Digman Fitness: Objectives

Let me take you through a few things that I practice everyday at Digman Fitness including an overview of how we get better:

1. Create a Plan of Action (Goals)

As simple as this sounds, writing things down leads to actionable results. The little things that we practice everyday make a difference and should be planned thoroughly. For example, When do I go grocery shopping? (sit down and make a list of the menu for the week) and also, create 'down time' to decompress so that you don't get overwhelmed with the stress of everyday life (this is important and is great to help fuel your fire when you start your objectives again).

Creating a map of your workouts is just as important as creating a menu plan for your food as well as other activities so that you can have fun enjoying the simple things (spending time with family/friends being in the moment and not having to think about what is next).

2. Workout

Yes, working out and movement is good for us (bone mass, improve memory, reduce heart disease risk, improve sleep, etc.). Schedule a time for yourself to do at least 30 minutes of meaningful exercise 5 days/week (American College of Sports Medicine).

Details on how to create longevity in your workout routine are listed below:

A. Proper warmup- This is crucial for long term success in fitness and should be specific to the routine.

B. Incorporate strength training as well as conditioning exercises for balance

C. Mobility and corrective exercise is important to maintain good form while working out and while performing day to day tasks

D. Fun challenges. Create a goal or a fun finisher at the end of the workout that both tests how you are improving and makes things fun!

3. Get involved with Events

At Digman Fitness, we consistently have events and challenges throughout the year to keep individuals accountable and help them attain their overall goal (feel better, look better and perform better). Every month and quarter has a new challenge or display of activities that makes exercise fun for all ages and abilities!

4. Consistent Meal Plan

Help yourself out by creating a lifestyle of both foods that prevent illness. I am a big believer in meal planning and prepping for the week ahead that includes a balance of fibrous carbohydrates for fuel, lean protein for cell and muscle repair, and healthy fat for vitamin and mineral absorption. These are key to helping my body stay energized and cleanse itself naturally. If you follow a balanced meal plan (CHO, PRO and Fat) then you will never need a diet.

The fun part of meal planning is also including the foods that you like (an occasional beer, cake, cookie, etc.). This is crucial to plan out when and how much of these you are going to consume. Following the 80-20 rule will keep you out of trouble (80 percent health-enhancing foods and 20 percent foods to enjoy).

Let's do that math:

5 meals/day for 7 days/week= 35 meals

20% of that is 7 meals that you can hang a little loose

That would be one full meal per day! That seems like a lot, but if you keep your serving of ONE FUN FOOD down to ONE small serving at lunch and ONE at dinner then you are giving yourself a chance to be successful without completely cutting out what you love.

Quick note---consuming protein before a fast carb food like cookies helps keep your metabolism burning.

Find a compromise---If you like alcohol, try wine instead during a fun event (this goes into the planning stage I talked about earlier). If you like ice cream, have a small serving once/day by implementing a punch card system (punch the card so you know how many you consumed). If you are going to a party, have a plan and decide early that you are only have one serving of your go-to.

As I conclude, our biggest success is becoming more conscious of what we are doing by taking notes on our goals throughout the week. Slow down and look at the big picture.

Ask yourself, "If I do this ONE thing consistently how much better am I going to become?"