A good trainer will always sit down with you and discuss your motivation to change and what your goals are, before they take you on as a client. They will also ask you to fill out a detailed health and exercise history questionnaire. This becomes the basis of the exercise and nutrition plan they chalk-out for you. In these initial consultations, some of the most common things discussed are:
- Performance goals – getting fit , strong etc
- The different injuries you may have suffered
- Heath issues you may have
- Many people want to lose weight and that will be an essential part of the initial discussion too
- Some people want to tone up and have a lean body
While all these goals and objectives seem good enough, many people that want to start working out at a gym aren’t aware that they don’t actually have a fitness problem at all – they have a health problem!! If you are in pain or have been chronically injured, or are overweight, your problem is a health-related one; and the first aim has to be to get healthy. It’s not uncommon for people to get health (physical and mental) & fitness all mixed-up.
Fitness and health are entirely different things
In most commercial gym environments, people are more focused on aesthetics and mindlessly burning calories; and athleticism takes a back seat. Most people focus on aesthetics at the cost of important aspects such as:
- Flexibility and mobility
- Flowing graceful movement
- Power and agility
- Coordination, balance and speed
- And some more
Getting a great body has to be a by-product of training intelligently and being healthy and not vice versa. The other aspect of weight training and body building is the overuse of supplements – most of these are a concoction of various chemicals and can be toxic in nature. No amount of supplements can compensate for lack of a well-balanced diet and nutrition and if you ignore nutritional programming, you can never become healthy.
A healthy body also needs a healthy mind
Having a healthy and fit body is all about ensuring that your mind is completely in sync with your body. To this end, the different aspects of this “healthy thinking equals a perfect body” philosophy are:
- Improve the quality of your thinking – this will improve your experience of your mind and body
- Stop being self-critical and don’t judge yourself or try to be a perfectionist; and then start focusing on bringing about the changes you want
- If you constantly compare yourself and try to compete with others, you will never be happy with who you are
- Do not obsess over every little aspect of your training program or a region of your body
The right motivation
The priority should be to ensure that your self-worth isn’t dictated by the way you look or whether you have a 6 or 8 pack, or bulging biceps, or how much you squat etc. If your motivation is health, you are more likely to embrace a very balanced long-term lifestyle that includes the right amount of movement and moderate physical activity. In addition to pumping weights at the gym, find hobbies and pursuits that create excitement, passion and interest in you.
Focus on inside-out health
Focus on self-development and improving overall health. In the long term this will trump aesthetics. This is because an intrinsic motivator is often far better to build health and fitness, rather than extrinsic motivators like external gratification & validation. If you work with a good trainer and follow a solid bodybuilding plan that’s centred on the concepts we just discussed, you will be able to maintain more sustainable goals.
For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Schembri PT. Our number is 02 9648 6405. You can send us an email to info@schembript.com or fill in this contact form and we’ll reply as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading,
Schembri PT Team
02 9648 6405