10 tips to start a successful fitness regiment
We interviewed the gym manager at Lausanne’s Holmes Place, an international chain of high-end fitness studios operating in 10 countries. Alvaro de Vicente Contreras holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports and Physical Sciences and is an expert in running technique. Here are his 10 tips to starting a successful fitness regiment:
1. Start with a training assessment
How should someone who is out of shape start?
“We schedule a training assessment, during which we measure your body as well as your goals. Then we decide what to put in practice to reach the goals. The assessment is really important. Everybody thinks they are better than they really are. Objective measurements include weight, body fat percentage and balance. Everybody wants to lose weight, but they don’t understand what that really means. They often focus on the scale number, and forget that muscle weighs more than fat.”
2. Know that training one hour per day equals 6% of your day
How can busy professionals fit trainings into their days?
“It’s a fact that training one hour per day equals 6% of your day. It’s not that much. Training improves your capacity to perform in other areas of your life. Energy, efficiency, concentration will improve. Training has a domino effect: feeling good affects the rest of your life. If training one whole hour is too much, go for 30–45 minutes. After a shower, you can be on your way in an hour.”
3. No burn, no loss
How much of losing weight is exercise and how much is food?
“Some say 80% is food and 20% is exercise. I say yes and no. Why? We all need to eat, but if we don’t burn, we won’t lose weight. You can decrease eating, but you need a minimum. If you don’t eat enough, the body will go into survival mode and decrease your metabolism. Yes, you will lose fat but you will also lose energy.”
De Vicente points out that our caloric intake has to be high enough to fuel our metabolisms and provide energy, by making the following comparisons:
Take a typical diet: 2000 calories burned — 1000 calories eaten = 1000 balance. This leaves you with no strength and no energy.
Take a healthy way of living: 3,500 calories burned — 2000 calories eaten = 1,500 balance. You will have a higher metabolism, strength, and energy.
If there’s no burn, there’s no loss.
4. Stay away from crazy diets; change your lifestyle instead
What’s the biggest mistake people make with their diets?
“Extreme dieting such as these one- to two-week diets is the biggest mistake people make with their diets. You become crazy. I am against the concept of dieting, in general. Instead, create the habit of proper nourishment. It’s a lifestyle change. Make sure you include the things you love. Just exercise moderation, by allowing yourself to eat that burger and those fries, but just eat them once per week or eat fewer fries. We need to educate people.”
5. Learn the proper techniques
What’s the biggest mistake people make in training?
“Do you know how to run?”
I nod.
“Few people know how to run properly. Take the following tax return comparison: I can fill it out myself. The job will be done, but I won’t take advantage of all the deductions and benefits that hiring an expert would give me. How to run for fat burning? What’s the right technique? There’s always something to learn. This is why there are professionals in the room. It’s safer, and more efficient than doing it alone.”
6. Something is better than nothing
How often should someone go to the gym? The American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) suggests that people exercise 20 to 60 minutes, three to five days a week.
“In an ideal world, we should exercise every day. But if you do something, you’re already winning. If you can’t do five trainings per week, do four. Create a habit. Something is better than nothing. Once you start doing it, you’ll feel the pleasure of it. The motto of Holmes Place is about making health and fitness enjoyable.”
7. Morning is best
When is the best time to exercise?
“Morning. Why? Honestly. It’s scientifically proven. In the evening, you’re activating your metabolism. Your body will be excited. You’ll go to bed too late. You won’t sleep that well. In the morning, you activate your body before work. You activate your brain as well, helping you to focus more.”
8. Lift weights to lose weight
Is there such a thing as the best exercise for weight loss?
“Strength training, because it requires you to use more muscles, which will require more energy and burn more fat, than using fewer muscles. It is more efficient to lift weights and do cardio for 20 minutes than being on the elliptical for one hour — if you do it right. But most people do it wrong.”
9. Look for gym ambiance, philosophy and quality of trainers
What should you look for in a gym (besides cleanliness and good equipment)?
“First, make sure it’s not too crowded to ensure you get access to the equipment you want. Second, make sure it’s a place with good ambiance and a shared philosophy of respecting each other and of wellbeing, a place where you will feel good and welcome (i.e. no overbuilt guys throwing weights around). Third, make sure you check the professionalism of the personal trainers.”
10. Start slowly
Anything else?
“Get into it and enjoy. Start slowly and little by little, at your own rhythm.”
“If I can improve the life of someone, that’s a bigger success than finishing first in a race.”
Meeting your own needs will free you to build an astonishing and brilliant life
“Typically, people overlook self-care,” says Alicia H Clark, PsyD, PLLC, licensed clinical psychologist in Washington D.C.
“They forget to put on the oxygen mask first.”
She says that getting enough sleep is a physiological and basic need, and is more important to your wellness than you may think.
“You can tolerate missing one night of sleep. But eventually the lack of sleep will get in the way of managing your emotions and being able to make good choices.”
Besides failing to meet basic physical needs such as sleep, exercise and food, people often fail to meet their emotional needs.
SO WHAT ARE EMOTIONAL NEEDS?
When I first read about emotional needs in a brochure on codependency 12 years ago, I was unable to think of one single emotional need I might have. I grew up in a family that did not talk about feelings, except to be told that it was unladylike to express anger. No wonder I was unprepared to create and maintain relationships.
Since then, I have learned that emotional needs are what drive us to get up in the morning. And I trained myself to meet my emotional and self-esteem needs without relying on others so much.
