Monday, May 3, 2010

Nobody said commitment was easy!


“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

I'm as guilty as anybody at seeing something and saying "I'd sure like to try that out." For example seeing the Insanity or P90X infomercial on TV and thinking WOW that looks cool, I'll have to try that sometime. So you order the program, you get it in, it clearly states its a 60 or 90 day program, has the calendar and workouts all scheduled for you, and tells you what you have to do to complete the program. So you start the first week out with a bang. You don't skip one workout, you follow the nutrition plan, and the end of your first week comes, you don't see results on the scale, and so you automatically think it doesn't work and you start trying to change things the next week. What happens? Well usually you do some of the workouts, then you add in some of your own, then you don't do any at all, and before you know it that 60 day program has turned into a 2 yr program and you never know if it worked or not! After all if you don't see life changing results immediately something has to be wrong with the program and its easier to give up, change things, or not follow directions because you are convinced you know better. Trust me I've done this thousands of times. I hate reading directions! I mean can you imagine if marriage or parenting came with a manual you had to follow day in and day out? Eventually you'd stop doing it their way and start doing it your way, right? Its human nature to think we know whats best and at times we do. I've always said listen to your body and do what feels right to you. BUT when it comes to following a workout plan or nutrition plan, you will NEVER know if it works or not if you don't commit to the PLAN!

Goal setting can help commitment and you following through more than you might realize! I'll just use P90X as my example here and repeat that this is a 90 day program. If you begin a program like P90X without that 90 day commitment in mind, chances are you won't do the 90 days. You'll spread them out and before you know it, you'll never have completed P90X. There are a million different workout videos, classes, weight loss plans,...you can buy and take, but if you don't do what they ask you to, you will never know if they work. If you buy a 30 day gym membership and only go 10 days, you will never see the results of what the gym membership would've done for you. You'll end up saying things like "well I went to the gym for two weeks nonstop and nothing happened, oh life got in the way but I got a few workouts in, the gym life just isn't for me, I'm not seeing results...and on and on! You will come up with every excuse in the book as to why the GYM doesn't work for you. You will tell yourself P90X, Insanity, Zumba,...whatever just aren't for you, they just don't give you results for some reason! Yet you'll never admit that you didn't follow directions will you? Life does happen, things do get in the way, you won't be able to get every workout in, blah blah blah...I know! BUT if you sign up, purchase, or get involved in a 30, 60, or 90 day program, in order to see results you have to COMMIT to the 90 days without question!!! Meaning if the first two weeks aren't blowing your mind, OH WELL, you have a lot more days to go and you have to COMMIT to them! I'm not saying every program out there works, but I can tell you that most programs have been tested over and over again and trust me folks if you follow directions you will see results of what that program claims to give YOU! So what if the weight isn't falling off the scale or you're NOT getting immediate inch loss results...if you signed up for 90 days then give it 90 days! You will never know what that program might do for you if you don't commit to it and give it a solid go. 90 days isn't that much time out of your life and its worth it to see if what you are doing is working. After all you might get to the end of 90 days and have this huge confidence boost because you actually completed something! That alone will help you complete even more things! In 90 days you might learn what kinds of exercise you like, what kinds you don't, what you want to do next or for the rest of your life! But if you keep quitting before you get to the finish line YOU WILL NEVER KNOW IF IT WORKS OR NOT!

If you have to, start small. Meaning purchase some classes at your local gym and commit to 8 of them to be completed in 4 weeks. Notice how I said 4 weeks! You have to set a schedule and line up your workouts, so that your body is given the chance to build its self up! Or if you purchase a program for 90 days, write a start date and an end date! Don't question the time in between, commit yourself to those 90 days. If you miss one workout, get up the next day and do it! Don't wait 5 days to get started again, because that will be like starting over. Before you know it you will have started over 30 times and you will not have finished ONCE! Or if videos, classes, gyms...aren't your cup of tea, then set a goal for 4 weeks to walk 2 miles a day, 5 days a week. Sure you can add to that as you need to, but bottom line is make sure you are doing all you can to get those 2 miles/5 days a week in. Write it all out, make it part of your daily "to do" list, and always set a start and end date, then commit to it! I'm telling you if you follow directions every now and then, put your ego to the side, give something the time it tells you to give it, and just follow through...each and every challenge after that will get easier. You will get better, you will grow, learn more about yourself, and you will realize that commitment equals positive change! No matter what form of exercise you take on, if you stick to it, you will see change! Don't give up half way through, don't talk yourself into thinking it doesn't work, take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself are you REALLY doing what is asked of you, are you following directions and setting a plan to see what the end result might be...?!

I challenge you today to set a small plan together. It can be anything physical that you will commit to at least 5 to 6 days a week. It can be anywhere from 30 min to 60 min long or more. Write a start date and end date. Don't question it two weeks from now, just focus on each day and the day you will have accomplished all the work you are required to put in. Follow directions and stick to it for at least 4 weeks. This isn't so much about losing weight, this is about programming yourself into committing to something and setting goals. You have to start somewhere and discipline and commit are key if you ever want to see any real results. You can't just kinda take care of yourself. Commit to yourself as you would your marriage, your children, your job, or anything else that matters to you. The results and body you want will come, but you first have to learn how to follow through with what you set up for yourself to do! Come on guys, lets not just kinda give it go, lets actually finish what we start! Go for it! You will NOT be disappointed!

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com

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