15 Tips to Restart the Exercise Habit (and How to Keep It)

As a trainer, I've heard all the reasons to why someone has failed their program.  Want to guess what is the most common?

Loss of Motivation.

Once you have an exercise habit, it becomes automatic. You just go to the gym, there is no force involved. But after a month, two months or possibly a year off, it can be hard to get started again. Here are some tips to climb back on that treadmill after you’ve fallen off.

1. Don’t Break the Habit – The easiest way to keep things going is simply not to stop. Avoid long breaks in exercising or rebuilding the habit will take some effort. This may be advice a little too late for some people. But if you have an exercise habit going, don’t drop it at the first sign of trouble.
2. Reward Showing Up – Woody Allen once said that, “Half of life is showing up.” I’d argue that 90% of making a habit is just making the effort to get there. You can worry about your weight, amount of laps you run or the amount you can bench press later.
3. Commit for Thirty Days – Make a commitment to go every day (even just for 20 minutes) for one month. This will solidify the exercise habit. By making a commitment you also take pressure off yourself in the first weeks back of deciding whether to go.
4. Make it Fun – If you don’t enjoy yourself at the gym, it is going to be hard to keep it a habit. There are thousands of ways you can move your body and exercise, so don’t give up if you’ve decided lifting weights or doing crunches isn’t for you. Many large fitness centers will offer a range of programs that can suit your tastes.
5. Schedule During Quiet Hours – Don’t put exercise time in a place where it will easily be pushed aside by something more important. Right after work or first thing in the morning are often good places to put it. Lunch-hour workouts might be too easy to skip if work demands start mounting.
6. Get a Buddy – Grab a friend to join you. Having a social aspect to exercising can boost your commitment to the exercise habit.
7. X Your Calendar – One person I know has the habit of drawing a red “X” through any day on the calendar he goes to the gym. The benefit of this is it quickly shows how long it has been since you’ve gone to the gym. Keeping a steady amount of X’s on your calendar is an easy way to motivate yourself.
8. Enjoyment Before Effort - After you finish any work out, ask yourself what parts you enjoyed and what parts you did not. As a rule, the enjoyable aspects of your workout will get done and the rest will be avoided. By focusing on how you can make workouts more enjoyable, you can make sure you want to keep going to the gym.
9. Create a Ritual - Your workout routine should become so ingrained that it becomes a ritual. This means that the time of day, place or cue automatically starts you towards grabbing your bag and heading out. If your workout times are completely random, it will be harder to benefit from the momentum of a ritual.
10. Stress Relief - What do you do when your stressed? Chances are it isn’t running. But exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, releasing endorphin which will improve your mood. The next time you feel stressed or tired, try doing an exercise you enjoy. When stress relief is linked to exercise, it is easy to regain the habit even after a leave of absence.
11. Measure Fitness - Weight isn’t always the best number to track. Increase in muscle can offset decreases in fat so the scale doesn’t change even if your body is. But fitness improvements are a great way to stay motivated. Recording simple numbers such as the number of push-ups, sit-ups or speed you can run can help you see that the exercise is making you stronger and faster.
12. Habits First, Equipment Later – Fancy equipment doesn’t create a habit for exercise. Despite this, some people still believe that buying a thousand dollar machine will make up for their inactivity. It won’t. Start building the exercise habit first, only afterwards should you worry about having a personal gym.
13. Isolate Your Weakness - If falling off the exercise wagon is a common occurrence for you, find out why. Do you not enjoy exercising? Is it a lack of time? Is it feeling self-conscious at the gym? Is it a lack of fitness know-how? As soon as you can isolate your weakness, you can make steps to improve the situation.
14. Start Small - Trying to run fifteen miles your first workout isn’t a good way to build a habit. Work below your capacity for the first few weeks to build the habit. Otherwise you might scare yourself off after a brutal workout.
15. Go for Yourself, Not to Impress – Going to the gym with the only goal of looking great is like starting a business with only the goal to make money. The effort can’t justify the results. But if you go to the gym to push yourself, gain energy and have a good time, then you can keep going even when results are slow.

Finding Your Groove Again When Your Training Gets Disrupted

Sometimes we can find a groove in our training, during this time we’re motivated to workout every day, we’re feeling optimal and hitting our fitness goals – what could be better! – And then everything comes to a screeching halt.  Any number of unforeseen events can come along and pull you away from your groove: Getting an illness, an injury, a family emergency, personal crisis, prepping for a special event, moving, your favorite running route getting blocked off, or a relaxing holiday that becomes extra relaxing.

