Ok, so you’ve decided that enough is enough, you’re going to cut out all the junk, get off the couch and start exercising to get that beach body you’ve been craving all these years.

Great! However, before commencing this journey, there are a few factors that need to be taken into consideration. Here are a few pointers to follow from an Abu Dhabi Personal Trainer in order to ensure that these changes you make are sustainable, successful and something you can maintain for years to come.

Enjoy!

Set Yourself A Goal…

No, I’m afraid “lose weight” or “get fitter” doesn’t quite cut it! From my personal trainer experience, one of the main reasons that people decide to halt their exercise regime is through a sheer lack of motivation.

Sport psychology research has proven that those who set themselves short term goals that work toward a specific long term demonstrate higher levels of intrinsic motivation than those who don’t, and therefore more commitment! In addition, give yourself a realistic time frame in which you want to achieve that goal.

For example, instead of merely losing weight, your goal could be, “I want to lose 2kg of fat in the next 4 weeks”; it’s specific, it has a time frame, it’s realistic and most importantly it gives you a clear objective to work towards!

Make SUSTAINABLE healthy lifestyle choices…

As strange as this sounds, don’t think of exercise and personal training in the UAE as your short term way of losing weight. Instead, think of it as an important lifestyle factor that you need to incorporate into your day to day life.

Being active and exercising regularly shouldn’t be perceived as a quick fix, or something you need to do to prepare for that holiday in three months or to squeeze into that wedding dress, it’s something that should be part of your everyday life.

That said, going from absolutely no exercise to training 2 hours a day 5 days a week is completely unrealistic and something a previously sedentary individual would fail to sustain over a long period of time.

You’re hopefully going to be maintaining this lifestyle for years to come, so there’s plenty of time for progression, start off small and gradually increase the intensity of frequency of training! Remember, sustainability is the key here.

Patience Is A Virtue…

Seeing results takes time. If your personal training goal is to lose that excess 3kg don’t expect it to happen overnight, or in the first week.

Remember, sustainability and a healthier lifestyle is what we’re ultimately looking to achieve here, not a quick fix, so don’t throw the towel in if you don’t have rock hard abs after a week of healthier nutrition and three workouts.

Choose The Methods Of Exercise You ENJOY…

One of the most upsetting things for me as a Personal Trainer in the UAE is witnessing people force themselves through a workout they quite clearly hate because they think that’s the only way, and then inevitably stop training altogether.

I can’t stress this point enough, if you don’t enjoy the workouts you’re doing, you WILL NOT stick to them. Everybody is different.

Just because Ted down the road loves his Crossfit workouts and the media tells you that’s the “in” thing right now doesn’t mean it’s your only mode of exercise.

Find out what you enjoy and use that to plan your exercise routine. This is where a personal trainer comes in handy, you can discuss your likes and dislikes when it comes to exercise and workouts and your personal trainer in Abu Dhabi or Dubai can then tailor-make a plan just for you.

Of course any personal trainer can tell if you or your motivation is struggling and then change your regime to suit a different style of workout or different exercising techniques.