Accountability and consistency–both crucial elements of success–are two of our biggest challenges. And this translates even in fitness. Although you generally enjoy your workout routine, there will be days when you won’t feel like getting up early in the morning to exercise; it’s human nature. On days like these, it’s good to turn to a source of motivation and accountability to keep you going.

Here’s how:

Secret #1: Commit to a fitness program and find an accountability partner. Once you’ve identified the workout routine that best fits you, write it down and give a copy to your accountability partner. This person doesn’t necessarily have to exercise with you, but he or she has to know when you plan to exercise, ask you if you did, and monitor your progress.

Secret #2: Get a training partner. If you struggle to get out of bed to exercise, consider hiring a personal trainer. Having someone to get in shape with you is fun, and can be a great motivator. If this is not possible, encourage a friend to commit to a workout plan with you or, if you have kids, involve them in your program. Line up different training partners, including your dogs, so you have options when you are ready to exercise.

Secret #3: Track your progress. Keep a written record of your exercise plan, and plot them on your calendar. Treat your workout schedule as if they were important meetings. When you miss a training session, make a written record of your reasons. At the end of the week, review your performance and plan next week’s course of action. Make sure you communicate your performance and plans—including all your excuses—to your accountability partner.

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Contact me if you would like to hire a certified, personal trainer. I provide in-home personal training services in Grapevine, Bedford, Hurst, Euless, Arlington, Grapevine, Southlake, Colleyville, Westlake and Trophy Club.

To exercise efficiently and effectively, you must avoid injury during your workouts.  Too many people push themselves through the pain thinking they are doing their body good, but it’s not true. The  adage, “No pain, no gain” is just not accurate.

Here’s a great article from Ironman Athlete and Doctor of Physical Therapy, Wendy Benwell:

During the last few miles of the marathon at the 2010 Ironman New Zealand, I was experiencing several thoughts and emotions.

I was most enthusiastic about my body feeling strong, without muscle or joint pain. Seven months of training had finally paid off. My main goal for every Ironman triathlon has been to finish before the cut-off time feeling somewhat strong.

I am fortunate, being a doctor of physical therapy and certified as a USA Triathlon coach, that I am able to design a training program for myself which will help to prevent injuries, but also help me to finish a race feeling strong. I feel that my background has helped me avoid getting injured. We all need to learn how to listen to our bodies and understand what our body is telling us.

As a former collegiate volleyball player I had to deal with several injuries secondary to the increased demands of the sport, especially practice time. The most severe injury was a fractured lumbar spine. I endured years of physical therapy to overcome the pain and resumed playing volleyball at a high level.

It was very difficult to listen to my own body at that time. I was unaware of the consequences of playing through the pain and I felt I would be letting my team down if I could not play due to injury. I felt I owed it to my team, my school and my coach to play regardless of the pain level or the consequences to my body.

Throughout my educational training as a physical therapist I came to understand the importance of listening to one’s own symptoms during a sport. The effects of playing through pain can be detrimental. I know of many athletes who train endlessly for a marathon or a triathlon only to be sidelined by an injury.

If athletes listen to their own symptoms during their training, they will have a greater chance of recovering and rehabilitating before the race date.

Symptoms During Your Workout

Listening to your body is imperative when training for a running race or a triathlon. Symptoms that you might feel during training could either indicate joint stiffness, muscular tightness, muscle soreness or pain from a previous injury. Stiffness, soreness and tightness are normal symptoms encountered during training, especially in a warm-up.

These symptoms should subside after approximately 10 minutes of an easy warm-up. However, sharp pain or severe tightness that persists during the workout could indicate a serious injury.

If you experience severe tightness or pain which persists during the workout, decrease the intensity, decrease the distance and stretch mid-run. If your symptoms subside, return to your normal workout the next day and listen to your body during the warm-up and workout.

However, if the symptoms continue, rest from running for approximately 48 hours. Ice the area of concern for 15 minutes every two hours and assess the symptoms. If you feel symptoms at rest, the injured area is still inflamed and the athlete should continue to rest or perform pain-free cross training. If the symptoms persist at rest and last longer than two to four days, the athlete should seek professional advice from a qualified physician or physical therapist.

Listen or Else!