When this happens, best advice I can give - Go easy on yourself.  Many people tend to revert to berating themselves when they lose the path.  Beating yourself up is not going to get you any more motivated.  There’s nothing more taxing that feeling guilty and ashamed.  Instead, you can choose to embrace it and find a way through it.

Recently, I acquired an illness that disrupted my whole system.  My favorite physical activities - yoga, running, & fitness were inaccessible to me for a few weeks, after having been in a comfortable groove for some time. I had a choice: I could wallow and think wistfully about the good old days, or… I could find a way through this. In choosing the latter, I was faced with the task of being willing to try new forms of movement that wouldn’t compromise my injury or cause me pain. It was an opportunity for growth, in that I practiced willingness, adaptability and stretched out of my comfort zone.

 Here are some lessons I benefited from (and teach my clients):

1. Reduce your attachment to one way of doing things.

Although you may be really connected to the routines you have, or one type of movement; it is really essential to apply a key life skill here: the ability to adapt. Shake things up every once in a while by squeezing in a different workout.

2. Create a backup fitness plan.

Think of a fitness back-up plan as an insurance policy: Our fitness activities keep us in top form (emotionally and mentally as well) for handling life’s events and challenges.  If you relied solely on one activity, then everything would fall apart if that gets disrupted in any way.  If your body is used to output, you may risk becoming a little depressed when it stops movement; so be sure to have a small list of alternative ways you can get movement in, and most importantly, practice these every once in a while.  Schedule in one “Plan B” workout every 2 weeks, even if it’s not your favorite.  It’s kind of like a ‘fire drill’ practice: its good to be prepared for anything.

3. Be willing to get creative within your limitations.

Even though you may have found what works for you, if you are disrupted or limited somehow, then it’s time to think outside the box. There are many, many opportunities for physical movement, or high-impact mini-workouts for those who face time constraints.  For instance, ask fit friends about their workout preferences.  Also, consider asking a personal trainer to help you discover new exercises or activities - they are great resources for bringing in new forms of physical movement into your life.  Don;t be afraid to ask me lol :)

4. Tolerate a learning curve for your new forms of movement.

If indeed you have said yes to an exercise back up plan, be aware that you may take some time getting used to it.  All mastery requires a stage of awkwardness.  Also, keep your ego in check.  It may convince you that because this new movement is awkward or difficult, that it’s not worth pursuing.  Ignore it and keep on moving.

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” - Bruce Lee

All throughout life we will be faced with distractions, disruptions and unforeseen events. Nothing can ever stay comfortably predictable. The facts: committing to physical wellness involves much more than finding a routine you like and sticking with it.  The ability to adapt with the punches, combined with determination, topped with a consistent readiness to step out of your comfort zone -if need be- are traits of individuals who live active lifestyles.  Hope you found this interesting and helpful :)

PodCast: Breaking the Myths of Fitness & How to get RESULTS!

Here is the aforementioned podcast upload by my partner in crime DJ McKay. Recorded in Vancouver, BC. Hope everyone enjoys this!!



We break down the myths in fitness and tell you the REAL TRUTH about...

How to lose weight?
How to gain muscle?
How to stay motivated?
Do I need a personal trainer?
Where to start when working out if I am new?
How do I gain weight?
I am not getting results, WHY?
How should i set fitness goals?
How often should I work out?
P90X/ Insanity/ Crossfit effective?
Effective Nutrition for most of us?
Woman getting bulky with resistance training?
How to change the shape of my body?
How do I get a 6 pack?
What supplements should I take?

Find more on DJ McKay and Beki Liang on twitter: @onedjmckay @bekiliang

What do you??? Leave a comment (if you dare). Please share if you know anyone that can benefit from this :)

Where I have been...

Hi everyone!!

Just wanted to address where I have been as of late.  I think it's been almost three weeks since I have published a new posting.  Never fear, I haven't called it a quits.  In reality, the last three weeks have been the busiest of my life.  Okay I'm bullshitting you, nothing beats college and university, but it was a busy time none the less.  Not sure where the time went, but that's the beauty of life, sometimes it goes fast and sometimes it goes slow, all without warning. I love it!!

On the top of my head, I can say my time was divided up among a few things.

