Suck It Up So You Don’t Have To Suck It In

I’m an avid people watcher. I enjoy watching how people interact and try to figure out how close they are and how genuine they are. I always have to laugh at men with paunches who immediately pull in their stomach when approached by an attractive woman. In one case, I swear the guy was going to pass out trying to keep that tummy sucked in for more than the minute or two conversation. That’s where getting fit is at its best. Had the man been fit, there would be no need to work that hard, because he already would have put in the work to flatten his abdomen. You have to suck it up so you don’t have to suck it in at other times.

It’s not forever.

Seriously, I’m not making light of how difficult getting fit can be. The workout will wear you out, particularly in the first few weeks, but it’s hard just for 45 minutes to an hour and not constantly. Work to get past the difficulty and know it will get easier each time you do it. Focus on five minutes at a time. That means you work toward your maximum for five minutes. Give yourself a bit of a rest and go at it again. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to go ten minutes, then far longer.

Work hard and then go back to step one to see how you did.

I love to show people how far they’ve come. Since the workout becomes increasingly more difficult, sometimes it’s hard to feel like you’ve made any progress. Here’s where tracking becomes important. At the end of the first workout—or any workout for that matter—identify what the hardest task in the exercise was. Be specific. If it had to do with weights, list the weight amount of weight and number of reps. If was an endurance exercise, note the exercise and length of time. In two to three weeks go back to that step and do it again. You’ll be amazed at how you progressed.

Is the weather too hot or too cold to leave the house?

If you’ve ever missed your appointment for a workout because the weather was rainy and cold you’re sabotaging your success and being a bit of whimp. Not working out because of the weather, you’re too tired, you’ve had a stressful day or you want to see the end of a TV program won’t get you to your goal. The children’s Christmas Special, “Santa Clause Is Coming to Town,” has the perfect song to represent making a change. It’s called “Put One Foot in Front of the Other.” While it might sound silly, when I’m faced with a difficult task, it runs through my head and I get started.

• Don’t let a small setback get you down. If you can’t accomplish the entire challenge of the exercise, do as much as you can and try again the next day and the next until you can.
• The workout should be hard to do. If it’s not, you need to talk to your trainer to make it more challenging.
• Tell yourself every time you’re struggling that you’re getting better and better. It helps.
• Learn to enjoy the feeling of waking up muscles that have been asleep for years.