Track Everything

Are you struggling with your weight loss or other fitness goal? The problem may be your organization. Your fitness goal should be organized like a business. Create a plan, implement all components, and track everything!

Start with your goals. Write them down. Keep them in front of you everyday (on your fridge, on your desk, etc). Set goals every week. Small goals and not a weight loss goals, but goals of execution. "I'm going to strength train 3 times this week and run 4 times". Everyday write down what you did. If you did nothing, write it down! At the end of the week review your tracking. If you did not reach your goal of strength training 3 times and running 4 times, understand why not. If you discovered that your goals were easily reached, make harder goals for the next week. Perhaps certain days were more difficult than others. Whatever it is, you can only discover what is going right and wrong by writing it down.

Does a business accountant or manager keep the details of their business in their head? Of course not. If they did, their business will fail - quick! Well the same can be said about your fitness goals. If you do not track everything, strength training, cardio, eating habits, etc...you will fail.

Go out and buy a spiral notebook. On the first page, write down your goal(s). On the next page outline how your are going to reach that goal. If it is a weight loss goal, your going to set a goal of 1 pound a week (if you do more, great, but the goal is 1 pound). If you need to lose 20 pounds, create an outline for the next 20 weeks. 3 days of strength training, 4-5 days of cardio, proper eating habits everyday, activity as much as possible.

Now create a page for everyday. Every page you will record strength training exercises (if the appropriate day - but write something down), cardio (how long - avg heart rate), and you'll record meals from that day (3 meals, 3 healthy snacks, beverage consumption, etc.). Use a book or online resource to find nutrition and calorie counts to make sure you are eating properly.

If you stick to recording fitness and nutrition (and activity) everyday, you will succeed. Just make sure the plan is correct. If you need assistance, contact a professional.

Good Luck - Hudson Valley Fitness