Short Term Programs Don’t Work

Jamie Stedman here with another brand new post.
This week I’m telling you that short term exercise programs don’t work.
I must say I do offer 4 week and 6 week personal training plans but I tend to use these just when people who are already reasonably fit want to get a bit fitter/leaner in the build up to something like a wedding, race, holiday.
Your body needs at least 12 weeks for the changes you make to your life e.g. eating healthier/exercising to become routine.weights apple trainers
These people who aren’t particularly active and have a crap diet who decide they’re going to try and lose weight prior to a holiday in a few weeks don’t make long term changes. They may lose a bit of weight by starving themselves and exercising themselves too hard but as soon as they’re on that plane (if not 2 weeks before, because they’ve taken on too much) it’s all out the window with no intention to return to healthy ways when they return.
People want to be fit and healthyĀ all the timeĀ yet they’ll only put in a bit of effortĀ for a short period of time.
In order to be fit and healthy all the time you need to put some effort in all the time.
I’m not saying you need to exercise every day and not eat any junk. You can have some junk food in moderation and as treats and you don’t have to train more than 2-4 times a week. Doesn’t sound too bad right?
I love it when I get a new client and they say ‘I know it’s going to takeĀ time to achieveĀ (goal) butĀ this is going to be the start’. That’s better than I’m going on holiday in 4 weeks andĀ I want to lose some weight.
People in society today don’t want to wait for anything. You can buy a car on finance, you can watch box sets insteadĀ of waiting a week for the next episode, you can stream things instead of waiting to see them on TV. It seems as if patience has gone.Ā It also seems that people want the easy option; diet pills instead of exercise, bars and shakes instead of cooking healthy meals.
If you go for the diet pills and shake option you may lose weight faster but you will feel terrible. Do it right with exercise and healthy eating and you will be full of energy, healthier and feeling great.
These are all quickfixes andĀ don’t address things in the long run.
If you want to make a real investment in your health which is going to improve your futureĀ then you need to beĀ patient. You need to realise it’s going to take a while to get exactly where you want to be, but if you eat right and do a little bit of exercise you will get there.
When you do get there then this healthy lifestyle stuff will be routine, you’ll also realise it wasn’t quite as hard to keep up as you though too.
Small changes to start:
– Going out for a light walk or jog/cycle/swim once or twice a week
– Drinking more water
– Learning a couple of healthy recipes to cook
– Making a list of 5 foods/habits which hold you back and try to cut out one every 7-14 days
Jamie ‘Plan Long Term’ Stedman
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