If the athlete continues with a high-intensity workout while experiencing severe symptoms, the injury can progress and become increasingly worse. For example, I had a patient who was a runner and was consistently increasing her mileage in preparation for a marathon. She experienced calf tightness during training which became worse as she continued to increase her mileage.

Instead of listening to her symptoms and decreasing her mileage, decreasing the intensity of her workout or resting, she continued to run. She continued to experience severe calf tightness, which slowly turned into pain and tightness at rest.

What could have been a mild to moderate calf strain turned into a massive Achilles tendon rupture during one of her training days. The rehabilitation lasted approximately six to eight months and included complete rest from running.

The Road to Recovery

When recovering from a mild to moderate injury, the athlete should be very cautious during their training. The focus should be pain-free training with a slow increase in mileage and intensity. If the athlete is a runner, pain-free cross training such as swimming or cycling will help to maintain endurance and strength without compromising the running injury.

If the athlete is a triathlete, continue to focus on pain-free training. If cycling was the cause of the injury, decrease the number of cycling days and add more running and/or swimming. This will help to maintain a high level of fitness without compromising their endurance.

During training days, focus on slower, longer distances rather than high-intensity training days such as intervals or hill repeats. If the athlete is pain-free with slower, longer distances, add in tempo work gradually. Tempo work will help to increase speed without a high demand on the healing tissues.

Once tempo work is pain-free, slowly add in interval work and easy hill repeats. Gradually return to your training program while listening to your body. Listening to your body during this time of rehabilitation is crucial for proper healing.

Having unrealistic fitness goals can make weight loss extremely frustrating.  With the wrong expectations, you can set yourself up for failure.

Weight loss goals should be:

• Precise. Outline an action plan for the week, and be specific. Create a fitness plan that’s clear and goal-oriented.
• Progressive. Take baby steps in the beginning and allow yourself to gradually move on to the next level.  For example, say, “I’ll walk 20 minutes, three times a week,” rather than, “I’ll walk two hours every day beginning tomorrow.”  Once you’ve gotten the hang of walking regularly, it will be easier to do it for 30 or 40 minutes, and then to an hour or even two a day.  Track your progress by keeping a diary.  There’s nothing more motivating than seeing your fitness trend on paper.
• Optimistic. Say, “My average daily intake will be 3,000 calories this week” rather than, “I’ll never eat more than 1,000 calories every day.”  Setting positive, sensible goals will make you feel good about your successes, not deprived or—worse—starved.
• Realistic. Set goals that you can live with and fit in your lifestyle.  Say, “I want to lose a pound this week,” rather than, “I will lose ten pounds before the end of the week.”  Remember—you didn’t gain the extra weight overnight, so don’t expect to get rid of it overnight.
• Rewarding. Celebrate each victory, even those as small as losing a pound after your first week on a much healthier diet.  These small triumphs are crucial in attaining a long-term success.

Setting goals that are practical and sensible allows you to enjoy a weight loss program that is effective, and brings permanent results.

So, how much is within reason again?

• Lose 1 pound, per week. Losing 1 pound a week, according to nutritionists, is recommended; anything more than that is unhealthy and could easily put your body at risk.  Now this also means being realistic about your timetable.  If you want to lose 30 pounds, for instance, then embrace the fact that you will be going on a much longer program.
• Cut back 250 calories, per day. Cutting back 250 to 500 calories a day will help you lose about a pound per week.  Making little changes in your daily diet add up in the long run:  the syrup on your pancakes, the butter on your toast, the extra glass of milk you drink in the morning.
• Burn 250 calories per day. Exercising off 250 to 500 calories will also help you lose a pound or more a week.  Ideally, you should do a combination of both; for example—cutting back 250 calories and then sweating off an extra 250 calories will help accelerate your weight loss goals.
• Lose 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight. This, according to most doctors, is medically achievable.  This means that if you weigh 200 pounds, a reasonable target would be to lose 10 to 20 pounds.

Revise your thinking and your targets.  Unrealistic goals only increase the risk of dropping out of a weight loss program.  The best way to go:  smaller, more tangible expectations.

Enjoy your journey!

