How many of you know someone who has made as their New Year’s resolution to lose weight/gain muscle mass, etc. Maybe you’ve made that resolution yourself.
How’s that going? Did you lose weight/gain muscle mass, etc? How long did you go to the gym before you just stopped?
One reason for which I think a lot of people stop going to the gym, or even for that matter not keeping their New Year’s Resolution is because they lose sight of why they even made that resolution in the first place. The “why” is important because it’s the very impetus for undertaking the resolution. It’s the thing that you lean on when the going gets tough, and in the world of fitness, things are anything but easy.
What is your why for hitting the gym? If you know your purpose, you’ll succeed! You’ll persevere through the trials and tribulations, through the pain, through the hunger and you’ll eventually look back and see all the steps you took to get the results you wanted.
Here are three simple questions that you can ask yourself to find your “why” for your fitness goals. All you need is honest thinking.
Step 1.
What is your end goal?
Having the end in mind means you have something to visualize. Think about it this way, when you’re going somewhere for the first time, and you don’t know the directions there, you plug the address in your gps and you receive the directions.
In other words, if you have a concrete idea of where you want to go, you’ll be more likely to know the direction you need to head and all the twists and turns along the way.
More to the point, if your goal is to lose 6 pounds, then you have a concrete number to work towards. Losing 6 pounds is easier than losing weight. One is definite, the other is indefinite. Which is easier to stick to?
Step 2.
How do you do it?
How do you go about getting from point A to point B after you plug in the address in your GPS? Well, you get in your car and follow the directions. You follow the road signs and the map to get to point B.
If you’re goal is to lose 6 pounds, then there’s two road signs you can follow everyday to get there. Road sign 1, calculate your total daily energy expenditure. This gives you a concrete number to determine the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight, from there you’ll also get the number for how many calories you need to lose weight (a deficit). Road sign 2, find a program that fits your goal. Not all programs are equal, some are for gaining muscle mass whereas some are for losing weight.
Step 3
Why do you want it?
For what purpose do you want to lose 6 pounds? This is a difficult question only because often we have external reasons and purposes for wanting something. I want to look good for x, y or z. That’s all well and good, but for a lasting purpose, for a lasting why, you need to have an internal reason, an internal purpose.
When you understand your real why, then you’ll have something to fall back on when things are tough and when you want to quit.
Fitness goals are difficult because they require time and energy. You can’t fake results when it comes to fitness. Nobody can eat for you and nobody can lift the weights. Understanding your why will help you get the results you’re looking for!
So, what’s your why? Leave a comment to let us know!
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