Overcoming barriers in your fitness program
When you set out on your fitness program you will run into setbacks. Things come up or sometimes the weather in bad when you have a run to do.
This post is inspired by my 22-mile run that I did today in the snow because it was in my plan. I could have decided to do a shorter run on my treadmill or have just skipped it all together. Instead I planned for this before the snow storm even started. I picked up some snow cleats from yaktraks and got mentally ready to run in a snow storm.
Being mentally prepared is important when you are setting your fitness goals. Things come up and having a plan to attack any barriers that get in your way is important if you want to reach your goals.
Here are some things that you can do to overcome barriers in your fitness program.
Plan for things you can’t control
Things will come up that you can’t control. Planning to address for the things you can’t control will give you confidence that you will be able to overcome the challenge. When I planned for my snowy run I wasn’t afraid of the run, I was excited to tackle the challenge. Being ready to take on a challenge is empowering and when you make it part of your plan everything will seem easier. What you need to do is think about things in your life that might get in the way of your goal. Everyone has a different life and lives in different areas. You need to figure out what might get in the way and plan to work around the problem or push past it with force. Something else that comes up is timing issues because of work. When this happens I always have a plan B in place and this will keep me on track. Sometimes a client needs to be trained right in the middle of my workout plan so I make a backup time to get the workout done.
Plan to work around anything you might in the way.
Adjust
If your plan is to lose weight, then you will need to adjust when your plan doesn’t work. Most of us go into a weight loss program thinking I am going to use running or classes with some changes in my diet to reach my fitness goal but what happens when this doesn’t work? Most of us will quit and try again when we are fed up with our fitness level down the road. Adjust your program, then you will do a lot better. If you planned to use running as a tool for weight loss and it doesn’t work why not try something else instead of giving up. If you try a low carb diet and it doesn’t work why not try something else. Many of us are ready to toss in the towel when things don’t work out. Adjusting is key to success because things never workout 100%.
Hire a coach
Having someone there to help you break down barriers is a huge help because they might see something that you don’t. I’ve worked with tons of clients that ran into a barrier and we came up with a plan to push past it. As we are training together we would make changes to the plan and adjust goals sometimes daily. I’ve been a personal trainer for years and have seen so many problems come up with a client’s fitness program. Having a seasoned pro help you is a wonderful way to crush your fitness goals.
Check out our guide to program design