Contact me if you’re interested in hiring me as an In-Home Fitness Trainer.  I serve the Colleyville, Southlake, Grapevine, Hurst, Euless, and Bedford, Texas area.

So you did everything right today: ate nutritious meals, exercised for an hour before hitting the morning traffic to work, had a hearty apple for your afternoon snack, and consumed a well-balanced dinner.  But before calling it a night, you find yourself snacking furiously on a generous serving of chocolate ice cream.

It’s hard not to treat yourself with a nice late night snack after a busy day.  But before you open that bag of chips you’ve been eyeing, here are eight healthy, late-night snack alternatives you might want to try:

1. Turkey Rollups – Roll deli-style turkey slices with low-fat cheese. Add some spiciness with a touch of salsa or Dijon mustard.
2. Soup – A cup of warm soup can do wonders. Choose broth-based soups (i.e. chicken, minestrone or bean) and avoid the creamy ones.
3. Cheese and Crackers – 5 or 6 whole-grain crackers with 1 to 1.5 ounces of cheese.
4. Half a Sandwich – Scrambled eggs and tomato or peanut butter and jelly, with whole wheat bread.
5. Low-fat Cottage Cheese and Fresh Fruit – 1/2 cup of  low-fat cottage cheese topped with your favorite fruit.
6. English-Muffin Pizza – Top with tomato sauce and 2 tablespoons of shredded part-skim cheese.
7. Cereal and milk – 1 cup of a whole-grain cereal with low-fat or fat-free milk.
8. Dried Fruits and Nuts – Try a bag of nuts or a healthy serving of dried fruits while you watch TV.

If you don’t get all the recommended calories throughout the day, a late night snack may still be a part of your healthy eating regimen.  But if you’re usually munching after a full day of eating, then the extra calories will add up and result to weight gain in the long run.

Before opening the pantry, ask yourself if you’re really hungry.  If you’re snacking out of boredom, or plain habit, eat a healthy filling snack such as the ones suggested above.  The best munchies contain starch and protein, plus vitamins and minerals, not just empty calories; adding protein keeps you feeling full longer than just starch alone.

Enjoy your midnight snacks!

Contact me if you’re interested in hiring me as a Personal Fitness Trainer.  I serve the Colleyville, Southlake, Grapevine, Westlake, North Richland Hills, and Keller, Texas area.

Ever wondered what’s the difference between those who exercise and those who don’t?

It’s habit.  And clearly people have different habits.

Kudos for those who brave on the grueling first 3 weeks of doing their daily workout routines!  And for those of you who continue exercising on a regular basis despite your certainly busy schedules, I’m sure you’re already enjoying the fruits of all your hard work.

Now, if you are yet to master the art of consistency, let me give you four reasons why it’s good to exercise regularly:

1. You will enjoy the metabolism of a 20-year old - People who habitually exercise have a more active metabolism, which allows the body to digest nutrients faster.  Being able to go through the entire day feeling alert, not sluggish, lets you engage in physical activities—whether it’s playing your favorite sport or doing household chores—like a 20-year-old.  You simply have more energy!
2. Stress won’t get the best of you - Keeping a regular, daily workout schedule relaxes not only your body, but also your mind.  It’s the perfect stress reliever.  Sweat your worries away starting with a good warm up and a few breathing exercises.  And because your body pumps up endorphins when you exercise, you can expect to go through the day feeling good about yourself.
3. You’ll keep the extra pounds off - We’re talking long-term here, folks!  Exercising regularly not only helps you achieve your fitness goals, but also allows you to maintain the body you’ve achieved.  And this is where the challenge really lies—keeping the excess weight off.  Be consistent in your workout routine and you won’t have to worry about not being able to fit in your favorite jeans.
4. Your body will naturally stall your aging process - Engaging in regular physical workout helps delay the aging process by reducing chances of disease and disability.  This is so much better (and cheaper!) than any drugs or anything else the world has for aging.  And here’s the best part:  there are no unhealthy side effects, but lots of healthy side effects.

Are you convinced?  Good.  Start reaping the benefits of regular physical exercise today!

Contact me you’re interested in hiring me as an In-Home Personal Trainer. I serve the Colleyville, Southlake, Grapevine, Westlake, North Richland Hills, and Keller, Texas area. It’s time you see results!