A lot of time went to preparing for my Hockey finals.  It was a long month, my team, the Blueliners, went all the way to the end, only to lose it in a shoot out.  A unsettling manner to be defeated in (especially a Gold Puck game - that's the prize in the end), but all in all it was a memorable season!     

I also took last week off to break the routine and declutter my mind.  Much of that time was spent on re-focusing and re-centering.  Time and time again, our busy lives take us away from the things we love.  Too true that was for me.  So I decided to stopped it before I drifted too far away.  Time was spent traveling/discovering more of BC, practicing my skills with the guitar, reading (not writing lol), experimenting with new training methods/techniques, snowboarding, etc.  It was a refreshing experience.  I highly recommend it to anyone if they can find the time off themselves.

Safe to say, my own personal workouts have been going very strong.  I hope yours have been too.  I Hope to publish a few new routines for everyone by the end of this month.  Just to warn you, I have been working hard on a lot of handstand positions made famous by yoga.  If you haven't tried yoga yet, do yourself a favour and do it.  A whole new dimension of fitness will open up for you.  Promise. 

Spent a week catching up on the remainder of season 3 of the walking dead.  It was hard to ignore it as EVERYONE around me was talking about it.  My opinion, the finale was two thumbs down lol.  I guess the remainder of my time went to hanging out with family and friends and dating.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole lot of things that should get recognition.  Meh!

Oh yeah... WORK.  I work for a living too.  I love my job so I don't view it as work and it's often not on my mind.  Don't hate hehe :)  I am happy to say SymFit is almost ready for launch.  What is SymFit, you ask!  It's the new personal training company I am proud to be a part of.  Since the beginning of the year, me and my team have been hard at work with various aspects of it.  I can't wait to expose it to the world.  Speaking of various aspects, we recently recorded a podcast on "Breaking the Myths of Fitness & How to get RESULTS!" which I will be publishing later in the day.  So stay tuned for that.  Your not going to want to miss it!

Now that I am slowly coming back into full swing, I will be posting regularly again.  So keep stopping by to say HI :)

Slam of the week: Worlds strongest kids!

Meet the Stroe brothers, Giuliano and Claudiu.  They are the world's strongest for their age categories, 7 and 5 respectively.

The children live in Galati, Romania, about 3 hours drive from Bucharest. The two started workout routines with their father, Iulian, when they were only two years old. They follow their father's weightlifting routine and the result, two incredibly strong kids.

The oldest of the two, Giuliano, has already made it into the Guinness Book of World Records after he did the fastest 10m hand stand walk with weighted balls between his legs.  Aside from that, also set another world record on a Italian TV Show after he performed 20 air push ups.  For those unfamiliar with air push ups,  it is a very physically demanding exercise which involves raising the body from a horizontal position into a handstand with the feet never touching the ground. 

If Giuliano hasn't put you and your training to shame yet, check out the latest youtube clip showing Guilano's most recent feats of strength.

Although Giuliano is getting majority of the attention, his little bother Claudiu isn't far behind him as evidence from the first video.  It is only a matter of time before the worlds starts talking about Claudiu's feats of strength.  One can only wonder what he'll do to WOW us.  I guess the future only knows.

When the two Stroe brothers aren't training, they enjoy normal children's activities such as painting and TV cartoons.

If these two kids don't motivate you to push your training to that next level, I don't know what will lol.  Have a great week everyone!  Remember, if you enjoyed this, share it with your friends (or the world).

Slam of the week: Only Six...

A six-year-old break-dancer going by the name of “B-girl Terra” puts her adult rivals to shame in this weeks "Slam of the week". 

Although the diminutive dance prodigy wowed the crowd at the Chelles Battle Pro competition in Paris last weekend with a series of acrobatic windmills and head-spins, it was another dancer called Jalen who won the overall “Baby Battle” at the weekend contest.  Be that as it may, Terra did win the Best Dancer award that night.

After some research, I found out that Terra is from Wolverhampton, UK.  She is a member of the UK break-dancing troupe Soul Mavericks. She was added to their roster in 2012 together with her eight-year-old sister Eddie.

I'm sure this isn't the last time we see Terra lighting up the dancer floor.  Keep up all the hard work girl!!

A Personal Trainers Workout: Derailed... Not! (At-home workout Part 1)

Oh man... life has become busy. Good busy of coarse. However, good busy is still busy lol. Some of you may have been wondering why I haven't been posting under my "Personal Trainer's workouts" tags. I'm happy to report that everything is going great with my training. Because of the busyness of the last couple of weeks I've resorted to at-home workouts (which I'm happy to share with you).

