Since most people don’t like exercising on their own, I’ve somehow wound up training a few of my neighbors, a couple of times a week.
The people I train aren’t interested in being athletes, they’re interested in looking better in a swimsuit and feeling stronger.
Sure, they could do it on their own, but they won’t. I get paid a little bit and they have money to lose if they don’t show up. They see results pretty quickly and wind up having fun which together keep them coming.
There’re apps now for working out, but working out with a person you like can be dramatically better than self-service.
Here’s what I have them do. We stick to fundamental movements, mostly pushing, pulling, squatting, hinging at the hips, and lifting from the ground. Keeping it simple, fun, and accessible even though it can sometimes be hard works. The focus is on effort rather than how much weight is moved. They’re cycles of strength development, mobility exercises, and fluid combinations.
The key thing to reaching a goal, like being ready for the beach by Easter, is to break it down into a series of small achievable chunks.
After a while exercising is not something my neighbors have to do, but something that’s part of their lives with the potential of going beyond the temporary goals of losing fat/gaining muscle to “doing cool moves” like handstands.
Two of the easiest things I try to get the neighbors to do for their health are paying attention to what they eat and getting enough sleep.
Food is absolutely important. When I sit down with anyone to discuss what they can expect, I stress that “The one thing I really want you to concentrate on is limiting the amount of carbs that you don’t need. Avoid sugar, limit alcohol to two drinks, and cut back on grains.” There really is a six pack under the belly padding.
Sleeping enough is the easiest and cheapest thing you can do.
Finally, don’t sweat the cardio sessions. We do sprints up a short hill to build muscles.
Consider stuff you can buy if you have extra dough, high heels, a pickup truck or global travel, you can take a pass on that stuff and not miss a speck of happiness or life satisfaction. But getting healthy and strong and then not having it, you will miss that. Because working on being a better version of yourself, is such an integral part of living a better life, and being able to better handle hard times.