Castle Personal Training
Castle Personal Training is a Corstorphine, Edinburgh based company who specialise in weightloss/toning and Pre and Post Natal exercise.
Blog 04-12-13; The 12 step program of Fitness
Hi guys,
I am sure you’re all somewhat familiar with some sort of 12 step program; Well I have decided to start a fitness related one. I am a bit fed up with people claiming that they have “bad genes” or “are putting loads of effort in but not getting any results”.
It’s not just for “lazy” people but also for those of you who do exercise regularly and generally eat clean but are not doing it often enough to achieve what you want to achieve.
First of all I would like you to say the following to yourself;
“I am, insert name here, and I’m not as healthy as I should be because of the choices I make”
Step 1; Admit that you have a problem. You are not working as hard as you should. You’re not working as hard as you can. You’re not eating as healthily as you should.
It might not be easy to admit but this really is the first step towards achieving your goals. You’re not managing your health as well as you should.
Step 2; Believe that there is someone out there who can help you and ask them for help.Whether it be a friend, a Personal Trainer or someone on Youtube. There is loads of help available to you. You can’t do this all by yourself, you’ve proven that to yourself already, so find inspiration from somewhere.
Step 3; Use whomever you’ve asked for help and accept that they are likely to know more than you are.The clients that get the biggest results are the clients that accept that I know more about fitness and nutrition than they do. It’s all well and good that your friend once had a result on a certain fad-diet but if I tell you that eating a certain way is the way forward for you it would really help if you stuck to the advice. “But my friend claims he lost 2 stone in 2 weeks by only eating lemons!” I don’t care. Honestly, I don’t.Just listen to what I tell you. You’ve paid me several hundred pounds because you want someone with expertise, stop listening to uneducated people. You wouldn’t ask your mate who drives a nice car to fix yours, you get a mechanic to do it for you.
This is of course assuming that you ask someone who actually knows something about health and fitness, make sure you ask the right person.
Step 4; Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself.Are you REALLY putting as much effort in as you can or have been claiming you have? Are you making excuses and coming up with reasons not to exercise and to eat crap every day? I hear people say “I’ve done all I can but am not seeing any results” and every single time that I check with these people I find that they haven’t put nearly as much work in as they say they have. You’re only lying to yourself. The people who get results are the ones who are honest with themselves. If you haven’t seen any positive results for a month ask yourself why not.
This, for me, is the hardest step of all. you have to be brutally honest with yourself on this. Why do I still have a small belly? Because I’ve not put enough effort into getting rid of it and have a slice of cake with my hot chocolate and cream every week.
Step 5; Admit to yourself and to others just where you have been going wrong. Only if you admit that you are not putting as much effort into it as you can will you be able to change it. Do you really think that your friends, colleagues or personal trainer believe you when you say you’re gaining weight even though you eat better, and less, and exercising more? Of course they don’t. Everyone already knows that you’re not, just be honest about it so you can change it.
Step 6; Work on yourself and try to remove these “defects of character”.Make this your mission. Every day tell yourself that you will not be lazy, you will not be greedy.
Step 7; Replace the defects of character with positive attributes.Instead of being lazy, work hard. Instead of procrastinating, go out and do things now. Instead of eating loads of food that’s bad for you, tell yourself that you’re eating proper food only and are taking good care of yourself.
Step 8; Make a list of everyone who will be happy when you’re in better health. You’re not just doing this for yourself. You’re doing this for your friends, for your family and other people who would be better off if you are in better health. I am always surprised when I see that parents don’t care about their own health. What makes you think that taking care of yourself so you can be around for longer is not a fundamental part of being a parent? Why do you think that setting a bad example, for instance by eating loads of unhealthy crap, is not just bad parenting?
Read the list over and over again and accept that you’re not just hurting yourself by living an unhealthy lifestyle.
Step 9; Apologise to those whom you’ve hurt with your unhealthy behaviour.Say sorry to your kids, to your spouse and to others if they deserve an apology. For instance; if you’re a bit older and find that your bad habits have carried on to your children and they now find themselves struggling with their health, apologise to them and try to make it right.
This is a very powerful thing to do and will help you stay on the right track, it really will.
Don’t blame others for your mistakes.
Step 10; Continue to take a personal inventory and, where you are wrong, promptly admit it.Take a regular look at yourself and try not to let the bad habits slip back in. It’s very easy for this to happen. Being lazy and procrastinating is easier than going out and getting things done so be vigilant.
Step 11; Seek through regular reflection to understand that now that you’re exercising regularly and eating better you are actually happier within yourself. Even if you keep coming up with new goals, or have not yet achieved the ones you’ve set for yourself, understand that you’re doing better now than you used to when you were just sitting on the couch eating crap. It’s not going to be plain sailing and you won’t get from A to B within a few weeks but realise that, even after just a few weeks, you’ll be better off than you were.
Not the sort of reflection I meant but soo pretty.
Step 12; Try to carry the message to others who are looking for advice. Try to help whomever you can and be honest with them. Don’t try to sell them dodgy meal replacements simply because you can make a few quid from it. Try to be honest with people and admit there is more than one way to get healthy. It’s not about taking the right supplements, which you happen to sell, it’s about making the right choices. Help people make the right choices and admit to them that it’s not an easy thing to do so give them all the support you can.
Finally not so much a step but definitely advice worth following;
Take care.
Your friend,
Peter
Castle Personal Training 
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