When talking about needs, mental health workers cite American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow’s work — specifically his needs hierarchy pyramid.
What unresolved matters are draining your confidence and time?
Clearing up old business is key to creating more time, space and energy in the present. Being able to handle problems as they arise is more possible when unresolved matters are no longer draining you, robbing you of time, confidence and opportunities. What incomplete projects do you have?
Do you have some bad habits or coping skills you want to get rid of?
Are there people from your past you would dread bumping into in the street or at a party?
Are you wondering why you have unresolved matters in your life?
A great tool for helping us identify old business is the Clean Sweep Program, a quiz you can find on my website. You can click on the download and fill it out in your own time.
What’s the Clean Sweep Program?
It’s a self-evaluation tool with 100 statements divided equally in each of the following four categories:
A. Physical Environment
B. Health and Emotional Balance
C. Money
D. Relationships
For each statement, think whether or not it applies to you and is always true. If so, then add a checkmark next to the statement. If it’s not true, leave it. Examples of the statements include:
“My car is in excellent condition (doesn’t need mechanical work, repairs, cleaning or replacing). “
“I have had a complete physical exam in the past three years.”
“I live on a weekly budget that allows me to save and not suffer.”
“I have told my parents in the last three months that I love them.”
Then add up all your check marks. Write down your score out of 25 for each section. Then add up the scores for an overall score out of 100.
The benefit of this quiz is to help us identify the things in our lives that are unresolved or outstanding. It’s normal to start off in the 20 to 70 range. Don’t worry if you are below that; it just means, you have more to work on. With the help of your coach, you can start clearing up those items.
Every quarter or six months, you can redo the quiz to see your progress. Sometimes, just doing the quiz gives us an idea of where the energy drain is coming from. Every time I do the quiz, which is every year, my score improves.
The area I struggle the most with is my physical environment. I am a hoarder and don’t like to throw out stuff. The result of my last quiz taking resulted in some of the following goals:
- Electric kettle needs replacing.
- I abuse caffeine (coffee).
- I need to complete current draft of book.
- I need to prioritize friends and family over busy-work.
With the help of my coach, I will prioritize my list and then tackle it, one item at a time. I thought about not replacing the kettle and just throwing out the old one, curing myself of the coffee addiction in a kind of two-for-the-price-of one move… but I’m really digging the green tea. (Since starting this article, I replaced the kettle and feel great!)
Contact me to send you the free quiz!
Get rid of tolerations and increase your energy levels
Imagine that each time you go through your hallway and flick the switch, the light fails to come on. And each times this happens, you think: “Damn, someday I’ll get around to changing that bulb.” As you’re always in a rush, this tedious task stays undone.
It doesn’t get done, because the steps required to accomplish this task are overwhelming. These steps include: 1) going to the basement to get the ladder, 2) climbing up it, 3) unscrewing the bulb, 4) reading the wattage on the bulb, 5) climbing back down, 6) putting the ladder away, 7) adding said bulb to the grocery store list, etc.
Annoying, hey?
Imagine you had 50 such annoying things in your home and work environments. Wouldn’t you really feel exhausted and overwhelmed?
Many of us can admit to having such annoying things that we put up with, and they are called tolerations.
Tolerations drain us. They keep us from becoming the best versions of ourselves.
One of the first exercises that we are taught in life coaching school is to identify and write down 5–10 tolerations in each of the following three categories:
· Home
· Work
· Relationships
This doesn’t mean we have to immediately know how to solve them. The “how” will appear with time. Just the act of writing them down is key.
Then, using the help of our coach, we are to tackle them, getting rid of them at the source. For example, if you’re always late paying your bills, it could mean setting up automatic payments to make future bill paying a breeze.
If you are unhappy in your neighborhood, write down the elements you would need in a living environment that would support you best. Then, identify some places having such elements, then go, and check and them out.
By eliminating your tolerations, you will have more energy to devote to the things that feed your energy and grow your business.
Examples of tolerations in each category include:
Your Home
1. The carpet in your living room needs cleaning
2. The electric kettle needs replacing
3. Closets are full and disorganized
4. Home is located in bad location
5. Paying a fee for something that you are not using
Your Relationships
1. You’re in a romantic relationship that is draining you of energy
2. Your kids are on electronics all the time
3. You don’t feel you have enough friends or time with friends
4. Your kids aren’t doing chores
5. You need to improve your communication with your spouse
Your Work
1. Not having a good space to work undisrupted
2. Not having enough clients
3. Not carving enough time and space to work on the creative side of your work
4. Feeling stressed out
5. Being in the wrong job
Just by identifying these tolerations, you are on your way. Every six months, I revisit my list, crossing off things I’ve accomplished and adding new ones.
For example, I once had the following tolerations in my work life:
1. Working at home is impossible sometimes… too many disturbances
2. Wifi doesn’t work everywhere in the house
3. Feeling like I need more education on corporate coaching
4. Stressed out, overwhelmed
5. Not having enough time to write
By installing a new router in my house, I made creating a home office in the back of the house possible. Now, I have a place where I can close the door and work without disturbances. With that solution, I resolved two tolerations at once. I enrolled in an advanced corporate coaching program that is contributing to my feeling more comfortable with my level of competency in that area. I am less stressed out and overwhelmed because I have gotten better at saying “no” to stuff and carving time to write. I also silence my phone and notifications. All of this has contributed to increased energy levels.