Keep with the Program: 7 Tips to Stay in the Fitness Mind-Set

Keeping with a fitness program can be very hard, especially if you don't start seeing the results you want right away. Many people quite within a month of beginning their fitness programs and have to psych themselves back into a fitness mindset before they will begin again.

If you are one of those people, know that there is hope that even you will be able to break free from the start/stop syndrome of your routine.

Admit it. You want to quit because you feel like you are wasting your time and you would rather be doing.... (fill in the blank). Whether it is eating a big bowl of ice cream, sitting in front of the TV all day, or just a fitness failure feeling, something besides dieting and workout sessions has caught your attention.

So STOP. Think about what you REALLY want. Fitness is not easy, but you chose to start down that path for a reason. Was it to lose weight? Was it to regain your health? Was it to build your core so that you could be stronger? What was it?

Once you have remembered your goal, write it down. Go... do it NOW. This hub will still be here when you get back. Write it as many times as you need to so that you remember that goal. Stick it on your fridge, write it on your mirror, put a post it on your TV and do whatever it takes to get yourself back into the fitness mindset.

Pushing through the difficult moments when you don't see what you want right away will put your body into gear and you will be grateful when you do start seeing results. Determination is a strong quality, and don't you want to prove to the world that you have it?

No, no, don't start looking through the employment ads. Put that newspaper down and pay attention.

View your fitness program as your second job. Make sure you show up to your shift on time, do your required work and the benefits will follow.

Do you enjoy your job all the time? You may like is most of the time, but ALL the time? When you are not enjoying your job, you can't just decide to avoid it until you feel like working again. You have to work and stick it out and eventually things will be smoother again.

The same goes for fitness. You are not going to enjoy working out all the time, but you need to press on and you may even end up loving your second job!

Perhaps you have just gotten bored to sweating with the 80s and want to do something else. Doing the same thing every day can get daunting and it is natural to begin to look for something to spice up your life. NOT ACTUAL SPICES.... GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE CUPBOARD.

Find different places locally where you can go running, join a gym, take a fitness class or borrow workout videos from the library. There are a million different things you can do to keep yourself having fun and interested in making your body fit and healthy. Find one.

Sometimes changing a negative attitude into a positive attitude is all you need to do start enjoying something you don't like.

Think about what it is that you don't like about fitness. Is it the food? The work-outs? The fabulous bodies all around you in the gym that remind you how you feel like a pig? Start changing the way you think about the food and the workouts and start looking at the people around you as an inspiration. Some of them were once where you were and are still working on their own personal goals.

Write down 10 benefits that you have already experienced from your fitness program. Keep the list with you for when your thoughts go to the negative aspects of your program. If you haven't had any benefits in a month, your fitness program is not working for you and you will need to find a new one.

If you are experiencing pain or find yourself exhausted, slow down your workout sessions instead of quitting all together. A common problem with fitness programs is that people jump into them fully instead of slowly getting into it. Doing this could wear you out quickly and cause you to give up.

As you workout, your body will get stronger and you will be able to increase your workout sessions to allow you to build more endurance and stamina. Taking things slow in the beginning may just help prevent injury.

If you have set unrealistic goals for yourself, its no wonder you are feeling burned out and worn down. Talk with your doctor about setting good fitness goals and work toward them one step at at time.

Instead of saying, "I want to lose 70 pounds!" say "I want to lose 2 pounds this week." Though you will know that your overall goal is 70 pounds, you will be able to achieve smaller goals much faster which will keep you encouraged.

Find someone to work out with, or hire a personal trainer. Having someone there to help push you toward your goals can help you to stay motivated. You will have someone to your struggles with and someone who will celebrate with you when you meet each goal.

Changing a couple of things about your fitness program or your attitude toward it will help you keep on track and not give up this time.