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Do you also feel that the fresh greenery, the first warm evenings and nights, and beautiful, sunny mornings are cruelly wasted? Due to the mandatory lockdown at home, cutting off from your favorite outdoor activities and meetings with friends, you may get the impression that time has stood still and all efforts to improve your figure and fitness can be postponed until an indefinite future. Stop! Summer has not been canceled, the sun will soon allow us to enjoy our exposed bodies, and the restrictions on movement and meetings will not last forever. If you do not want to greet the end of quarantine with surprise and discouragement, it is not too late yet
Every revolution begins with emotion
Let yourself be carried away by spring! Although it is hard to drag yourself out of bed, because there are at least a thousand good reasons to extend your morning laziness, admit it yourself: the day is now much longer and encourages more activity. It is known: everyone has their own circadian rhythm, but most of us are guided by the excuses of simple laziness. Try to adjust your clock to the new, summer time. Get up earlier and focus on your favorite type of exercise.
Jogging is now very demanding – let's leave running in a mask to seasoned marathon runners. However, each of us can easily find a sensible alternative. A short warm-up and classic bodyweight exercises? A plank challenge? Dumbbells? A kettlebell? Light stretching and a series of YouTube exercises? Or maybe a short workout with one of the popular mobile apps? As a last resort (anything is better than nothing) – a brisk walk with the dog?
Your favorite trainer, fitness celebrity, or professional coach will inspire you to move. It doesn't matter which Instagram trendsetter is getting you off the couch. What matters is the effect! For most of us, a great way to get moving is to prepare a solid, energetic playlist. Set the alarm on your phone or clock radio to your favorite song and feel like Rocky Balboa. Music has a powerful, motivating effect on us, it can give us a surge of strength, get us moving, or help us finish our workout. Set what you like in motion and fixate on the figure of an athlete or celebrity whose results or training effects inspire you to exercise. It really works!
Measure progress consistently
Nothing helps you stay motivated like the joy of seeing results. Even the smallest progress brings you joy, and you will notice it when you focus on monitoring your form from the very beginning. At the first stage of the challenge you set for yourself, define your starting point. Depending on what you care about, specify the criteria. Weight? Strength? Fitness? Describe your goal in detail and make sure that it is realistic and achievable within the set time frame. Also describe the indicators you will pay attention to. The number of repetitions, the time it takes to perform a single exercise, the length of the break between sets, the length of the effort at maximum speed or the length of the entire session - there are as many possible variables as there are types of training.
Tip: A short-term perspective and a clear goal work better. Plan your workouts day by day a week in advance, including breaks for regeneration. Follow the weekly plan in this way and outline the next seven days. This way, you will see progress immediately, be happy with each day you complete according to plan, and - in the event of a temporary drop in motivation and postponement of training - you will quickly adjust your assumptions to the situation. A monthly perspective usually works worse, because we can never predict all the events and how we will feel during the week. Stick to short periods, settle from week to week and measure your progress meticulously, day by day. Importantly, be understanding towards yourself. There are days when you are not strong and there is nothing you can do about it. It is better to skip one workout and return to the regime the next day than to generate discouragement and negative emotions by forcing yourself to exert yourself too much.
Together is more fun
Favorite song – here, training plan – here, first measured progress – saved. What else do you need? External support. For some, monitoring training, measuring progress and sharing the effects and course of your activity with friends on social media works great. Apps dedicated to active people work great as personal trainers. They measure progress and, automatically or with one click, send it out into the world. Feedback from your group is priceless and has a great impact on well-being and motivation the next day.
Another way to get support is to encourage someone close to you to join your challenge. Working out together is always more fun, and training in parallel also awakens the spirit of competition. If someone can work out with you at the same time and place, that's great! You'll share a double dose of endorphins and your workout will be much easier. If you can't work out in pairs - it doesn't matter. Just find out during the day that your training partner has already completed the plan. A motivational boost guaranteed!
May and June are ahead of us. In two months, you can achieve very ambitious goals! With regular exercise, a proper diet, an appropriate amount of sleep and supplementation, your body can jump to a completely new level. Don't waste time on excuses and use spring for a solid metamorphosis.
