Kickstarting your health and fitness goals

Yes it's hot here in Perth, Western Australia at the moment - but that doesn't mean you can't exercise :-) Most gyms I know of have air conditioning units and most have additional fans to help you cool down while you sweat - but to hear the excuses people use as to why they can't do this and that - it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

So how can you kick start your health and fitness goals?

• As you can imagine the first things you need to kick start is your thinking and motivation. If you tell yourself you can't do something, you won't... thankfully the opposite is also true.
• If you have a reason to train, other than just good fitness and health - you will find ways to train all year round. To you it doesn't matter if it's raining or if the sun is beating down. If you have a reason to train and that "deadline" is looming then you will find time to train... guaranteed.
• Find something you enjoy doing - sounds simple, but I've found the more you enjoy what you do, then you will find time to indulge in the activity.
• Train with someone - there is nothing more motivating than training with someone who will push you to try just that little bit harder. One of my clients was challenged in a push up competition on New Year's Day by her partner. He won, but she held her own through the first 5 sets. Good on them both I say - but New Year's Day - guys "get a life" LOL
• Try something new. If you've never abseiled or learned to canoe then why not have a go. Learning how to do something takes more energy than if you routinely participate in an activity. So this is a good one for everyone to take on board - challenge yourself and your muscles and learn something new.
• Train earlier in the day before the sun has a chance to get too hot, or wait until it cools down in the evening before going for your run.

But regardless of when you train at the moment - always make sure you drink lots of water. I read somewhere that "if you don't need to pee, then you're not drinking enough" interesting. Besides I feel that if you are not drinking enough water your body will hang on to what it has to cool the organs... so double the amount you drink on training days as a lack of water may make you feel tired and sluggish and less motivated to work out. 

Health and fitness should be part of your daily activities - remember - you can't exercise once and expect to be fit. Nor can you bottle your health and fitness for a "rainy" day - so to really kickstart your health and fitness goals you do need to think about activities you can do - regardless of the weather.