How To Overcome Obstacles in Health & Fitness
For every goal you have you will be faced with many obstacles and barriers towards that goal you want to achieve. Obstacles are a part of life that will try to prevent you from achieving your goals and living the life that you want to live. Everyone is different, with different goals, different abilities, knowledge, availability and of course different obstacles.
The key to overcoming obstacles is to first identify what your individual obstacles are, then making a list ranking them from biggest to smallest, to help overcome these tasks.
Identify Obstacles
- Lack of time
- Travel a lot for work
- Other priorities
- Dislike of exercise
- Other people
- Eating out
- No time to make healthy meals
- Hate running
- Too busy
Once you have a list developed you can then start addressing each individual obstacle and create a problem-solving plan to help you overcome each one.
Lack Of Time Obstacle:
- Go to bed earlier to get up earlier – If your day is packed and your afternoons are just as hectic, get up 30min earlier to exercise or prep meals for the day. Start by doing this 1-2 times a week, then add more days as you will adjust to this new routine.
- Time manage/plan your day – If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Creating a plan will help ensure you follow a routine for the day and prioritise the things that are important to you, like nutrition and exercise.
- Ask for help – There is no shame in asking for help, whether it be help at work or at home, sometimes the best thing you could do is reach out and ask for some assistance.
Too Tired to Exercise Obstacle:
- Master the morning – If you find yourself exhausted at the end of a day and often cancelling that trip to the gym, try working out in the morning. This could simply be a walk or a gym session, either way you are getting it done early and starting your day with an achievement.
- Lunch Breaks – Do you have time during the day? If so be prepared and take gym clothes to work to use on your break, even if its only 10min, it all adds up.
- Create the habit – Without exercise you will have no energy, it is important to develop a habit of exercising whenever you can, so you don’t feel tired all the time.
Too Lazy Obstacle:
- Set realistic expectations – If you set the bar too high, you may give up without even trying. Start with something small and easy like a 10min walk, then just slowly increase your time/distance as you progress.
- Know yourself – If you know by the afternoon you feel lazier then workout in the morning, or select a time of day when you know you have more energy.
- Treat exercise like an important appointment – If you have to be at the airport at 6am then you’ll make sure you have everything set and ready to go for when you leave, if you can be organised to get on a plane then you can be organised to exercise.
There are many common obstacles that prevent you from achieving your health and fitness goals, the key is to identify the main offenders as shown above and begin developing a plan to overcome these obstacles.
