At 10.40.10 Fitness, our Glenview fitness coaching team is always being asked for a variety of fitness and nutrition advice. And we love answering your questions! But when it comes to the best workout program advice out there, care to venture a guess?
Lift heavier weights?
Less pizza, more salad?
Don’t forget to stretch?
All good tips, but no. There’s one piece of advice that will help along the course of your fitness journey more than almost all the others.
GIVE YOURSELF SOME GRACE.
Trust the process. Stay the course. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Various forms of “be patient” often start the conversation. But in our instant-gratification society, no one wants to be reminded that it took 10 years to gain that 50 pounds, so it’s not going to take 10 days to lose it.
How Glenview Fitness Coaching Helped One Member Shift Her Mindset.
Recently, one of our members (we’ll call her Jenny) switched jobs, forcing her to change her workout schedule. When she first joined 10.40.10 Fitness, the 5:30pm class best fit her schedule, which was good because she told us, “I’m not a morning person.” However, this new job change meant that 5:00am was now her most viable option.
On day one of her new schedule, it didn’t go well. She signed up for class the night before and set her alarm clock, but the snooze button won and she missed class.
Day two: Repeat of day one.
Day three: Samesies.
Day four: Didn’t bother to sign up. She’d try again Monday.
First, this situation is not uncommon because it’s not about being lazy or having a lack of dedication. Instead, it’s actually all about mindset and expectation. What happened that first week was simply the result of a mindset aimed at perfection, coupled with an unrealistic expectation.
When Jenny committed to the new schedule, she imagined herself popping out of bed when the alarm went off and prancing happily off to class. And let’s be honest: That’s a little far-fetched because no one prances anymore. But what she pictured in her head was waking up on time, getting dressed (perhaps somewhat groggily), and driving to the gym.
You know what she didn’t anticipate? How amazing a warm bed feels at 4:30am, especially when it’s cold outside. She didn’t think about how easy it is to sleep instead of work out. Or how hard it is to start a new routine, especially when the alternative is a warm bed and sleep.
But the biggest mistake she made that morning was allowing the overwhelming idea of perfection to derail the whole thing. That perfectionist mindset made her say to herself, ‘If I actually start this today, I have to do this all the time from now on.’ Instead of just focusing on the one task in front of her that day (going to one class), she allowed herself to believe that the success of her entire fitness journey was riding on this one morning.
How to Change Your Mindset.
Our goal at 10.40.10 Fitness - and the focus of our Deer Park and Glenview fitness coaching - is to help you reframe a mindset like this and realize that now is not the time to be perfect.
If “perfect” to you is five workouts per week, that’s great! And we’ll get there. But as you’re getting started, our Deer Park and Glenview fitness coaches will encourage you to do your best and start with a goal of two. Two workouts a week is a helluva lot better than zero. Eating clean two days a week will make you feel a lot better than zero days of decent nutrition.
Think of it this way: If you set a goal of five workouts per week and you do two, you’ll likely feel like you’ve failed. On the other hand, if you set a goal of two workouts a week and you do two, you’ve accomplished your goal. And if you do three that week, BOOM SAUCE. Extra credit.
Comparison is the Thief of Joy.
One of the most frustrating ways to derail your fitness journey is to compare any aspect of it to someone else’s.
Maybe your best friend works out six days a week. Or your mom’s sister’s dog walker loves that class where you strap on boots and jump around. Perhaps your co-worker follows a strict Paleo diet. And maybe none of those things are your jam… yet. Or ever. That’s fine. Let them do those things. Meanwhile, you just keep doing you.
When you can start with small, sustainable changes FOR YOU that are achievable in week one, celebrate that success and build on it for subsequent weeks. That’s the mindset we champion with our Deer Park and Glenview fitness coaching, where the focus is on long-term wins, not short-term comparisons. That’s also how two workouts becomes three… then four…
That’s also when your body starts craving the healthy foods to fuel your active lifestyle. And the cycle continues.
The Deer Park and Glenview Fitness Coaching Approach: Grace, Growth and Real-Life Results.
Here’s the bottom line: Getting started with a new fitness program at 10.40.10 Fitness – or starting again – is not easy, so give yourself some grace. That’s exactly what our Deer Park and Glenview fitness coaching is here to help with: setting realistic expectations, avoiding the perfectionism mindset and building progress at your own pace.
Start with getting your mind right first, setting realistic expectations and avoiding a perfectionism mindset. Next, remember that your journey is different from everyone else’s. So don’t use your neighbor, your co-worker or even your significant other as your success barometer. And finally, focus on the one goal you have for this moment: Forget perfect and just start.
Need help? The team of coaches at 10.40.10 Fitness are here to guide and encourage you. That’s why so many members of the Deer Park and Glenview communities trust us with their health, fitness and mindset plan. Ready to get started? Come try a free class with us by clicking here: https://www.104010fitness.com/programs/get-started
