Buying something to ignite fitness and weight loss motivation isn’t new. For years people have joined gyms or purchased the latest active wear in an attempt to ‘get their motor started’. Often it fails.
Purchasing a fitness app is no different. There are ways, however, to improve the likelihood that it will work for you this time around.
Below are 5 practical tips for getting the most out of your brand new fitness app.
1. Put it in your diary
People feel like they are busier nowadays than they have ever been. Working on your health and fitness takes time and, sadly, there is no way we can squeeze more hours into a day.
If you take away anything from this article make it this;
- Lock time in your diary to exercise 3+ times per week
- Lock time in your diary to meal plan, shop and prepare the healthy recipes/meal plans that many fitness apps provide.
If the time is scheduled you are significantly more likely to actually do it!
2. Take the leap with a friend… or MANY friends
Studies have shown that if you tackle a fitness program with a friend, you’re more likely to stick to it. Friends can make fitness more fun and friends can be helpful in motivating you when things get difficult.
Want to go one step further? One of the benefits of many fitness apps – like Centr or 28 by Sam Wood – is they have active, thriving Facebook communities where you can connect and learn from people just like you. These groups can be a little bit intimidating on first glance but if you take the time to immerse yourself in these communities you’ll find you end up with more than just one friend to help you on your fitness journey.
3. Take the tour!
Remember the slightly-awkward tour of the gym you were forced to do before you could become a member of that gym? They were never fun, but they were important. Aside from the obvious sales opportunity for the gym, they are partly designed to deepen your understanding of both what is available to you in the gym and the value of what your membership brings.
Digital fitness apps are no different. If you don’t take the time to understand what is available to you as part of your subscription you are far less likely to reach your goals than somebody who does take the time.
4. Set practical short term goals
I am amazed at the number people who are desperate to get fit and lose weight but fail to set goals for themselves. Often when I ask people why they didn’t set a goal their response is ‘I didn’t know what a good goal to set is’.
My response to that is this: keep it simple. Make the goal about the process, not the outcome. For example, commit to setting a weekly goal for one month. If you’re unfit or out of shape, your first week goal could be;
- 3 x low-impact workout
- Walks on the days in between
- Commit to eating one healthy meal from the program each day
In week 2 gradually step up from your week 1 goals by having 2 or 3 days in the week where you eat two of the recommended recipes.
In week 3 perhaps you might increase the intensity or volume of the workouts.
Then hold yourself accountable to those goals every week.
Setting goals that you can control, goals that are measurable and goals that are realistic is a hugely underrated component of any fitness and weight loss plan.
5. Get back on the horse!
Regardless of whether you follow the pointers above or not, you are likely to fall off the horse at some point in your life. It might be injury, it might be a holiday or it might be motivation – something will cause you to break the health and fitness habits that you’ve worked so hard to set.
There is only one solution when this happens: get back on the horse quickly!
You won’t lose much if you have a poor eating day, skip a workout or let your hair down for a holiday. You will, however, lose out if you unnecessarily take 12 months off for no apparent reason.