You can do it!!

One of the biggest hurdles to a fitness program is getting started. It's an age old story: Person wakes up one day feeling 'fat' or 'gross' and decides today is the day to start working out. They shove their feet into their trusty gym shoes, hop in the car, and dust off their gym membership card.

The treadmill is first, and they pump up the speed, in order to get the most out of this first workout in so long. But they get winded and have to slow down. So they give up and head into the weight room only to see all the buff, intimidating men with their muscle t-shirts and strain on their faces, surrounded by racks of free weights and scary looking machines. This typical person gets nervous about looking silly in front of these professionals, and shuffles back to the car, defeated. They decide to drown their sorrows in a tub of ice cream.

This scenario can take on several different looks; skinny boy wants to bulk up, obese woman wants to save her heart, mom of three wants to lose the baby weight...whatever your story, you can get on the path to a fit and happy life. The problem is, the first few months are the hardest and most people tend to give up when they hit their first, second or third roadblock. But! there is an easy answer to these roadblocks which can give you the motivation and drive to continue on to your body's ideal weight, look and feel. The answer: give yourself a break!

I think the biggest mistake most people, including myself make when they want to start a fitness program is too much too soon. If you watch a show like Celebrity Fit Club where the trainers throw contestants into a boot camp of constant exercise and strict diets, yes it works, but is unnecessary. You don't have to burn 500 calories in your first workout. It would be much more beneficial for your body to burn 100 calories per workout for five days, and it would be much more doable if you're not used to working out. Here's my own story of how I came to this logical piece of wisdom:

When I started my first 'real' job working 9-5 I decided that I was going to work out in the mornings 5 days a week for an hour. I set my alarm for 5:30 am and hopped out of bed to be the first person in the gym when it opened at 6. And it worked...for about 3 days. By Thursday I was exhausted at work and dreaded waking up in the morning. My workouts weren't enjoyable and I was frustrated because I couldn't keep up my commitment to myself. I started sleeping in, but beating myself up for turning off my alarm. And I disliked what I saw in the mirror and blamed my lack of motivation for any extra pounds I saw.

Eventually however, I calmed down and told myself that maybe shocking my system into getting up 2 hours earlier than usual every day wasn't the best idea. So I told myself that I only had to get up and work out before work 2 times during the week. I made this goal for two weeks and I was able to meet it. Then for the next month or so I made it my goal to exercise before work 3 times a week. That commitment worked, and slowly my body got used to waking up so early and I once again began to hop out of bed to get to the gym. It made me feel more awake at work, less stressed, and more satisfied with myself because I had given myself goals that I could fulfill. Knowing how great it felt when I consistently went, only made me more motivated to fulfill my goals for myself.

Now, I give myself more challenging goals such as, 'I want to run four miles in 40 minutes' or, 'I want to swim for a half an hour without stopping.' Sometimes I'm closer than others, but by giving myself reasonable goals I was able to build up to an impressive fitness regime and I have never felt better!

So if you're just beginning, or you've fallen off the horse and want to jump back in the saddle of fitness, start slow and allow yourself some mistakes. The pyramid's weren't built in a day and you won't get fit in one workout. Slow and steady wins the race, so saddle up your turtle and I'll see you at the finish line!