10 Easy Ways To Get Started On Your Fitness Goals Fast - Especially if it feels like it’s too late

"You don't have to be great to start. But you do have to start if you want to become great."

This year I attended the Comrades marathon; the biggest ultramarathon race in the world that takes place in Durban every year.

And while at the conference, I met some amazing people who reaffirmed what I've always believed: It's never too late to start and becoming really great at something.

Whether it's a fitness goal, personal desire or a new career move, you have the power of altering your present and future. It doesn't have to be an overwhelming complex experience and in fact, I will be walking you through simple steps to help you get started specifically with your health and fitness goals.

But let's begin with this key principle:

The human body is a great vessel and when powered by a clear intention, backed by consistency, commitment and a great plan, anyone, and I really do mean anyone - can achieve anything.

It really is true that you don't have to be great to get started. You might be feeling like time isn't on your side anymore. Like you can't possibly recover from the setback you're currently experiencing or maybe you feel like there's not enough time in the day for you to even work on getting your body back in shape.

Many people struggle with similar thoughts too.

I can guarantee you, if you only make a committed decision that you will start, right where you are, and slowly move toward whatever goal matters to you, there'll be no end to what you can achieve.

Being healthy and fit is a beautiful thing. But there's a lot of noise and misleading information around what it truly takes to live in a body that functions at optimum levels.

Have you noticed?

Maybe you've even come across a program, diet or supplements that promised to help you get back the energy, stamina and body shape you crave. And you may have dabbled with some things here and there, but nothing really changed.

So you might be thinking there's no solution to your ongoing health and fitness struggles, but I'm here to assure you there is a solution.

And often times, the solution tends to be so simple, we overlook it. Don't be one of those people who overlook things because they feel too simple.

Be like this lady whom I met at the press conference during the Comrades Marathon.

The 5-kilometer run that turned into a gold medal:

A woman at the conference shared how she first got started on her journey to becoming great.

Her dream was to participate and win the Comrades marathon. This was tall order given how lengthy this marathon is and the fact that only the top ten receive gold medals. But this was her dream, and she was willing to go the distance. 2 years ago, she just committed to doing park runs.

A park run in her case was 5 km, but the Comrades marathon is 90 km. So one can easily argue the park run didn’t really mean much.

Compared to the actual marathon, 5K barely scratches the surface, but when you see it as a baby step forging toward the summit, it will come as no surprise to you that she ended up winning one of the gold medals at this years marathon.

I also had the pleasure of supporting and coaching a double gold medal winner - prodigal Kamala during this year’s marathon race and to say that I was proud of the man and accomplishments he too has created for his life - is an understatement. My clients and all the friends and people I support never cease to amaze me with how much bigger and better life becomes for them as they continue to tap into and unleash their potential. And that is my strong desire for you as well.

Ready to get your gold medal?

Start with these 10 easy steps:

• Get in the right mindset:

If you haven’t done this yet, take some time to have a conversation with someone who actually knows what being fit and healthy means for you.

There are too many myths, beliefs and ideas that are probably hurting you more than helping. Before you can get into the best shape of your life, you’ll need to change your approach to workouts, nutrition and the mindset you have around weight loss.

• Get into a mindfulness practice:

I am big on practicing mindfulness and approaching your body holistically. A healthy mind equals a healthy body.

If your thing is meditation - do that. If you’re into prayer, reading sacred texts or philosophical books then do that.

Whatever works for you and helps you connect with your whole Self- needs to be brought to the foreground of your daily routine in order to reach your objectives both personally and professionally.

You’ll be surprised how fast you can change your body when you start to deal with the “whole you” and not just the physical you.

• Stop focusing on body weight and that scale:

Your body and how healthy, energetic and vibrant you are cannot be accurately diagnosed by a weighing machine.

Often times when you get stuck on watching the scale or depending on what the number on the scale says to determine how healthy and fit you are, there will be negative consequences.

For example, the scale might show you’re “lighter” but you could be losing muscle strength and gaining fat - and you’d never know it.

What I emphasize to my clients is monitoring and measuring the fat percentage.

Start by knowing where you stand before making a judgement on the type of fitness goals to set.

• Get moving because movement gives you momentum:

The biggest obstacle we all have when it comes to getting back in shape - is just getting started. And all the endless information on the web today with too many apps to choose from does not make things easier.

Instead, it gives us more reason to procrastinate.

The moment you decide something’s got to change, start creating that momentum for yourself by just moving your body more.

For example, if you’re at work, take a 3 minute water break, turn on some music and move your body around.

If you’re at home, do some jumping jacks, skip for 5 minutes straight or jog on the spot. Get your coach to give you some simple activation drills that you can get into the habit of doing especially on those days where you really feel lazy. Getting the blood pumping and flowing will motivate you and keep you moving in the right direction.

