go APE!

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started". -Mark Twain

I can't think of a truer statement! We spend a lot of time being somewhere we don't want to be. Maybe you don't particularly love your job and don't really want to be there. Perhaps wherever you live isn't so ideal or it's a mess or there is something else taking away from your enjoyment of it so you don't really want to be there. Then there's the one place you can't leave, your body. How many of you don't want to be in your own body? How often? Aren't you tired of feeling that way?

The sooner you can identify a specific issue, the sooner you can come up with a game plan to fix it. Becoming aware of the issue and the specifics of that issue is the first step. Identify what you want to fix. Maybe it's the fact that you can't scuttle up the stairs at work without losing breath. Maybe getting down and up from a chair is a challenge for you. Perhaps you want more energy and are tired of being tired! Become aware of how these things make you feel, how it affects your life, and how much you want to change it.

Step two is to think about ways to fix these things. We're talking about exercise and nutrition on this blog, so let's say that it's the being winded after going up a flight of stairs that's your issue. How do we fix it? Well, you say to yourself, I guess I don't do as much cardio exercise as I should, boom, start there! Take the stairs every day, go up and down on your lunch break, add jogging intervals to your walking routine, whatever you can do to address the issue.  Make a plan!

So now you identified the problem by gaining awareness, you created a plan of action, now you need to enforce it. Write what you plan to do on your calendar as though it is an appointment, tell others about it so they can hold you accountable, and otherwise make the time to carry out your plan. Make sure your plan is reasonable or else it won't happen. Make sure you follow up with yourself and friends, if you told them of your plans, so you can turn these new activities into habits.

So again those steps are:
Awareness
Planning
Enforcement
or, you've got it, APE (I'm a sucker for a silly acronym).

Specific example:
Awareness - It really makes me feel bad about myself that I can't lift this box up off the floor. Come to think of it, my lacking strength affects a lot in my day to day life. I really want to get stronger so I can do more things.

Planning - I'm going to start weight lifting 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 pm after work. I'll do exercises to make my whole body stronger and maybe I'll even hire a trainer so I know I'm going about it the right way.

Enforcement - I told my best friend of my plans so she's going to be disappointed in me if I don't do what I say. I hired a trainer to be sure I don't back out of my plans and to make sure I'm not just making matters worse by doing it wrong. I'll sign up for my sessions a month at a time so I have to stick with it.

Ta da! Now go bananas!
Cassandra Wyzik
www.FitToYouBrevard.com