How to stick to fitness goals

IT’S EASY TO talk yourself out of staying fit, so here are a few tips from Mikey Meechan, Gym Instructor at the Royal Commonwealth Pool on how to keep to your fitness goals.

Be realistic and don’t run before you can walk – Build up gradually with bouts / intervals of intensity and rest. Get a feel from your first few sessions then gauge what can be increased or maintained. Initially, set yourself small goals like weekly targets, then monthly goals. Sign up to an event or a challenge with a realistic training programme.

Do it for you. It is you who will get the results and the health and mental benefits of physical activity.

Variety is the spice of life - Take part in different activities like swim, aerobics / circuit class, Yoga / Pilates, weights class or an indoor cycle class. This helps work different muscles, and staves off boredom caused from doing the same thing.

Save the date. Diary your exercise and keep to it as you would other appointments – make this your time.

Buddy up and make it social - Share the experience with a friend, member of family or colleague. This creates an accountability to you as well as your training partner. Exercising in groups can be more inspiring and motivating as well as social.

Use an app, exercise tracker such as MyZone or diary to monitor. Recording what you have done can motivate you especially when you see the improvements in the number of repetitions, distance travelled or how close you are to achieving the World Health Organization’s guide for physical activity (150mins of moderate intensity or 75 mins of high intensity per week).

Ask for help – Ask gym staff to help you plan a programme, to support you on a 1-1 basis.

Reward and review – When you reach your initial goal, set yourself a new challenge by reviewing your programme with one of the helpful gym staff.

Change is good and will ensure you still to your goals.