If you didn't already, at home workouts can be just as effective as workouts at the gym. All you need is some simple equipment (that can be found at any fitness equipment store), some open space (you'll be surprised how little is really needed), some know how, a open mind, and the will-power to stop when you drop.

The first routine I did:
Inner thigh body ball squeeze
Body ball reverse bridge hold hamstring roll-in
Elbow to thigh sit-up/crunch (90 degree legs on ball)
Push up (hands on ball)
Alternating bent knee jackknife/straight leg jackknife lower abs roll-in
Body ball ab rollout
Body ball weighted bridge with butt drop (used kettle bell as weight, placed under belly button. Any weight will work)

All I used for this routine is a body ball & kettle bell. This routine works on a lot of core, chest, hip stability, glutes, and hamstrings. Simple right?! Try it yourself :)

Stay tuned next week for more at-home workouts. Chao!

Adventures with the Go Pro: Amatuer Hockey at it's best!

For those that don't know, I am more than just a gym rat.  I know it must be hard to imagine with my last couple of posts.  In fact, as a personal trainer, I don't spend much time there at all.  Maybe 3-4 times a week (not including the time when I'm with a client).  Majority of my time is spent outdoors (or at a indoor arena) doing various activities (which is something I encourage all my clients to do). 

Recently, one of my fellow players on my Hockey team (James, our goalie) thought it would be fun to capture one of our games using his GO PRO Camera.  Oh man, was it ever a great idea.  We as a team learned so much from watching ourselves play this past week.  Here are the highlights from our game against our nemesis The Aviators.  Unfortunately it was a losing effort (4-3 OT).  Look out for me, number 11 in the white jersey.
      

If you ever get a chance to, I highly recommend that you capture yourself on camera doing the things you love.  Not only will you get a whole new level of satisfaction and appreciation for yourself, but you may also notice a few new things to change/add to help yourself improve to that next level.

Now, go play outside and push yourself to the limits no matter the conditions.  You won't be sorry you did :)

A Personal Trainers Workout: Day Five

So, it has been about week since I've posted another "A Personal Trainers Workout".  Some of you fitness enthusiast must be worried that I've dropped off.  Don't you worry, I am still going strong.  Truth be told, it's going so well that I've expanded my horizons into new a skill/hobby.  This week I took up knitting.  Man, for something that I deemed girlie in the past, I can say it is very peaceful and takes a lot of patience and discipline.  Reminds me a lot of  when I first started playing the guitar, patience and discipline were an issue.  But over time, with practice, I over came them.  And in a few weeks, I will I have myself a brand new scarf (that I made myself lol).  But, enough about that.  For those that are wondering, I have been in the gym four times since my last "routine post".  I did this routine Last Sunday: 

Body Ball Inner Thigh Squeeze and Bridge
Body Ball Hamstring Roll In
Single Leg Shoulder Raise with Single Leg Calf Raise (on yoga block) 
Single Arm Bicep Preacher Curl (I used a 45 degree bench, stood behind it with my arm resting against it)
Olympic Dead Lift
Tricep Dips (on Dip Wrack)
Bent Over Single Arm Reverse Fly (on Pully Machine)

Again, I did 12-15 reps and 3 sets each.  The workout took me about an hour to finish.  For the remainder of the week I revisited my previous two workouts and this one once more.  I will most likely be switching up my routines next week or the week after next so stay tuned.

As always, I dare you to try it if you think your ready for it lol :)  And like before, if your unsure about a exercise, msg me and I will give you feed back on how to achieve it.  Have fun, play hard, and remember to stretch for 10-30 min after your workout (it's just as important as the workout itself).  Stay healthy kids!

A Personal Trainers Workout: Day Four At The Gym

With the success of my last workout I was very anxious to get back into the gym.  To make sure I did the workout (and push myself during it lol), I invited a friend along as extra motivation - thanks again Shannon!!!  Without further ado here is the routine we choose to do:

Warm Up:  Light Jog

Done Together:
Clapping Plank  (Need Partner for this)
V-Bend Sit Up (while supine) - 180 roll - Superman (while prone)

Alternating Stations:
1) Burpees with a 180 twist
2) Good ol' Fashioned Kettlebell Swing
1) Good ol' Fashioned TRX Row
2) Split Squat Double Kettlebell Press
1) Floor Side Oblique Crunches
2) Kettlebell Double High Pull

Done Together:
Kettlebell Turkish Get Up

We were both feeling tired and drained that day, so we only did 2 sets (will push for 3 next time), about 12-20 reps (depending on exercise, basically pushed till failure).  Best not to rush into things.  With the chatting, the routine took us about 45 min to complete.

