How To Maintain Your Fitness Plan

While we all hear how important it is to lose weight, the best exercises for different audiences, and key ‘dos and don’ts to every fitness program, do we actually know what makes a good fitness program? Where does one start? What steps does one follow to maximize their potential? Well, here are the best steps to creating a great fitness plan:

1. Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals: Figure out what exactly you are trying to achieve. Whether it is a certain amount of weight by a certain date, more tone and definition on a certain part of your body, or perhaps it is more internal, like trying to lower blood pressure. Setting goals is a great way to visually see what you are trying to achieve and your desired date to achieve this. Your goals should be S.M.A.R.T.: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
2. Personalization: Each goal has different exercises and regimens that you should abide by. Once you have your goal, do some research into what best suits your goal. For example, if you are looking to gain more muscle and power, your exercises are going to mainly consist of high weight and low repetition. Whereas, if you are looking to gain more endurance (like training for a marathon), you are going to focus on low weight and high repetition. These are just a few ideas; obviously, different types of exercises are key for your goal.
3. Increments: Once you have your ideal exercises and frequency down, you must next plan for the month or two ahead. Week by week, or bi-monthly, increase the frequency or duration of each exercise. Increasing is a key role in working out and pushing yourself for better. If you do not add layers to your workout, you will just plateau at the same level.
4. Measure: Make sure you stick with your workout. The best way is to write it down and hold yourself accountable. Write down, next to what and how much you were suppose to do, how much you actually did. For example, if you were suppose to use the elliptical for 30 minutes but only stayed on for 20, make a note of it. The results will speak for themselves.
5. Motivation: Having the environment and friends that help motivate you are critical in any workout regimen. You need to push yourself and keep up with your workout schedule or else it is really easy to just fall back into old habits.

With these helpful tips, you won’t go wrong with your own personalized workout regimen. This is exactly how the trainers assess and help people get in shape. Do what the experts do!