A huge problem I see with former athletes is that as they get older, their lifestyle of working out every day with a team drops off, but their eating habits and expectations for themselves stay the same. This causes some former athletes to gain weight and get out of shape pretty fast.
My friend is lucky, because he can afford to work with a personal trainer twice a week. I asked him why having a trainer helps him because he obviously knows the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
What he told me is very informative to experienced athletes and beginners alike:
- It's an appointment he has to keep, so he always shows up
- Having someone watching him keeps him working hard
- He doesn't have to think or plan. All he has to do is show up.
To be successful with an exercise and nutrition plan, you have to reduce the amount of decisions you make every day.
Let's take an example: Working out 6 times a week or 3 times a week.
We'll assume that you are doing the same amount of work - 3 cardio sessions and 3 weight training sessions. In the first plan (6x a week), you do either cardio or weight training each day. In the second plan (3x a week), you do cardio and weight training every day.
Now, if we only talk about decision making, which plan has more decisions to make? The first plan says you have to workout every day, so there is no decision to make. You just have to do it.
The second plan says you have to workout every other day. However, what if it's Monday and you are tired and busy and you just don't feel like going to the gym for what amounts to two hours to get your cardio and weight training in? You ask yourself, "Should I go today, or maybe wait until tomorrow?"
This is only my opinion and I'm going solely on my experience, but I'll tell you I believe every time you have that question, you make it more difficult for yourself to stay motivated. It is a whole lot easier for me to say "I have to make time every day to work out for up to an hour no matter what."
Eliminate the decision making and you eliminate doubt. You eliminate stress, because you aren't asking yourself "Should I, or shouldn't I? Do I want to, or can I wait?"
The main reason my girlfriend and I were able to stay on track is because we found a plan that reduced the amount of decisions we had to make in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and motivation. In addition, by going to the gym every day, it became just another thing we do every day. It became a habit, like getting up and going to work in the morning.
Remember, there are many ways to get in shape. You can find hundreds of them on the internet or at the bookstore. Most of them will work if you stick to them. However, the ones that give you lots of options, in my opinion, make it more difficult to stay on track.
Going back to what my friend said about working with a trainer, let's analyze his remarks:
It's an appointment he has to keep, so he always shows up:
He obviously doesn't want to lose the money he's spending on a trainer, and he doesn't want to be seen as a "flake". Knowing him as I do, I know the latter is very important to him. It's not an option for him to miss a workout based on these factors.
Having someone watching him keeps him working hard:
As an athlete who has excelled, he's well accustomed to having coaches and fans expect the best from him, so every time he is in a situation where someone he respects is around, he's going to give his all. He's also very competitive. It's not an option for him to "dog it" in front of his trainer.
He doesn't have to think or plan. All he has to do is show up:
He's got enough trust in his trainer to know, as long as he shows up, he's going to be put through a workout that is effective. It's not an option to fail, because he knows his workout will be effective.
The problem for most people is that they can't afford a trainer twice a week or more. I certainly couldn't. My girlfriend couldn't either. Most people I know can't afford a trainer.
That's why it's so important to find a plan and set up a program that eliminates decision making and is effective. From the nutrition to the cardio to the weight training to the frequency of workouts, you need something that makes it easy for you to stay on track. All the expert information in the world won't help you if you don't have a simple plan to use it.
