Then, before you know it, you're regularly trading in your treadmill time for happy hour at the bar.
Instead of getting up at 6 a.m. and hitting the gym with dedication, you're hitting the snooze button and telling yourself you'll do better "tomorrow."
The typical "perpetual beginner" quits when they are starting to get results.
Their motivation waxes and wanes with life events.
They usually fall off the wagon and make excuses to as why they can't get back on
If you've fallen off the wagon before, you can get back into the groove with these workout tips designed for the perpetual beginner:
- Start slow: The mind and body is always seeking comfort. Making minor habits to your daily activities will make it easier to stick to what you're doing because it doesn't seem like an inconvenience.
- Begin going two days: Make appointments with yourself and keep them, even if it's only two days a week. Eventually, you can add a day when you are consistent. Another option is to sign up with a personal trainer who will hold you more accountable.
- Find your motivation: Whether it's a radical new playlist you've downloaded into your iPod, a buddy who is revved up to workout with you or the promise of a Twix Bar reward for your sweet tooth afterward — find what drives you and do it.
- Change up your routine: Find something you enjoy — whether it's basketball, swimming, inline skating, martial arts or cycling. It will be much easier to exercise if you are having fun. Circuit training is one of the best ways to keep your workouts dynamic and progressive. Try this simple program:
- Start off with a dumbbell squat, with 30 seconds to rest in between. Proceed to push-ups, with 60-second breaks in between.
- Next, do dumbbell reverse lunges, resting for 30 seconds between, and standing dumbbell shoulder presses, resting for 60 seconds.
- Try a split squat, dips and Russian twists to complete your circuit, resting for 30 to 60 seconds between. Pedal at a rigorous pace on a stationary bike or work on a rower for a good 20 to 30 minutes.
- On your second weight training day, schedule in: dumbbell side lunges, one-arm dumbbell rows, straight-leg glute bridges, lat pull-downs, dumbbell single-leg deadlifts, dumbbell bicep curls and planks. Again, wrap it up with some cardio on a stationary bike or rower.
- Enlist these strategies, and get out of the cruel loop of the "perpetual beginner." Nothing is more motivational than success, so stick with it, and you'll reap eternal rewards.
Chad Smith is a Hagerstown personal trainer and co-owner of Home Team Fitness LLC. Go to www.hometeamfitness.net for more information.
