Preparing for fitness success is important because nationally 50% of Americans fail in  their attempt to stick to a fitness program within the first six months.  So let’s get you off on the right step…..

Determine Your Goals

Why do you want to be fit?  For each of us it is different.  It may be short-term goals such as looking good for a wedding or reunion; or it could be longer-term goals such as having more energy for your kids, or to go off of medications.  I suggest you write down your goals and put them on the fridge or some other prominent place.  And put a few exclamation marks after them, underline them, or jazz them up with some pictures of people in your life who you love.  For your goals are going to drive you, they are going to be the things that make you get up on a cold morning to take that walk or go workout after a long day at work when you are tired and stressed.

My inspiration to stay fit.

“I Can’t Workout Because I’m Having A Bad Hair Day”

I love the commercial where the couple tells of all their excuses to not exercise (http://youtu.be/Z2JSWgkwRL4).  “I missed the cat”, and “my mother called” gave me a good laugh.  A can-do attitude is the only way to go with fitness.  As Nike says, you have to “Just Do It”.  To be fit you have to want it.  And with your busy life and responsibilities tugging at you this way and that you’ve got to want it bad.  You have to get yourself excited about fitness and achieving your goals.  Put it in your head that you are going to get serious about getting fit; that nothing will get in your way or distract you from moving your body.  This is what separates success from failure.  Those who succeed don’t allow bad hair days or anything else to interfere.

Here are some good attitude tips for fitness….

• If you believe you can do something your mind sets out to make it happen; your mind begins to find solutions.  If you believe you can’t do something then your mind goes with that.  It’s the same principal as when you tell yourself you are going to have a good day, your mind believes it and therefore it is more likely to happen.
• Replace your thoughts of, “I will try to do this” with “I will do this”.  Make sure you use words like “I can”, “I will”, and “I am going to”.  Believe with all your heart that you can do whatever it is you have set out to do.
• Be a “yes man” or a “yes woman”.  If you ever saw the funny movie Yes Man with Jim Carey you will know that I am talking about saying yes to life instead of no.  When someone asks you to go hiking, or a child asks you to play catch…yes makes you a participant in life as opposed to a spectator.

• Embracing fitness means you will be exploring new fitness options for yourself, learning new information and even getting out of your comfort zone.  Do realize that not everything you expose yourself to will work but that because your attitude is positive you will be persistent and find what does work.
• Thinking that you may not have enough time to be fit is a good example of where you want to replace a can’t-do thought with some can-do.  Know that you can come up with a solution – that there are areas in your life that you can re-prioritize so that fitness makes it into your schedule.  This may require cutting out old habits that don’t get you moving so you can adapt to your new goals and lifestyle.
• When you use positive thoughts and actions (when you are in “the zone”) you will attract other people who are also making a lifestyle change, who are active or trying to be.  This can be very helpful as studies have shown that people who connect with others are more likely to succeed with their fitness goals.

Believing In Yourself

Know that you are an amazing person capable of doing amazing things.  Love yourself as you are today, honor your past, and know that in time you will only improve.  Believe in yourself.  Visualizing can help.  First visualize what you want to be like – how you may want to be slimmer, more vibrant and happier.  Next visualize how you will get there, what steps you will take…how you will get to the gym after work, eat healthy or go for a bike ride for example.  Next, realize how good it will feel to do these activities, to go forward with your health, make a commitment, stick to it and enjoy the results.  And then believe what is in your head and believe in yourself.  Convince yourself you can do it, that you have the strength and focus to succeed.  Feel that you want this, that it is you…a new you.  Our feelings are what we act on so go from thoughts about fitness…to believing in yourself…to visualizing your success….feeling it all….then taking action.  You’ve got to eat, drink and sleep fitness; at least for the first three weeks until your actions become habit.

Think back on how in your life you set out to do something and you did it.  Maybe it was starting your career, buying a home or even finishing a road race.  Whatever you did you did it because you believed in yourself.  You put a goal in your head, you convinced yourself you would achieve that goal and you worked hard at it until you accomplished what you set out to do.  This is what is going to happen now.  Whatever your fitness goal you will rise to the occasion taking one step at a time to accomplish it.  Things will fall into place because you are going to have a positive attitude.  You will experience strength in yourself that you never knew you had.  You will work hard at it, enjoy what you are doing and make progress each week.  Yes there may be obstacles and feelings less than positive that you may experience along the way but your determination, faith and attitude will help you persist and build a stronger momentum for you.  Believe that this is your time to shine.  When you wake up in the morning start telling yourself you are going to attack this day, do a great job with whatever you have to do and succeed at making yourself healthier, stronger and happier.  Always believe in yourself and whatever gives you hope for your beliefs are powerful allies in your pursuit for good health.

Part 2 of Preparing For Fitness Success includes: Staying Focused; A Fitness Plan To Stay Motivated; Enjoying Your Fitness Journey.