HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! - Achieving your goals, motivation, inspirtion, affirmation & positivity!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

While Christmas & New Years is a fun time full of parties, yummy food & alcohol it is also a time where you may get off track with your health & fitness if you’re not careful!

Kick start 2011 by getting back into your healthy eating and training NOW! Don’t put it off until tomorrow...it starts now!
Rid your cupboards of unhealthy food & fill them with clean, nutritious food. Instead of having a sugary or alcoholic drink tonight, have a green or white tea instead!

I myself am guilty of getting off track over the holiday period, which I allowed myself as what is the point of working so hard throughout the year if you can’t relax & enjoy some bad foods occasionally. As much as eating that Christmas cake & drinking those yummy fruity cocktails on New Year’s Eve tasted great at the time, I soon realized that it wasn’t worth it! I felt sluggish, sickly & had no energy. So I decided to snap myself out of feeling this way and got back into my healthy eating and training. I did my first training session of the year yesterday. Even though the gym was shut, I was not going to let that be an excuse to put off my training to the next day. IT STARTS NOW! If you don’t do something about it NOW then it will never get done as I have discovered in the past! So I set up am at home circuit of 4 exercises using some weights.

It was a very hard workout (thanks to all the unhealthy food I’d eaten in the past 2 weeks) but I’m proud I did it & got through it & I felt so much better after I’d done it!

Here is what I did;

SHOULDERS: 12 reps of 5kg dumbbell lateral raises

LEGS: 20 reps of 18kg overhead squats

TRICEPS: 12 reps of 5kg triceps extensions

ABS: 30 reps of roman twists holding a 10kg plate.

I did these 4 exercises 5 times back to back (no rest in between sets). Then to change it up I did;

SHOULDERS: 12 reps of 5kg dumbbell shoulder press

LEGS: 20 reps of 18kg lunges (holding a 9kg dumbbell in each hand)

TRICEPS: 12 reps of 5kg French presses

ABS: 30 reps of roman twists holding a 10kg plate.

I do this another 5 times. So all up you have done each of the 4 exercises X 10 times!

For examples of dumbbell exercises please check out this site that I have mentioned in a previous blog:

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dumbbellexercises.html

If you need to, have a small rest of about 10 seconds in between each exercise.

Circuits are great as you’re incorporating strength and cardio training in one and you’ll be exhausted at the end of it. It only takes about half an hour to do (depends on how much rest you have in between sets but aim to have no rest in between) – work your way up – start with 20 secs rest in between each set & next time decrease the amount of rest you have in between. Before you know it you’ll have no rest! You’ll get better and better! J

The longer you put off changing to healthy eating and training, the harder it will be to start. SO START NOW!

MOTIVATION & INSPIRATION

Motivation is hard to maintain which is why we need to motivate ourselves every day. It is a day to day challenge.

It’s important we know exactly what it is we want as it is easier to achieve your goals if you have a clear picture of you goals!

What inspires you? Look at the body you want in magazines & imagine having that body. Keep pictures of the body you want around the house, as your computer screen saver, on your bedroom wall, in the toilet – places you will be able to see them every day & look at the images before you work out and imagine them even while you’re working out. Thinking of how you aspire to look will help you push through hard workouts & will reinforce the reason why you’re doing this, why it is worth it!

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF & AFFIRMATIONS

 You have to believe in yourself, believe you can & will achieve your goals – this applies to everything in life, whether it is to lose weight, quit smoking, or get your dream job. If you don’t think you’re capable then you won’t be! Believe you are capable & you deserve this!

Look at yourself in the mirror & tell yourself you can do this. Look yourself right in the eye. By looking yourself in the eye as you state your affirmation you magnify the importance of the message to yourself. You will find it harder to let yourself down!

If your goal is to get fit and healthy; Tell yourself you WILL commit to a healthy eating plan, you WILL allocate time for exercise every day, you WILL resist unhealthy food temptations, you WILL get the body you have always wanted  you WILL maintain your body once you have reached your goal!
YOU CAN DO THIS!

Regular positive affirmations keep you focused on your goal. Remind yourself every day what it is you want & why & believe you will achieve them!

Words and thoughts are more powerful than you think!

Write down your goals & your affirmations & leave notes around the house. Eg. I choose to eat clean, healthy food & exercise regularly so I can have a healthy fit body & can live my life to the fullest!

Be positive – you are much more likely to stay committed & achieve your goals if you are positive about the entire journey you have to take to get there.
Rather than thinking; “I hate exercising & find it boring” – think;
“I love exercising because of the great benefits I get such as an increase in energy levels & endorphins, let alone the amazing body I will have!”.

 “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results.”

You are the product of your thoughts - what you think, you become!

Be proud of yourself of what you have already achieved & what you are continuing to achieve. It is a step by step process! – Take it one step at a time & be proud of each step you have achieved.

VISUALISE YOUR GOALS

If you are a sprinter and your goal is to win a race, visualise with minute detail you actually winning the race. Visualise it as if it were real, imagine how you would feel winning the race. See yourself how others would see you. Replay winning the race over and over in your head so when you actually go to run the race, you have already won several times before in your mind. It’s like you have rehearsed winning many times before & you’re just doing it again.

Visualising yourself achieving success at whatever it is you want to achieve, dramatically improves your chances of achieving it.

- Remember you must be prepared to actually walk the path to success in the real world too & take all steps necessary to achieve your goals!

So what are you waiting for? Start achieving your goals NOW!

2011 IS THE YEAR YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN – THE CHOICE IS YOURS!!! J