Just like my last routine, I dare you to try it if you think your ready for it lol :)  And as always, if your unsure about a exercise, msg me and I will give you feed back on how to achieve it.  Have fun, play hard, and remember to stretch for 10-30 min after your workout (it's just as important as the workout itself).

In case you run out of inspiration...

As a personal trainer, one of my jobs is too inspire and motivate people on a daily basis. Often after I've helped someone in some way, they always seem to regard me in some superior fashion. Spoiler alert - that could not be further from the truth.

I fall down and get scraped up all the time. My soul is littered with battle scars (and it will only continue to gain more). One of my scars reminds me to always share. Therefore, today I will share with you the many words that float around my "monkey brain" that give me that extra bit of energy to achieve.

It's a great day to be outside
I can't see why I couldn't do this
It's up to me
I wonder where this path leads me (only one way to find out)
I am so happy
I'm doing this for me
It's me-time
I believe in myself
Fuck yeah!
Screw the pain
Fuck it... Doing it!
I'm proud of myself (for doing it)
I'm going to workout
Boring! (Not for me, but least I tried it to know. Moving on)
Let's do this!
It's go time
It's great being me
I've been looking forward to this all day (especially when meeting up with a pretty girl hehe)
Failure sucks (therefore I won't let it happen)
I will take care of myself
I feel great
U inspire me (when speaking to others - this is sometimes said out load)
I love my body
I am strong
I'm motivated
Today it ends (then off to the next thing)
Tonight's the night
STOP, breathe, breathe, OKAY GO
Etc.

Your probably wondering by now - where is this going?! It's simple, I motivate others because I first motivate myself. If that doesn't make sense to you, it will one day (that is a safe bet). As my final words in this post, I hope you (the reader) have a wonderful day and if you dare, flash a smile to a stranger :)  And, now for a laugh...

My Sunday Story: Two great stories about real people

Today I came across two great stories that made me stop, listen, and think.  I woke up today feeling unmotivated (typical Sunday, eh), determined not to waste my morning laying around the apartment (like some slob), I decided go downtown and hit up the retail district (cuz you know, buying something nice for yourself or someone always brings temporary gratification to one's life.  Sad, but true lol).

Half way there I stopped off at a near by coffee shop to meet a friend for some conversations.  It was there that I came across the first story in the Sunday Province, a story about Andrew McLane and his remarkable life transformation - from being categorized as super obese to a now slim 200 lbs.  Instead of going into more details about Mr. McLane, I will share a link to this his story

Parksville realtor's spectacular weight loss the product of regular exercise, healthy eating and hard work

After leaving the coffee shop I started to feel more like myself so I thought to myself "shopping - F. that!"  Soon after I found myself swimming laps at the near by Ymca on Burrard.  It is here that I come across story number two.

After exhausting myself in the lap pool, I went to a place that is highly regarded in my top 10 best man made things - the hot tub lol!  While relaxing for about 5 min, I grew bored (for those that don't know me, I can get very ADD) so I started up a conversation with the person beside me.  After telling them about my morning and how it lead me here they told me about theirs and how it involved this amazing youtube video.  You may have heard about it - it's titled The Amazing Transformation of a Guy Who Didn't Give Up.  Two words is all I need to sum this video up - Simply Amazing!
 
I feel very blessed that these two stories have found me today - As life will have it some times, I have been feeling a bit uninspired the last couple of weeks and was in deed needing a good "slap" back into form.  Even with all the great things that have happened during that period, I couldn't help but feel a bit lost in my emotions.  I guess it is true what they say, put it out to the universe and it will reply back (you just need not ignore them when they come).  As I type the last few sentences to this story, its safe to say that I am more focused than ever to take on the challenges in front of me and accomplish each and everyone of them LIKE A BOSS (then moving on to new and even more amazing things - maybe a triathlon soon???).  

That's my Sunday story folks... hope you enjoy it!   Now to get off the computer and swing some kettlebells around and watch Walking Dead & Dexter (in that order lol) before it gets too late.  Will be posting a great recipe for a quick healthy breakfast smoothie soon... stay tuned.  Till next time :)

PS I got a protein smoothie at the coffee shop.