If you are finally through with feeling sick and tired and you’re ready to make important lifestyle changes that include incorporate more challenging exercise into your life then the first thing you should do is congratulate yourself for recognizing and responding to the needs of your body.
Without a doubt, you have taken the first step towards a successful lifestyle change…but “desire” is only the first step towards your goal…although a very important one.
Truth is, beginning a new exercise program is not a whole lot different than starting a new journey…in fact it is a journey and like all journeys in life should be handled using a step-by-step approach.
There are four basic stages beyond precontemplation that most people go through when making lifestyle changes and those are:
Contemplation – getting motivated
Contemplation is the stage at which you are intrigued by information you have heard about proper strength training exercises and the benefits to your life they provide. You may have overheard a friend at work, read something that stimulated your interest or possibly even had a doctor suggest it for you. Whatever the source, your mind is curious and ready to proceed and find out more.
It is at this stage that you should begin getting yourself properly motivated by thinking about and defining your goals, any possible obstacles you may encounter and how you expect to overcome them and reflecting on what you plan on getting out of the program.
Preparation – starting your journey
After working through your motivations and setting your goals, you need to take the proper steps to prepare for your exercise program. This can include a new gym membership or the purchase of new equipment for your home and setting aside the proper workspace that you’ll need. You’ll also have to examine your schedule to see where exercise fits in and set specific time and days to exercise.
Action – adopting the program
This is the stage where you’ll actually be learning and implementing your new exercises at least twice a week. Results begin to show such as your clothing fitting better, experiencing more energy, a happier mind and a stronger toned body. This action stage continues all the way through your program, however, at about 6 months of consistently doing your exercise program, you will move into maintenance mode.
Maintenance – staying on track
When you’ve reached the maintenance stage of your lifestyle change, your exercise program will have become a way of life for you. In fact, you’ll probably find it hard to imagine not doing your exercises they have become a way of life to you. You’ll feel empowered when you exercise and because they make you stronger and more energetic, you’ll probably begin taking up exciting activities that you enjoy but stopped years ago such as swimming, dancing, hiking or golf. You may even begin adding new strength training exercises to your routine as your strength increases.
The timetable for each as you move through these stages is:
Days 1-3: Time to contemplate, set goals and decide on an exercise routine you can follow.
Days 3-7: Purchase equipment or a gym membership and set a schedule for exercising.
Days 8-10: Action steps. This is where you actually begin your new program.
As you begin to assemble your thoughts, motivations and actions towards your goal, keep in mind that it can take several attempts to make changes to your daily habits and routines so don’t despair if you encounter a few problems, get hung up temporarily on one stage or another or even do a bit of a backslide.
Just stick with it and eventually you’ll nail it and find that your efforts and perseverance pay off beyond ways you even imagined.
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