Hey everyone! Rob here, in the process of working on some little progress reports for a handful of my DFC Athlete members! You see one thing we try to do within the program is to come up with progress reports much like a follow-up consultation that I would do with a client. Stating from start to finish what has been accomplished, highlights, goals achieved, establishing new goals and how we are going to accomplish them! One big thing that I run into whether it is talking with a client, member, friend or family member about their progress with their fitness goals is schedule conflicts. It happens to everyone from the fitness savvy to the first timers! Life gets in the way, work consumes our days or we are subject to an event(s) that scramble up a period of time. Whether it’s been a week or a year, here are a few easy steps you can take to get your schedule back on track!
First of all, Figure out what exactly it is that you want to accomplish and how long it will take! Goals can be as simple as doing a pull up, but can take weeks or months to achieve! Set a time period at which you plan to work on your goal and as that time period goes on, see how you are progressing and see how realistic your time period was. Obviously keep your goals simple, and not horribly over the top like 50lbs in 6 weeks… we don’t want you getting sick! Not all goals can be accomplished within the time period you program, but focus on what you’ve achieved through that time and figure out how much longer it may take to get to your goal!
Once you have gotten that established, get your personal schedule set in stone. Those of us with variable careers need to make time at the beginning, middle or end of our days to get their training in. If that’s the case, set boundaries and time periods you know you can get a workout in whether its 6 times a week or 3! For my style of training, I perform 2 simple portions of work at separate times of the day during the slowest and least demanding parts of my day. I have been doing this for a while, so I can easily get a good workout in 2 20 minute sessions and not cause chaos in my day (it helps that I work 10 feet away from a squat rack, but let me tell you… it’s just as hard finding time to train while working in a gym as it is outside one!). Take into account travel time, meals and everything else to make sure you don’t overwhelm yourself!
So your schedule is set in stone… you know what you need to accomplish… the next step is to find, program, or consult a program to help you achieve those goals within the available time you have! Whether its 3 days or 6 days a week, with just the right programming and proper lifestyle changes you can accomplish just about anything (mind you I emphasize just about, remember.. let’s be realistic!)!
Lastly when it comes down to training, tweaks always have to be made! It’s rare a program is perfect from the get-go and even the savviest trainers need to sit down and get to know how their clients’ bodies react to different styles of training in order to better establish the right programming, the right way. Be wary of crash diets, “quick ab” routines, diet pills that promise the perfect physique and trainers that claim they can get you in the best shape ever in just a few weeks. Your body is everything, not just a social statement! You can lose 30 lbs in less than a month, but that doesn’t mean it’s right or healthy for you! Be safe and do things right, and if you don’t know how… help is always around if you know where to look! OR you can always shoot me an email and I can point you in the right direction… robdfc@rochester.rr.com (shameless plug! Haha)
