Stretch Yourself
The year is half way through and hopefully you have been taking good care of yourself. Now is the time to step it up a notch and try new things. You can plan a long hiking trip on a family vacation or decide to pick up scuba diving. Try to do something that you haven’t done before or that stretches your limits.
Something else you might want to try is competing against others in a 5k, half marathon, marathon or another event like the tough mudder. Try setting a goal that is something beyond anything you have tried before. This is a great way to get beyond your comfort zone and grow individually.
Once you have decided what your goal is, take the following steps to ensure your success.
- Set your target date and pick your event.
- Sign up and pay for your event and/or your trip.
These two steps will make it real and help you stay focused and on track when your training gets difficult. It will be normal to have days where you do not want to work towards your goal. Making a strong commitment will help you move beyond these moments where you lack the desire to move forward. - Develop a training plan that is reasonable for your lifestyle and takes you toward your goal gradually.
- Find someone to train with.
Step 3 is essential because if you train too quickly or too hard you will become burned out or worse, you will become injured. Having a partner to train with helps you keep your head in the game and encourages you to move beyond your perceived limits.
Last year when training for an event, I was blessed with the ability to train with friends who knew more than I did. They loved training for 10ks, half marathons, marathons and tough mudders. Because of their passion, I was able to get advice on a training schedule that would work for me, what to eat during training and the event and how to work through injuries. Their excitement kept me moving forward when I was too tired to train or when my mind told me it was too difficult.
Once you reach your goal, you will know that you are better for it. You will have moved beyond your perceived limitations and beyond your comfort zone. Be sure to congratulate yourself on a job well done.
Comments (8)
I love training with people to not only keep me motivated but also to push me.
That is why I loved owning a group fitness center, Gail. I had to be accountable to everyone else and I also wanted to support my trainers. It kept me in great shape. Now it is harder to stay motivated, but having a routine and goals to work toward always helps.
I am competitive by nature and always aim to train with people who are more fit or run faster than I do because it pushes me and makes me work that much harder.
This is why I love spin, yoga and pilates classes. Working out with other people just makes me work harder.
Sharon, I completely agree with you, working out with others is inspiring. Great article Traci.
It seems like we all agree ladies, working out with others is definitely the way to stay motivated. In fact I look forward to yoga tomorrow at the local Salt Room. It takes 35 minutes to get there but is so worth it because of the friends I travel and workout with.
I definitely love to enroll fitness sessions with friends. We actually joined a fun run for a cause last year and I just did the 3k marathon. And I had so much fun, though very tiring but so refreshing after all.
I agree Xenia. Training and competing at local races with friends is a lot of fun plus it alloww you to support some wonderful causes.
Add new comment