With over 20 years of experience as a trainer, we've asked Coach Bree, MAXPRO's Director of Programing and owner of Bod by Bree, to weigh in. Find out her "secret sauce" when it comes to self care!
As a trainer of 20+ years, I have spent much of my time helping my clients to stay motivated and on track so they could reach their goals. There is always a mix of outcomes spanning from those that commit and remain active long term, to those that may yo-yo between an “on” and “off” the wagon pattern. Soon into my career I became fascinated with the “why” behind the reasons that some were able to make life-long changes while others struggled. After many years, countless clients, endless books, and hours of podcasts – I share the secret to your long term success:
As humans, we are creatures of habit and habits are things that we do day in and day out without thinking about it. It becomes so automatic that we don’t need to motivate ourselves to do it each day, we just do! We also get to a point where we even feel off if we don’t do the things we are used to doing! This then points to the power of habit as it pertains to exercise, nutrition, and health! If we can slowly implement more movement, more exercise, and healthy nutrition into our daily routines – over time they will become habits that we do automatically and with little need for motivation or willpower! The key is – slow, systematic integration so that it is doable and maintainable. No need to go from zero to one hundred – start small and slowly add on once a new habit has stuck!
I also found that those that experienced the most success shared the mindset that consistency beats perfection. This means – they didn’t let themselves get stuck in the details and they didn’t throw in the towel if they slipped up one day – they JUST KEPT GOING! I use this quite a bit to give the perspective that you do not need to be 100% perfect every day – you just need to be consistent overall in your commitment to health. Prioritize movement, fuel your body with wholesome foods, build your body with strength training, and stay consistent by implementing them slowly, making them habits, not short-term fixes!