Hi, I am Kris Stokes from Custom Fitness here, your personal trainer in Amarillo, TX. We want to be your first choice when it comes to personal training in Amarillo. Custom Fitness is a private personal training studio that customizes exercise, nutrition and lifestyle modifications to meet the needs of each of our clients. We tend to get a lot of questions from our clients (which is a great thing!) and today I wanted to discuss  a question that was asked of me recently. If you have a question or would like to discuss our topic today in more detail, give us a call 806-322-3188.

The question was: How do you get yourself out of a rut? Like when you have fallen off the wagon and forgotten how to get back on. This is a great question. Happens to a lot of people.

So many of us fall into a rut about this time of year, with the end of spring and school and the beginning of the so called “relaxing” summer…but it doesn’t have to be that way.  Right now we have got 193 days left in 2017. Basically a little bit more than half the year.

This truly is plenty of time to reach your goals! With that in mind, here is my suggestion for escaping the rut you may be experiencing and finishing the year strong.

Step 1: Take a moment and re-evaluate what you are wanting to accomplish by this year’s end. Really sit down and think about this. Why have you been so complacent with your rut?  What really makes you excited to do?

You will need to be aggressive…but remember to be realistic.

– Are you staring at the scale telling you there is that last 10 or 20 lbs to lose?

– Do you desperately want to find that energy your body has been so craving? The reason behind your afternoon naps…

– Are you finally ready to take control of your health once and for all?

Six months is plenty of time to lose up to 50lbs, train for that marathon you’ve been thinking about, or transform your body’s shape but probably not enough time to reach every lofty goal you may have thought of over the past 6 months while you haven’t been on track.

Get specific. Realistic goals that become success stories only do so by being specific. “I want to feel better” or “I want to look better” aren’t exactly specific goals. The deeper you dig into the why, what and how, the more successes you will reap.

Step 2: Next, you need to figure out how you will get there. You have the goal, but now you need to figure out your game plan.

Start by identifying the how:

– Will you hire a personal trainer or nutritionist?

– Make a calendar to plan your workout schedule during a time that you often feel overpowered by the rut?

– Create a meal plan for the next 2 or more weeks?

– Sign up for a challenge, contest or race?

– Start using the gym membership you have been paying for but not exactly attending?

Step 3: There will likely be a few key pieces of the puzzle (big and small) that help you achieve each of your goals. Once you have those key pieces in place: your how, your what, then you have to determine the ‘when.’

– Will you start today or next week? (Don’t put off what you can start now for next week)

– Will you need to plan a trip to the grocery store at the beginning or end of the week? Or both?

– Will you exercise morning, midday or evening? There is no right answer here as everyone is different. You have to find what works for you and aim to avoid the time when your rut begs you to stay on the couch a little longer.

The hardest part when you have set a personal goal and are about to dive into it is that you just cannot think BIG. If you focus on the entire picture day in and day out, you will begin to feel frustrated quickly. Rather if you think about the small steps you are taking daily to reach your BIG goal, you will quickly find you feel successful!

What small steps will you take to reach your BIG goal?

– Perhaps you will commit to exercising 5 days per week?

– Perhaps you will commit to eating healthy meals 90% of the time?

– Perhaps you will commit to working on building better and healthier habits overall? That’s great, but a little too general. Be specific!

Now it’s time to plan the week…on Sunday night (or tonight!), determine what you’ll be doing to hit that Dec 31st target this week. Give yourself enough time to do what you are planning…schedule it. Literally put it on your calendar. Exercise…check, grocery store…check, etc.  Then each and every evening – you do the same for the next day ahead. Prepare, prepare, prepare.

Success does not happen by accident. You may not be at 100% efficiency in your first month, but you can certainly take any number of steps toward that annual target. And those steps are what will get you there. Nobody leaps to their weight loss goal, body transformation goal or otherwise, not even our personal trainers in Amarillo get magically toned overnight. They step. Just like you will need to step. Thousands and thousands of tiny steps. Don’t let that discourage you; it’s a good thing.

It just requires clarity of thought in what you are trying to do and how you will get there. And if you’re not sure, schedule a time to talk with our team. We are happy to guide, direct, motivate and support people through the process. It’s kind of what we do.

So do not be the person who puts this off until the fall because “summer is crazy”. It is.

In my opinion, summer is like a big long chaotic weekend. It never gets easy or “relaxing”. But today is the best day to start. And a year from now, you will be so very glad that you did! You don’t have to leap, but you do have to take that first step.

Focus on doing what you can each and every day to stay on track for where you want to go. Find the help, support and motivation you need to do that and by December, you will be astounded at the results!

Remember that when your goals are things like body transformation, weight loss and muscle gain (even muscle tone), your diet will be 70-80% of the work. Workouts are necessary but when it comes down to it, you won’t be able to out run a bad diet. Your goals begin in the kitchen. Make smart choices, find the plan that works and is right for you, and get started.

Not every plan is right for every person, but we at Custom Fitness are ready to help you find what can work best for you to make the most of what is left of 2017. if you have any questions about our personal training, nutrition counseling, or group classes and programs, please contact us at: info@customfitness.biz or 806-322-3188. At Custom Fitness we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo, Texas. Have a great day everybody.