excuses to mask this fear. People are hard on themselves in all the wrong ways. Do not

just picture the end goal – your body 10, 20, 50 pounds lighter. Instead, picture your

success in each workout, in each repetition, and push through those supposedly small

steps to the end goal. Psyche yourself up, fall in love with the journey, and have faith in

the process.

 

-Bridget Smith
For more information on this or other supplementsnutrition coaching or personal training, email bridget@nutrisportFPT.com or visit either our Clive or Altoona locations, where you want to go for results and not a sales pitch!

“Like” us on Facebook here

Nutri-Sport and Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd
Clive, IA 50325
www.nutrisportfpt.com
515.331.2141

Nutri-Sport Altoona
1003 8th St SW, STE K in Altoona (next to Hairy’s Day Spa)
Altoona, IA 50009
515.266.2225

 

Seasonal Depression Research

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/tc/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad-topic-overview

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/symptoms/con-

20021047

Exercise Benefits: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-

20046495

Writing and Success: http://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2014/04/08/why-you-should-be-writing-down-your-goals/

Trainer: https://www.acefitness.org/updateable/update_display.aspx?pageID=575

The post Nutri-Sport Training Tip: 6 steps to get out of a slump appeared first on Nutrisport FPT.


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