If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: “Showing up is half the battle”. When starting your journey to a healthier you, it’s not at all different. But with so many people – experts and non-experts alike – having a voice and a platform, there’s a lot of information both good and bad bombarding you 24/7.
So where do you start, and how do you cut out the noise and do what you need to do? When I started my fitness journey in 2017, tipping the scales at over 420lbs, I felt like most of you do now. Use these tips below to help yourself get started at YOUR pace and with a plan that will work for you!
Don’t try to master everything at once
The biggest mistake people make at the start is trying to get everything perfect right from the start. The motivation hits, they’re in the gym 6 days a week, and crushing their diet. This typically happens for the first couple months, and then, as it often does, life hits. Your car breaks down, or you have to work some last minute overtime, or you get sick. The list can go on forever in relation to how life throws curveballs.
But with everything going perfectly, you never planned how to pivot and stay on track. You miss a workout, or grab something to eat at a restaurant because you’re short on time. You feel guilty, and this is where the slippery slope starts. One missed workout turns into two. A meal of convenience turns into a week.
My best advice would be to pick ONE thing, either the workouts or nutrition, get that factored into your life, and go from there. It’s always easier to master one thing and slowly add another and recover when you get hit with a curveball, than it is to try working one two things at once and recovering. You’re in this for the long game. Take the time to set yourself up for success!
Don’t major in the minors
You see it all the time. Someone goes to the gym for a week, and suddenly they’re buying pre workout, BCAA’s, Glutamine, and fat burners. Like they’re stocking up on milk and bread before a winter storm (Kentucky, if you know, you know). But if you’ve been working out for less than 6 months, aren’t super consistent, and can’t reasonably budget for them, are you really doing yourself a service?
These things may give you, at best, a 5% increase in performance (and for BCAA’s and Glutamine, in particular, less than that, but that’s another post in itself) in something you’ve only been doing for a short time. Master making the gym a part of your schedule, make sure you’re lifting appropriately and intensely enough, and after a while MAYBE think about supplementation. The last thing you need is to regret not going to the gym after a hot start AND having $150 in supplements staring you in the face every day to remind you of it.
Even small efforts get big results
When taking my Level 1 Coaching certification with Precision Nutrition, one fact they presented really stood out for me: “Even a 10% effort, done consistently, gets results”. This isn’t to say that you should ONLY apply yourself to your goals 10% of the time. Rather, small changes, added gradually and acted upon consistently, lead to big wins. It could look like swapping one or two meals a week, or parking a little further away from the store. Those actions can lead to more changes down the line. Stack the small wins where you can, add some more small changes as you go. Down the line, all those small wins add up to a massive life change and sustainable progress.
Find someone to hold you accountable
Whether it’s a consistent gym partner, a partner/spouse, or a trainer (just putting that out there), find someone who’s going to hold you accountable to showing up for yourself. Someone who expects you there at a certain time. Someone that makes sure you do what you need to do, and isn’t afraid to reach out if you start slipping.
Accountability is almost 90% of the reason clients have said they hire me. Not always for my knowledge and experience, not for my sparkling personality (which IS sparkling), but just to say “show up at this time and place and let’s get to work”. Once you have that, you’re that much closer to your goals in your journey.
Apply these principles at the start, and your odds of sticking with your journey long-term go up dramatically! The basics are the basics for a reason. Work on your consistency. Set yourself up for success. Stick with it, even when it gets difficult or the motivation fades. I promise you, your future self will thank you!
Chris Neill Coaching
