Webster’s Dictionary defines “customize” as follows; “to build, fit, or alter according to individual specifications”. A successful personal fitness plan should fit this description.
100 Years of Health, along with other credible sources, can provide guidelines and motivation to help you along the way. However, the day to day details need to come from you.
Check out the fitness criteria below to assess where you stand.
1. Self motivated?
2. Don’t really care what the rest of society is doing in terms of getting fit?
3. Sick and tired of being out of shape?
4. Have the ability to make a commitment to change and stick with it?
Four (4) strong yes’s to these questions means you are probably already in great shape and if not the odds of achieving your fitness goals are excellent. However, if you are average, you had at least one “no” and maybe a weak yes or two. In these situations your viewpoint will need to change in order to improve your fitness status.
If you are thinking about creating a customized fitness plan, following are some things to consider before jumping into it.
- Define what “fitness”means to you. “Fitness” is not an absolute term. The representation of what constitutes a “fit state” varies greatly between different people.
- Obtain a physical fitness evaluation from a local YMCA or Fitness Club. If you have the opportunity to do this, it is a good idea. Going through the process is educational and the resulting information can be used as motivation. Cost is normally reasonable, often free as part of a special promotion.
- Do some research on fitness. There are literally thousands of books and publications available and of course lots of stuff on the internet. Caution . . . if you do research be careful not to over-react to contradictions or incorrect information. Another caution is to avoid getting too deep in the detail and allowing the research process to become a crutch. People can get stuck here and can become falsely satisfied with just learning about fitness rather than being proactive about improving their fitness.
- Be reasonable when setting goals and don’t be in a hurry. The important thing is to commit, plan, start, and not give up. If you are a detailed person you should probably prepare a detailed written plan. If you are NOT a detailed person, then a rough outline of a plan in your mind will work fine. My point here is to avoid being caught up in the process, rather focus on building your internal commitment and following through with what you say you are going to do.
Still interested, take the next steps.
- Choose your priorities. The three (3) primary component categories in the fitness world are; (1) Endurance or Cardio, (2) Strength, and (3) Flexibility and Balance. If you need to know more about any of these components there is lots of information available about them. If you are ready to go, just pick one, or any combination of where you want to start. Cardio and Strength activities get most of the general public’s attention. Flexibility and balance are under-rated, especially for people entering their 50’s and above. That said, they are all important.
- Minimize the rules and keep it simple as you go forward. Have at least an informal game plan for whatever you want to do because if you don’t have any set direction it is likely you will not stay with the process long or may not even start.
- Start on a positive note. If you are not having at least a little bit of fun you need to re-evaluate your true desires. Be cautious of a jack rabbit start. They often result in a crash ending.
If you started up well and you are on track for achieving your fitness goals then congratulations, no need to read any further.
Plans not working, feel like giving up?
- Don’t quit, at least not right away. The first thing to do is… in an objective manner go back and answer the four criteria questions again. If some of the yes’s are now no’s, you’re going to have to reassess your starting point.
- Be super honest with yourself. Don’t make excuses, or wrongly rationalize some successes just because you tried real hard. What you should do is acknowledge that if you stop now or take any extended break the odds of you picking the process back up soon and achieving fitness success is close to zero.
- This is difficult but try to be upbeat. Look long term. What did you learn from the breakdowns? What did you learn by doing a reassessment of your starting position? Is it worth another try, either now or sometime in the future?
- Maybe you tried to do too much too soon? If so, cut everything back and give it another go. If that doesn’t feel right, take a break.
Whatever you do, find a way to learn from your experiences. Lack of success is only temporary. Remember, this isn’t supposed to be easy. If it were the entire world would be in much better physical condition. Don’t give up, good luck!
