Your Wellness Coach may use the word barriers, but do you know what they are? Barriers are your roadblocks on your way to a successful fitness journey.
If you are starting a new fitness program then you MUST know what your roadblocks or barriers are or you will not succeed. You can have every intention to lose those 20 lbs. or increase your strength. If you don’t sit back and take a few minutes to determine what is going to “get in the way”, you may be still talking about those extra 20 lbs. a month from now.
If you sit back and think about three different areas in your life. The first one being your social barriers. These barriers deal with your friends and family. Are they supportive of your new fitness goals? Will they be willing to adjust to your new fitness routines? Will they be supportive when you prepare healthier foods? You need to make sure you have a strategic plan in place so you don’t fall back into your old unhealthy ruts.
Another type of barrier is physical barriers. How do you feel while you are working out? Are you ready to sweat? Are you ready to feel your heart beating a little faster? Do you know what you can do with certain physical limitation that you have? Being prepared to avoid slips will help you in the long run. For example, if I have bad knees, I am not going to start running on the treadmill. This could cause an injury that will deter me from working out for a few weeks/months.
The last type of barrier is environmental. If you live too far away from a gym? If your work schedule is unpredictable; therefore, causing you to struggle with a routine. Make a list of meetings, functions or anything that is scheduled that you can’t change. Based of that list, when are you going to workout? How much time do you need to prepare healthy lunches, snacks or dinner?
As you can see, simply setting goals and getting started is not the best place to start. Sitting back and figuring out your roadblocks (barriers) is where you should start. Be smart and patient and your journey will begin successfully!
Good Luck!