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Atlanta personal trainer Wlaa Weeks, former Florida State Seminoles football player and current NASM Certified Fitness Professional, has put together ten essential fitness tips that everyone can use. From settings goals to updating your “tunes”, these are ten “must-read” tips for helping you reach your fitness goals and overall physical well-being.
- Set Attainable Goals: Daily, weekly, and monthly goals should be set to reach your overall goal. This seems like a lot of work but this allows you to be accountable for your actions and to evaluate your actions and how it relates to your overall results. Relative to how you set goals in your personal life, goals should be written out and kept in a place that can be seen every day. “I want to complete 30 minutes of cardio everyday”, “I want to lose 2lbs each week”, “I want to reach to my 30 inch waist by the summer”, are all attainable goals that can be reached a lot faster by being more accountable. Get a journal and keep track of daily and weekly activities relative to your fitness and health goals, and evaluate yourself at the end of each week. This task definitely keeps you accountable and in the front seat to SUCCESS!
- Measure in Order to Manage, Know your Starting Point: “If you know where you came from, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.” Depending on your goals when starting a fitness program, whether it is related to weight loss, loss of body fat, increase of strength, or decrease in time of 1-mile run, measurements should be taken to have a record of where you start at This could include checking body fat percentage, weight, and body measurements among others to know where you start at.
- Forget One, Do “All Three”: Always warm up before a workout, and cool down after a workout to prevent injury. Cardiovascular training, resistance training and eating well are the three major areas you need to implement in order to see positive results. One without the other slows down the process, and hinders overall progress.
- Kill That Excuse, Schedule your Workouts: Stop using the excuse, “I just don’t have enough time in the day to go to the gym”. Input a slot for a workout into your daily calendar, even if it’s a 20-minute workout, it adds up! It doesn’t even have to be at the gym, you can do a workout ANYWHERE. Schedule your alarm clock 30 minutes earlier or instead of sitting in rush hour traffic after work, stay late and exercise at a gym near your job or at your job. These are all things that CAN be done; you just have to change your lifestyle for the better.
- Define What Fitness Means to You: Everyone has their own definition of what fitness means to them, and this is your prerogative. Fitness can be considered as individual as one’s DNA. Consider what’s feasible based on your life and goals, then focus on the physical demands required to meet those goals.
- Find your Niche: There are a number of different ways to get a good workout. Figure out what you like to do. It is important to engage in preferred activities (as you are more likely to follow through), just be sure to include all other necessary components to balance out overall fitness.
- Maximize your Time, Do a Little More: Try to be more active as a lifestyle, period! Stop thinking of exercise as something to squeeze into your day, but instead, start making your entire day one big workout! When working out try to stay active throughout, to maximize your results and time. Park further away from your destination, take the stairs instead of elevator and walk whenever possible.
- Reduce Stress: Though we are under a great deal of stress with today’s economy, there are several simple ways to reduce stress levels. Make it a point to think positive thoughts throughout the day. Schedule time to do things that are relaxing to you: Read a book, listen to music, treat yourself to a massage and/or facial, soak in a hot tub, meditate or walk through the park with your dog.
- Get Ready For the Next Workout: Pay attention to rest and regeneration of the body which seems to be lacking in a fitness regimen. Your body needs to recover and it’s up to you to make that happen. Pamper yourself by scheduling a massage after a workout once in awhile, soaking in a hot tub or just simply resting your body completely. Believe it or not, rest and regeneration are imperative to overall success in health and fitness. Plan for your next workout to ensure that you actually get it done.
- Update Your Tunes: Always make sure you update the music on your MP3 player to have the most recent upbeat songs to carry you through your workouts. Studies show that upbeat music helps stimulate the mind and body and significantly helps get through a workout much easier.
Atlanta personal trainer Wlaa Weeks wants to help you achieve your lifelong dream of physical fitness and well-being. Contact him today to learn more about the many services he can offer you..
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