My Story (Part 3)- The Recipe for Success

My Story (Part 3)- The Recipe for Success

When you decide to start exercising for the first time, how do you know what to try? Do you run, take a Zumba class, try crossfit, try a sport, buy P90X, lift weights? The choices are endless and it's overwhelming to someone who has not really embraced exercise before.

I found Training for Warriors (TFW) by chance. What started with a friend saying, “Go check it out, they will give you a free week”, turned out to be the best decision I ever made. TFW was not the kind of place I would have gone to on my own. It didn't look anything like the gyms I had been to before. There weren't any treadmills, ellipticals, or stationary bikes. Just a mat and a lot of dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells (I had never even seen one of these before).

I was so out of shape that I couldn't even finish my first workout at TFW, which consisted of a mix of short sprints and body weight exercises. However, the coaches were very patient and attentive, teaching me the different movements that I was not used to performing and modifying the exercises that I was not yet strong enough to do. They quickly made this place that seemed intimidating feel comfortable.

The first time I did a strength session I was really scared. I had never used a barbell before and I had never even heard of deadlifting. Again, the coaches explained the benefits of weight training and broke down the movement for me so that it was approachable. Now, I love weight training and have been amazed by the progress my fellow warriors and I have seen over time. It’s not easy to get to the gym all the time, but I somehow make it work in the crazy life of a working mom.

Of course, with this new activity came a change in my diet. I moved some of my meals around and increased my calories and protein and complex carbs. I read tons of nutrition articles and spoke to my coaches to make sure my diet was balanced. But throughout all the changes, one thing remained constant. I still didn't eat any crap!

My results have been amazing. Since I started the TFW program just over a year and a half ago, I have dropped 3 additional sizes and have encouraged many of my friends to live a healthier lifestyle either by eating better or exercising or both.

The Recipe for Success

So why did this program work for me and why is it that two people can start the same exercise routine and one is successful and the other is not? What makes it work for some and not for others?

I think the answer is two-fold. Commitment and Support.

Commitment

First, you need to commit to the routine. That includes your diet and exercise program. If you are making a decision to try to get fit and be healthy, then you need to make sure you are eating well all the time and develop a fitness routine that you will stick to. These are two very difficult things. In my case I got my diet under control before I started the exercise routine and then modified my diet along the way. That worked for me but I have watched others conquer both simultaneously.

Secondly, commit to yourself. The decision to be fit and healthy is a very personal one. Yes, you may choose this decision for different reasons, maybe a health scare or just being unhappy with the way you look or feel. But for whatever reason you start down this road, you must first commit to yourself that this is important to you. We all live busy lives. We have jobs and families that require our attention, but you are important too. Make a decision to put yourself first for an hour a day a few times a week. When you are ready to make that commitment to yourself, then you will be ready to take this leap of faith too.

Support

After you commit, you are going to need help. Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a lot of support to be successful in living a healthy lifestyle if this is not what you had been previously doing. You will have to change the way you eat and that could be hard if your friends or significant other aren’t willing to support your decision. You will have to find time to train and that may require you to take some time away from your family while you make time for yourself. But even with that help, you will have days where you are frustrated and just need someone to talk to who can understand. I have found that in my TFW familia and I hope that you can find some support in reading this blog.

Now, just over 2 years after I started this journey and a year and a half after I became a member at TFW, I'm a different person. I went from someone who never exercised, to a person who looks forward to training not only for the exercise but also for the mental clarity that I achieve during my sessions. I was physically weak and now I’ve become strong and I continue to get stronger mentally and physically every day. Physically, a weight that I used to struggle to lift is now my warmup. The mental toughness that I have developed as a result of my training has helped me be mentally tough in other aspects of my life. The will power I have developed as a result of sticking to my diet has helped me remain mentally strong in other situations as well.

It's your turn.

Now that you know the recipe for success, it's time for you to get going. If you are afraid to change too much too quickly, then start with one thing at a time, but don't wait, because a year from now you will wish that you started today.