Getting fit and staying fit

Further to the first blog, I've decided to break down the key stages that I mentioned as the key steps to fitness.

Fitness is quite a subjective term. It's pretty vague and only has true application for the activity in question. In my short experience, I've seen how rapidly people can become very focussed on health and wellbeing and equally, how rapid can lose the desire completely. The real driver when it comes to consistency is thoughts and whether you like the notion or not, it is always a decision. We all have the choice of whether we eat fast food 5 nights a week or whether we cook from fresh. We all have the choice of whether we finish working out at the first spot of a perspiring brow or whether we push ourselves further than before.

Having personal experience of working towards a very specific event, I feel confident that I understand the level of commitment needed to start and stick to a journey of fitness. The actual doing of exercise is a pretty small part of the process. One of the greatest key points is being in control of your life! It is worth answering this question for yourself:

Are you responsible for your life, your success and your failure or do you feel that you're often a result of bad luck and suffer due to the actions and behaviour of others?

The reality is that we all have the capacity to control our own lives, it is merely deciding to do so that makes the difference. As a child, I always noticed that on one level people fall into two different brackets: they're either spectators or participants. I'm sure we can all resonate with the type of people who constantly talk about the lives of others, passing opinion and commenting on situations, sometimes positively and sometimes not. Finally, there are those that just get on and do! They're busy, organised and constantly engaging in the fruits of life and commonly it is these types of people that are successful. Deciding which side you are and which side you want to be is merely a choice.

It's all very well me writing a simple classification and effectively becoming a spectator in that but how can you improve your ability to become a do'er?

Well, in my experience, it is a science. There are certain trends that successful people tend to follow. Some of these we've all done in the past and often without really knowing that we're doing them. Hopefully this makes sense and although I'm writing it specific to getting and staying fit, it is very much a frame that can be employed against pretty much any field.

You may be aware of the SMART goal setting. Just to recap - Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Timebound. A great and simple structure for embarking on any fitness journey. It's essential to have a specific goal that is attainable, set to a date and true for you. However, there are a couple of things that aren't in this system which are possibly the most important. When making decisions, we are all tied with emotions. Emotions are the most powerful drivers in the body and knowing this allows us to employ them for positive results. What I would suggest is using a SMARTER system to embark on a journey. The additions are Emotional attachment / enjoyment and Reward.

Emotional attachment is understanding why the goal is important to you and you can do this on your own. If your goal is weight loss, ask yourself 'for what purpose'. You can repeat this question until you get to an answer which has some emotive weight within you. You are the only person who will know this and knowing this helps you understand the real intention behind your desires. As you understand the intention, you'll be able to remind yourself more frequently of the true intention. Further to this, enjoyment is crucial and again, you are the only person that knows whether or not you enjoy something. When it comes to exercise, there are so many options out there that there is never a need to drag yourself through 60 minutes of boredom or anger. Test, adjust and figure out what you enjoy. Don't give up looking until you are absolutely convinced that you truly enjoy whatever you are committing to.

The final part of the acronym is Reward. The competitive nature of modern living has somehow removed the skill of self-gratification. Acknowledging your own achievement is a crucial aspect to a balanced mentality. Make sure that when you embark on a journey, have something clear that will be the reward to mark effort and commitment...and stick to it.

When I decided to run 7 marathons in a week, my driver was 3 weeks in New Zealand. On day 2, having tripped and twisted my knee, the last thing I wanted to do was get up and run another 5 and a half marathons. However, the emotional driver that I had and the reward were so great that I actually don't remember focussing on my knee for the rest of the week.

The mind is a powerful tool, direct it towards the things you want and have an awareness of the things that you don't.

Phill