LA fitness news

Fresh start fitness: pep up your programme

If you think you’re the only person who’s motivation to exercise decreases every now and again, think again. It happens to most of us from time to time. Here eleven things you can do to pep up your programme and keep motivated.

1. Set yourself a small challenge like doing your own mini-triathlon in the gym: 5 miles on the bike, 1000 metres on the rower and a mile on the treadmill (whatever suits your fitness level).

2. When you’re feeling a little lack-lustre put together a playful programme of exercises that literally lets you do the things you like to do. If that means rolling around on the mats on an exercise ball for forty minutes then do it. Having fun in the gym is allowed!

3. Try lifting free weights,, but this time do it standing on a Bosu ball. Apart from being a great strength and balance exercise, it’ll give you a whole new workout angle. Warning: you may have to reduce the weights and you WILL fall off the ball.

4. Learn how to visualise. If you get into the habit of literally seeing yourself the way you would like to be, your brain will help your body to take the necessary steps to get there.

5. Do a whole session based just on body weight exercises like press-ups, squats, lunges, dips, chins, skipping, star jumps, and so on. Our LA coaches will show you how to put together a really interesting routine. If you get bored with that try a session with the medicine ball.

6. Spend half an hour really working hard on your stretch exercises - make sure you do this after warming up properly otherwise the impact of the stretches will be minimal - then jump in the sauna for a quarter of an hour or so and relax – job done.

7. Try something new like boxing, skipping, swimming, yoga, circuit training, group cycling or anything that challenges you and makes you smile.

8. Try High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). In other words work harder but for shorter bursts. You’ll find it will give you a whole new perspective on working out.

9. Try splitting your weights workout into upper body one day and lower body the next. This is an age-old technique used by bodybuilders to get the best from their workout time. It’ll work for you too.

10. Set simple new goals that you know you can achieve. Strange though it may seem, the research is now saying that setting your sights low (and therefore achieving a bunch of mini-goals) helps to generate a sense of achievement and the desire to move forward.

11. Write inspirational Post-it notes and put them everywhere: bathroom mirror, behind the car visor, inside the pantry, on the fridge, in your sock draw, on the loo cistern, on the bread bin, wherever.