I feel the need to clarify something – exercise may have been a huge part of my life for the past 30 years, but I was not born super disciplined like some people seem to think. This is in fact a skill I have learnt over the years through perseverance. What I would like to say to all those people who use the ‘I can’t get fit because I’m not disciplined’ excuse is stop being so hard on yourself and know that you can totally learn to be – if you want to of course. It just takes a bit of time.
What drove me to commit to training was the fact that I always felt great when I had achieved the goals I set out to do. This became my motivation and led to me becoming more and more disciplined in my approach. It also helped me to remember how I didn’t want to feel on a day-to-day basis or at a dancing competition. Sluggish, tired and unfit are all things I felt when I had let the disciplined me slip (and yes of course that happens sometimes) – so I worked hard to ensure that didn’t happen regularly.
The other factor that plays a huge role is choosing a sport that really resonates with you. This will help inspire you to work out even on the days you really want to stay at home and sit in front of the television because you are suddenly connecting with the joy of what you are doing. The most wonderful thing about learning to be disciplined with yourself in fitness is that this skill then carries on into other areas of your life too, even without you trying, and this is such a great asset to have.
Try this: positive self-talk
Just think for a moment about the way you speak to yourself and others about your fitness level and your body. Be completely honest with yourself now, are you speaking as nicely to yourself and about yourself as you would if you were talking about someone you love and adore? If the answer is no, then I invite you to fall in love with yourself and your body.
1. Write down a few things about how you feel about your body and your fitness goals.
2. Notice any wording which is negative such as: “I want to be fit but I don’t have the time” or “ I can never stick to a regime as I’m not ‘disciplined’” and so on. Write down as many as come to mind.
3. Now change them into positive sentences instead. For example: “I make time in my schedule for me”, “I am disciplined, I stick to my schedule and I enjoy working out” and “I love my body and I’m excited to see how I can make my beautiful shape more toned”.
Working out at home
Ignite by Julia Buckley
I came across this fitness trainer online and I really love her straightforward and down-to-earth approach and her easy workouts. If you don’t have time to go to the gym or your don’t want to spend lots of money on a personal trainer then you might want to check out Julie’s book and online gym which you can join and follow from the comfort of your own home. In her book Ignite every exercise is really well described and illustrated which is so useful. The biggest worries when we work out at home without a trainer is that there is no one to correct us if we are doing an exercise wrong and there is also no one there to motivate us but Julie covers both of those issues in the book. You really feel as though she is guiding you through the moves and anticipating what you might want to ask in order to be able to execute each exercise in the most beneficial way.
For more information about Julia visit juliabuckleyfitness.com/a>
