What’s the best way to get the workout results you want, including weight loss, and to achieve your fitness goals?
Should you buy a gym membership? Hire a personal trainer? See a dietician or nutritionist? Work with a health coach? Pay for an app? Follow the program of the latest TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram influencer? Try to do it on your own? Or perhaps just give up because getting fit and losing weight seems like too much work?
Which one is best for you? While there’s no right or wrong answer, the best solution will be customized to your needs. It really depends on your current circumstances and desired goals…particularly the ones BEYOND XX pounds of weight loss.
This post lists some of the most common options people choose to reach their fitness goals, and some of the challenges with those choices. After 30 years as a fitness professional and after helping thousands of people reach their goals, I have a very clear picture of why people fail to get results, and what those who are successful do differently.
Here is a quick review of the information that most people overlook when starting their journey towards fitness and weight loss goals, and how they can use it to their advantage…along with improved fitness and sustained weight loss.
Mistake #1: Thinking the gym is the solution to your fitness and weight loss goals
Don’t get me wrong, a gym can be a fantastic tool in your fitness and weight loss toolkit. However, if you are someone who hates the gym, exercises, or is self-conscious about working out with lots of other people around, then the gym will rarely help.
You will simply contribute to lining the pockets of the gym owner who expects that 80% of the people who pay for memberships will rarely attend. That’s why gym memberships are so cheap! Those people subsidize the members who actually attend on a regular basis.
A gym is great IF you:
- Know exactly WHAT to do to reach your fitness goals
- Know HOW to do all the exercises CORRECTLY
- Are motivated to do them CONSISTENTLY
- ENJOY exercising
- CHANGE your routine regularly to avoid injury and accelerate progress
If this sounds like you, then AWESOME! Find the cheapest gym that has the equipment you need and want, and sign on for a long-term membership to lock in the low rate. However, if you DON’T know what to do, how to do it, aren’t excited about doing it, and generally aren’t motivated to exercise, then there are other, and better options for achieving your goals.
The heart of the gym model is that they basically rent access to equipment. You don’t need a gym to be healthy and fit, but a special space is often nice. The best piece of fitness equipment ever created is your own body. The challenge is that after childhood, most people have forgotten how to properly use it. It’s time to dust off the “user manual” for your body and relearn how to move properly.
The great news is that
Mistake #2: Thinking that 80% of your fitness results come from Diet and Nutrition
This is where people go on all kinds of crazy nutrition plans, diets, or food trends (aka, keto, intermittent fasting, etc.). People also seek the help of nutritionists and dieticians, often in search of the magic nutrition plan that will finally help them lose weight and keep it off.
The reality is that food and nutrition are only one small piece of the puzzle. Getting quality nutrition advice and support from a properly educated professional can be extremely beneficial. However, it will pale in comparison to the results that happen when health and fitness are approached using the 4 Pillars of Personal Performance™. In order of importance, those 4 pillars are: MINDSET, HABITS, MOVEMENT, and FUEL.
- Mindset is the filter through which you see the world
- Habits are the framework from which you put your mindset into action
- Movement is the foundation for function, health, and vitality in your life
- Fuel is the source of sustained energy and cellular function necessary to drive the other 3 pillars over the long term
The challenge people face with fitness and weight loss is that they focus on more exercise and nutrition and neglect the massive role that mindset and habits play in their results.
You likely already know that regular exercise and healthy eating are keys to achieving your fitness goals. My question is…why aren’t you doing those things consistently?
The answer to that likely has nothing to do with needing more fitness or nutrition advice, programs, or tips. It will have to do with how you view fitness and nutrition in your mind (MINDSET), and how it shows up (or doesn’t) in your life (HABITS). Without changes in your mindset and habits, fitness and nutrition will continue to be a struggle. Additionally, your gym membership and nutrition plan will also be useless.
A trainer can help you move better, a nutritionist can help you eat healthier, and a health coach can help you work through the mindset and habit barriers.
If only there was a single source that could help you achieve all your fitness goals.
There is!
It’s called FRESH! Fitness (a division of FRESH! Wellness Group). Our health coaches are personal trainers with strong holistic nutrition backgrounds that are committed to helping you master the 4 Pillars of Personal Performance.
Here are some free resources to help you learn more about FRESH!, our coaches, and the 4 Pillars of Performance.
- Download our free Info Package (including our programs and pricing)
- Download a sample of The Fitness Curveball book (which breaks down each of the 4 Pillars)
- Order the Fitness Curveball on Amazon
- Download our “How to Hire a Personal Trainer” ebook
- Book a complimentary Success Coaching Session with a FRESH! Coach
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
Choose the option that’s best for you. Still not sure, just contact us to ask your most burning questions.
Even if you don’t hire us (we aren’t the right fit for every person), you will be able to search for and find someone who’s a great fit for you.
Buy the guide on Amazon for a few bucks (https://amzn.to/2JyNJBT).
Your choice.
Comments
Staying consistent and working out correctly definitely helps. Thank you for the great pointers!
Thank you Su for engaging!