Stop exercising and try this.

Stop exercising and try this.

Dear You, it’s time to try something different for a change don’t you think??There are fundamental things to fix before you start exercising but no, we start with jumping straight to exercise—take it from someone who did the same thing until I hit a brick wall.

Exercising consistently is not bad in itself, but it is meant to be a decision you take when you fully understand your lifestyle (how you live, where you work, your daily routine, etc). Whenever you decide to exercise, ignoring these fundamentals, you jeopardize the whole process and sometimes feel frustrated, give up, or plateau.?

Exercise is not something you do as a stand-alone, it is a by-product of a much larger goal to stay fit and healthy, and this is a lifetime journey laced with a lot of process goals over performance goals. Habits, routines, and lifestyle changes take place, and exercise is embedded in them.

Due to the abundance of information, it is easy to get overwhelmed and mix things up, get carried away chasing shiny objects so much that it is possible to forget the most crucial factor—what you really want to change in the first place.?

Self Awareness is the best place to start as it saves you the stress of sampling too many options, and it helps you discover 'YOUR WHY' and what works for you for the journey ahead. (You can read my last newsletter to help you find your why)

Starting or sustaining your journey to a healthy lifestyle can be quite futile if you lack self-awareness. Self-awareness is your ability to sit with yourself and take stock of how your actions, thoughts, or feelings match or misalign with your internal standards or aspirations. It helps save us from trial and error, matches our efforts with sustainable results, and improves our self-confidence.?It frees us from our assumptions and biases. Furthermore, it helps us build better relationships with ourselves, our bodies, and with others.

In Fitness, understanding yourself and your body, accepting yourself and your body, and finding the best suitable expression for you and your body are simple areas to start becoming self-aware.

Understanding yourself: Countless times we jump right into things based on recommendations or hearsay with no proper understanding, rather than taking time to understand what is sustainable eventually.

Have you ever found yourself hitting the gym just because of a friend or signing up for a program you already know you won't actually see through, but you still sign up anyway??

Until you accept our uniqueness, you may remain in the never-ending cycle of trial and error with little or no hope for lasting results.?You are wired differently from everyone else, and this also plays a huge role in how you approach fitness. You need to embrace that truth and stay comfortable with it.?Your mindset, your preferences, and your priorities all come to play when confronted with choices to make as regards your health and fitness.?Your personality to a large extent also affects the way you manage information and make decisions.?

To understand yourself as regards fitness, I have curated a few questions you can ask yourself to throw more light on how to make your journey less complicated.?You may need to answer these questions honestly and take note of your responses. You can store this in your journal too if you like, or just a notepad on your mobile device.

? Are you self-motivated or do you require external motivation? ? What kind of mindset do you think you have? Open or closed? ? What demotivates you? ? What excites you?

• Do you prefer Group coaching or private coaching? Why?
• Do you prefer Online Coaching or Offline? Why?
• Do you like to work out indoors or outdoors?
• What kind of foods or fruits do you dislike and why?
• Would you prefer minimal supervision on your fitness journey, or would you rather be accountable?
• What is the one favorite movement or physical activity you love and can do effortlessly?

These questions make up your preferences and will provide insights into your choices when choosing your fitness plan, and if you answer them honestly, they can help point you in the right direction on your journey.

Self-awareness will help you make an informed decision on the most suitable option for your fitness journey.

?Your preferences would help you pick the most suitable and sustainable fitness plan.

Understanding your body: Our bodies come in different shapes and sizes, and what this also means is that healthy will look different on everyone. We all have different genes and even if everyone started eating the same thing and moving about the same amount of time for a year, not everyone will look the same. So, you must avoid comparing your body to that of your friends or people you see in ads, on social media, or on your favorite TV show.?

Just as you admire someone who loves the gym and is so consistent, you should also admire yourself for taking those early morning walks consistently or even playing badminton every week. The ability to move is given to everyone freely, but you get to choose how best to express your ability to move; running, walking, dancing, hiking, your favorite sport or hitting the gym, etc. Just make sure you keep moving.

Our bodies are completely unique, some have prevalent health conditions that prohibit certain kinds of movement, others may have allergies that restrict certain kinds of food, etc.

Even though two people share the same fitness goals, their approach to it will definitely vary based on their strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and overall lifestyle. So, it is important to be comfortable about the things your body cannot do and focus on all the other things it can.

Make your goals SMART: As much as it is essential to set goals for yourself and remain in the quest for personal growth and development, any personal goal you have that does not prioritize your health is not really that SMART.

Your top three goals in life quickly show what you prioritize and your top priority should be your health because without good health you cannot really achieve any of those goals.

Here are some other things you can do to make sure your personal goals are SMART:

• Make a list of your top 3 goals
• Why are they important to you?
• Do your health and fitness make the top 3??If yes, you are on the right track but if otherwise, then there is the need to take another look to find out why.

Practice mind fitness: The mind is one of the strongest powers you possess, and it plays a critical role in your fitness journey. You are a product of your thoughts, which stem from your experiences and knowledge. This simply implies that the right information can help prepare your mind for the journey ahead.?Prepare yourself mentally for the journey and let your mind be in sync with your body.

How much do you know about your health and fitness?

You cannot apply what you don’t know, you cannot know what to apply if you don't understand it. You can understand better when you experience it for yourself. Creating these kinds of experiences starts from feeding your mind right which in turn, helps you prioritize fitness and healthy living. Your priorities tell where your focus is, and this is where you get to spend the most of your energy. If your priorities do not match where you spend most of your time, then there would be excessive stress and burnout. Your perception of Fitness, what it means to you, and why you think you need it is also very important because if you don’t value it that much, you won't prioritize it- but remember you cannot prioritize what you don’t understand, so the goal is to validate your personal experiences with information from verified sources of information. You must be able to create a mental picture of your desired body in your mind’s eye for you to conceive it, live it, and achieve it.

Here are some questions that will help highlight your priorities if you answer them honestly:

? Where do you spend the most of your energy and time?

? Are they part of your top 3 goals? If not, why?

?Do you create time to move your body daily?

What is most valuable to you right now?

Does it encourage you to focus on your health?

? What does fitness mean to you?

Do you value eating healthy? Do you practice it?

So if you jumped straight to any form of exercise without considering any of the aforementioned, you need to take a little break and do the following first:

1. Understand yourself to better grasp what works for you.
2. Understand your body to be able to pick a more sustainable fitness plan.
3. Deal with your mindset, be conscious of your preferences, and highlight your priorities before you decide on what plan or program is suitable for you.
4. Make your goals SMART, and ensure your health always comes first regardless of the goals you are chasing. Keep it in the top 3 and make it an integral part of every personal goal you set to achieve.

And finally, practice mind fitness; strive to understand fitness for yourself and personalize your approach. Avoid copying and pasting other people's experiences, create yours.

You can also subscribe to my newsletter to learn more practical ways to change your mindset and expand your knowledge on your health and fitness journey, to make it fun, enjoyable, and sustainable.

I hope this makes your journey a little less complicated!

Stay F.I.T!

Esta.