Not another new year, new you fitness article. Rather, this is a proactive approach to your fitness goals that will eventually be part of your lifestyle. When asked to write this article I immediately knew what I needed to write; not because I live by the moniker stay ready so you don’t ever have to get ready. But because like Damon John said in his book Rise and Grind” stay close to the streets. I am a loving and connected leader who has been immersed in the fitness community for the last 15 years professionally. During the pandemic, I held and participated in mental health webinars to help those dealing with the difficulties of the changes. I also held fitness classes for the community to encourage activity while indoors. Once the pandemic hit in March of 2020, it was clear that life as we knew it would be drastically different from here on out.
Approaching the new year should be intentional and fall in alignment with your natural life path and ways of being; those ways will translate into strategies to create what is you want from a healthy lifestyle. With that in mind here are ten strategies to help you take action and experience the quality life you want in 2022.
The first is Know your WHY!
A ship without a route plan is just lost at sea. Having a deep sense of why you want to progress from where you are now is vital to your success. This will be your reference point when things get tough, you lose motivation and begin to drift. Remember your reason for traveling this journey.
Be an Early Riser
The ritual of early awakening is a common trait for successful individuals. This creates a cavity of time to calibrate and organize your day to prepare you for success. Prior planning prevents poor performance.
Write it down
Using my Manifestation Maven Journal or any notebook allows me to maximize my day in its entirety. The average fitness program is 4-6 weeks and so planning your workouts creates direction and purpose. Track your progress, plan your days and release your thoughts. You can move forward with clarity and a lighter load.
Meditate daily
Be still and know that I am is what is the best way to describe it. Meditate to start your day. The one within will always know the way. Meditation aligns your chakras and helps you deal with the day ahead in a most favorable manner. Try 15 minutes of any youtube meditation video or my friend over at Crash-bell has guided meditation options for all levels.
You are what you eat. A poor diet drains you of your physical and mental energy, it affects your mood and hampers the clarity of your mind. Foods that are grown through the natural creation of the sun, water, soil and air are always best. A static pure alkaline diet is one of the best diets to aid in functional optimization. Organic whole foods that are seasonally grown along with half your body weight in water daily can create a healthy internal environment will manifest on the external with your body goals.
The law of cause and effect
To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you eat that cupcake it will negate the results equivalent to the workout to burn that cupcake.
Motion creates emotion
Movement is life. A minimum of 30 minutes per day of movement is required to maintain healthy bodyweight. Using fitness bands from VelaBands adds resistance to my core and leg routines in all my fitness programs. Focus on feeling good. Start where you are and work getting towards better.
Accountability
Having an accountability partner is critical to achieving your goals. Sharing your vision with someone will subsequently builds a mastermind of energy to carry you through the hardships of doing the work on your journey. Blaming others; a sounding board for ideas and a source for strength when spirits are low will yield intangible results. The best athletes have coaches for their game, for their fitness, for their life
Quote: Capacity is a state of mind: how much we can do depends on how much we think we can do.
Leaders Are Readers
The average American reads one book per year. Educate yourself and read 10 minutes per day, attend seminars and or webinars. Get in the habit of re-writing your goals and looking over them daily. Practice positive attitude, see the reasons why you can do it not the reasons why you cannot. Develop a winning mentality, use it to find ways to win not ways you can lose.
Rejuvenation
Rest and recovery should be implemented into any lifestyle program. Getting monthly massages or utilizing a foam roller for self-myofascial release improves your rate of recovery substantially. A nightly 7-9 hours of sleep enhances brain function, muscle recovery and mood. Shawn Stevenson dives deeper about the importance of sleep in his best seller Sleep Smarter.
Grace yourself
Anything you do, do it at your highest frequency. It will generate results equivalent to that frequency. Give yourself grace and aim for 1% a day. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, although those will yield high muscle growth with the activation of fast-twitch muscle fibers(but that’s a more technical article)So I suggest doing it with love, live in love.