• Create your own lifestyle blueprint:

Fitness training and conditioning shouldn't be the end all goals, they should help support your lifestyles and your dreams.

What is your dream? What is the quality of life are you looking to have? What body shape and energy levels will support that lifestyle?

High performers at work need to generate a certain amount stamina in order to keep up with their daily demands and there’s an ideal body that can better enable them to lead such demanding lifestyles. Are you working toward that? Or are you just aimlessly jumping from one gym to another, from one workout program to the next without much clarity on the kind of body you need to have to sustain your ideal lifestyle?

Remember, this should be about your dreams and having your body in the best shape to help you bring your dreams to life.

• Customize a workout plan that works around your daily demands:

This one might be tough for you to figure out on your own. So my recommendation is, invest in a little time and money and get a consultation with a coach or fitness expert that inspires you.

Even if you already have a gym at home, at the office or a regular local membership, getting a 1-1 consultation to create a program that is completely customized for you can help you take your workout to the next level.

It will also ensure you know “why” you need to do certain kinds of exercises or eat certain types of foods. Health and fitness isn’t a guessing game and getting a personalized training plan does not need to be expensive or complex.

For a limited time my team and I have offered 12 free consultations. Get in touch with my team and me to find out if you can qualify for one of them and you could get your customized workout plan for free! Learn more here.

• Vary your training:

Research now shows that high intensity interval training is the way to go if you’re low on time but want to make the most of it. Creating variations in your workout that alternate low and high intensity intervals in your routine can increase your metabolism during and after your workouts.

More importantly, it’s an easy way to get started because you can devote as little as 15 minutes to your workout and get amazing results.

In an upcoming video training I’ll be talking more about this and how you can incorporate the Tabata Protocol into your training routine whether you’re at home, travelling or at the gym. So be sure to click “follow” above so you can be the first to know once the video’s out.

• Look after your diet:

What you put in your mouth is just as important as getting a workout if you want to increase longevity.

The mistake I see with the fitness industry is that we emphasize so much on the outer work and not enough on the inner. And rarely do we help our clients understand the bigger picture of what a truly healthy and fit lifestyle means. I want to change that for you.

It’s time you start paying more attention to how you nourish and fuel your body and the simplest ways to begin doing this, is by making it part of your shopping habit to reach for more natural products. The more natural, organic and live the product is, the more it should be in your shopping cart. That’s it!

Nothing fancy, no complex, difficult stuff, or long lists… Just do what you always do when you go shopping but henceforth, spend a little more time in the fresh produce section.

• Invest in your mental and emotional well-being:

As important as monitoring what you put in your mouth, is what you feed your mind. Most of us don’t realize how awful our mental diets are. It’s no wonder our emotional maturity and spiritual growth gets stunted.

You’ve heard or read this statement so many times…

We are what we think.

Well do you know that what you think all day long is influenced by the information input you expose yourself to?

Marinate yourself in CNN (constantly negative news), gossip, conversations about poverty, economic crisis etc and you’re essentially ingesting and digesting all that crap into your mind and body.

So pause for a moment and think back to the last 24 hours:

What has been the dominant topic with your conversations, the books you read, music you listen to or the programs you’ve watched? Was the tone anchored in lack, pain, suffering and injustice or abundance, joy, empowerment and peace?

I will not dive into all the details of what a good mental diet is or how you can start feeding yourself the right kind as that would take up an entire article. More on this as well as other helpful resources that will enable you to start feeding on the right mental diet on an upcoming post.

• Invest in and take time to care for your body:

In other words, quit being cheap when it comes to your body and actually make this just as much a priority as growing your career and making more money. Not many people see value in this but it’s worth reiterating.

Invest in and take time to care for your body. Period.

It’s the greatest vehicle you will ever have. It’s the only home you will ever inhabit in this lifetime and the only way you can unleash your potential or do anything meaningful in this lifetime is through that body. Once it’s gone, you essentially lose the ability to achieve the very things you desire - at least from a human perspective. So make it a priority, the same way you’ve made making money a priority.

This doesn’t need to be something monumental. Just set some time aside regularly for self-care. And when it comes to the quality of food you buy or other basic things like that - as much as possible, make a premium choice.

I know this might seem hard when working with a tight budget, but do the best you can with what you’ve got.

You have a relationship with your body and it will serve you well to maintain an active, peaceful and loving relationship with it. Treat it well, with care, respect and love - and it will serve you well for a very long time.

Having shared these easy to implement tips to help you get started immediately on your health goals, it’s time for you to take action. It’s too easy to read, get motivated and entertained then do nothing to actually help your body.

You have to make the decision that getting fit and healthy is a priority, and that now is the time to unleash a new, better version of yourself. You have to be willing to do more than just read these lines.

Now take 15 minutes out of your day (today) and implement some of these ideas. Let me know which ones seem doable and which ones you still feel totally overwhelmed by on the comments below.

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