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How to Keep Winning at the Gym

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You want to make the most out of your visits to the gym. So how do you make sure you are making the most of your time and you're going to stick at it?

We've all been there. Started something new with the best intentions and before we know it, we've lost motivation, moved on and sought out something else to do! Whether it's a New Year's Resolution, a plan to be 'beach ready' (whatever that is!) or just to eat more healthily, we can all think of things we've started but haven't continued. So what's the secret? How can we stick with something?

With fitness and overall physical wellbeing, there are three components that will ultimately lead to successful improvements - effective exercise and movement; balanced, nutritious and proportionate diet and consistency. There is no point doing the first two every now and again. To see results these need to become routine and part of everyday living. Remember the hare and the tortoise? It was the steady movement forward, one small step at a time, that saw the tortoise win the day. The same is true for you - be consistent.

The second component to success is to know what it is you're working towards - your goal. There is no point putting things in place unless you know what it is you're wanting to achieve. Having a clearly defined goal is key. If you don't know about SMART targets/goals, do a quick search online and you'll quickly come across a handy way to define and set out a goal. The other side to goal setting is to know your 'why'. Why do you want this? What is your motivation for it. Another great technique is the Five Whys. Like a small child, keep asking why. Why do you want to lose weight? To look better. Why? To feel more confident. Why? Because I feel the person people see on the outside isn't who I am inside. Why is this important to you? So that I can be the best version of myself I know I am. Why? Because I am not that person now and I want to live my life with honesty and joy. See how that last answer is so much more powerful that "I want to look better". Out of this, we can say this person's motivation come from being the truest version of themselves while living their life with joy and passion.

Workout out should be challenging and enjoyable. So my third and fourth tips to enlist the help of music and friends. Make yourself a great playlist on your music player to take to the gym with your or to run in the park with. Fill it with inspiring and motivating tracks. You can download specialise tracks for workouts that give you a beats per minute count (BPM). If you're running, try around the 160 - 180 BPM mark, jogging 130 - 140 BPM and a power-walking pace would be around 110 - 120 BPM

Once you have your music sorted, get yourself a training buddy. Workout out with someone else is not only more social and fun, the healthy competition and encouragement you get from each other will help to fuel your workout. In addition, committing to someone to do something together helps you to stick to your plan and you are less likely to skip a workout. Many personal trainers will also train two people at once (as long as you are working on similar goals) and this can be a great way to share the cost of a PT session.

The fifth and final part of ensuring you are using your time effectively in the gym is to have a workout programme that works; one that is aligned to your needs and goals. While you can find tens of thousands of programmes online and in books, nothing beats having a bespoke programme for you. All personal trainers will work with you to develop a programme and unlike downloaded ones, they will work with you to adjust it to your changing needs as you develop.

So, to win at the gym: have a clear goal, follow a great programme consistently using motivational music and get support and help from a buddy and a personal trainer. What's stopping you? Go for it!
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