Se7en Tips To Just Get Started At Gym… and a Healthy Weight Programme Special With SSiSA…

Not quite a year ago I became the Brand Ambassador for the Healthy Weight Programme at the Sport Science Institute of South Africa… and no I am not your typical “ultra-out-there-in-your-face” kind of Ambassador and I am definitely not even an ultra-athlete. I am just a regular mom, who is finally stepping out from behind the camera, and doing things that I had thought I would never do again. When I signed up for the Healthy Weight Programme I knew that my life would change, but I had no idea just how dramatically it would change and how much better everything would be.

se7en-22-Dec-17-IMG_0772-13.jpg

Special Deal This Week for the Healthy Weight Programme

The Healthy Weight Programme, which really should be called the Healthy Life Programme… because they look at your whole life… your sleep, your diet, where you are mentally, your overall health and finally your exercise. They help you find solutions to the issues that are standing between you and a healthy life. They are offering a 10% discount to all folk that join the Healthy Weight Programme this week. They also have a special deal for couples that sign up… and if you sign up this week then you will get a 10% discount on that special deal as well… If you are keen to know more then head over to the Healthy Weight Programme and make sure you sign up with the keyword: SE7EN

se7en-20-Feb-18-Scanned Image 1-1

When I was invited to join the Healthy Weight Programme I was nervously optimistic. I had tried to get moving before, and I had failed so many times. I regularly took my kids on hikes and much as I love the great outdoors and being at the top of every mountain, I dreaded hikes… because lets be honest ALL hikes start at the bottom of a mountain and fitness was an issue. Fitness, or the lack thereof in my life, had become a huge issue… it was just getting harder and harder to get motivated to get going, the less I did the harder it became. When I started the program my goal was a simple one, I just wanted to get moving. While I thought that that kind of a goal might be considered silly at a gym with a reputation for training elite athletes, everyone at the gym took me seriously. Not only that, they went the very extra mile to help me to get moving. My entire journey has been personalised, making sure that I enjoy it every step of the way… lets face it, if you love it, then it is a lot easier to get up and get back into the gym, day after day.

se7en-22-Dec-17-image-30.jpg

So, it is closer to March than January, and all the “New Year, New You” resolutions have dropped off the agenda and been replaced with all the ho-hum humdrum… of real life. And you really wish that a healthier lifestyle was part of your real life, but you can’t see how you will ever… ever fit it in… and you are thinking, well maybe next year. Can I just suggest that you get a head start on next year and just start now. This isn’t some sort of selfish-seeking ambition to escape domestic chores, this is literally your health at stake here, the hour or two roundtrip to gym and back a couple of times a week… will see untold benefits for you and your family. And to be honest, I never though I would be able to do this, let alone continue with it… but here I am. And honestly if I can do this, anyone can!!!

Se7en Tips To Get You Started

  1. Think Small, and Aim High: Just the thought of a full year of workouts would have seemed impossible for me at the start. While my goal was to get moving I had to just think “from class to class…” Get through this class, and then get through the next… one class at a time was manageable. Stick with that. I know, folk map out all their workouts for weeks in advance… and then if you can’t help missing a workout, for whatever reason… you feel like a failure. Nobody wants that, you need to be positive. So I tracked the workouts I attended, just marking them on the calendar everytime I made it to gym. One work out at a time adds up really quickly.
  2. se7en-28-Aug-17-IMG_3285-21.jpg

  3. Once You Start, Keep At It: Whatever you do, don’t give up… you have to be patient and keep at it. You won’t see instant results, in fact for my first eight week course, I hardly lost any weight and I was a lot tireder than usual, not just because of the much earlier starts to the day, but because of the accumulated workouts. So much for “you will have so much energy” and “you will be able to do so many things you couldn’t before.” Your body has to adjust to all the “stress” you are putting on it and that doesn’t happen over night. Your first few classes will be manageable, but if you haven’t moved at all in a while (ahem, more than a few years), you are going to be stiff… and whenever you are stiff… keep moving it is counter-intuitive but it definitely eases the pain. I know it is hard to believe that, but the more you move the better it will be.
  4. se7en-28-Aug-17-IMG_3294-28.jpg

  5. You Will Be Tired: I don’t know why I didn’t think of this, but when you add an hour of working out to your day, whoever you are, you are going to be tired and not only that you will feel fairly sorry for yourself. Be gentle and when you aren’t working out, make sure that you get more rest. Take a nap, sleep more… sleep is the key to recovering between workouts. In fact, sleep is the key to seeing any kind of result… energy wise, weight wise and health wise.
  6. se7en-28-Aug-17-IMG_3289-24.jpg

  7. Don’t Believe Everything (Anything) Your Brain Tells You: I cannot begin to tell you how many times I thought a move was impossible, and how many times I then went on to do it. Things that I was convinced that I could never do were not actually nearly as hard as I thought they were. You have already made the decision to be there, so go one step further and just try things that appear to be impossible… you will be pleasantly surprised. Again and again.
  8. se7en-08-May-17-IMG_4906-3.jpg

  9. Classes Are Not At All Random, You Don’t Need to Pace Yourself: Most classes start with a cardio-warm up, followed by two or three sets of exercises targeting specific muscle groups, between sets you will do a little bit of cardio, to keep your heart rate up… and then most classes end with mat-time, and that is all the (dreadful!) core exercises, and finally a stretch. Most moves you don’t do for more than a minute, think about it. Just one minute of most exercises, you can probably do. If you know what to expect, more or less it is somehow easier to survive. Because you do exercises in sets, focusing on different muscle groups each time, you can totally do your best from the start of the class… and each set within the class will require different (and so fresh) muscles. Don’t worry about pacing yourself, and holding back for the end of the class… you are there, so go for it, from the start.
  10. se7en-08-May-17-IMG_4908-4.jpg

  11. Just Be Patient: From time to time I would lose my nerve and decide that I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted to see. Instead of my usual morning workouts, I would add an evening workout as well… everyday, or double the weights I was using on the super circuit from one day to the next, I inevitably got slightly injured and had to back down for a few weeks. The point is you have be patient… you will see results. You will have weeks where you plateau, and then you will suddenly be able to do things you couldn’t before. If you are consistent, then you have to get results.
  12. se7en-08-May-17-IMG_4922-9.jpg

  13. If You Plan to Move then Move all the Time: Not just in gym, all the time. Not all the moving you do has to be hectic, some of it can just be life. Look for ways to move all the time. Never take an elevator again, pick up that pen you dropped on the floor instead of calling a kid, walk to the mailbox, walk around while you are chatting on the phone, do 5 pushups with your kids every time you walk in the front door… just 5!!! Go for an amble, do anything… just move. If you are sitting in front of a screen… set an alarm that you can only turn off on the far side of the room… and get up and turn it off every twenty minutes… basically find ways to move… look for them and move.

Special Deal ONLY This Week for the Healthy Weight Programme

They are offering a 10% discount to all folk that join the Healthy Weight Programme, but only this week. They also have a special deal for couples that sign up… and if you sign up this week then you will get a 10% discount on that special deal as well… If you are keen to know more then head over to the Healthy Weight Programme and make sure you sign up with the keyword: SE7EN

You Can Read About My Journey From the Start…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *