Of all the things that one may want to happen to oneself there is none as important as true fitness- mind and body.  So here we are again at the beginning of February and statistics will prove that the vast majority of people who made the new year’s resolution, ” I’m going to get fit this year”, will fall short of their goal. The reason is simple, they don’t believe it! This belief,the one that must be embedded in our conscience for us to achieve our fitness goals, is missing in many professional athletes as well. In my experience on the golf circuit, I was well aware of the many motivational coaches who could be found on the practice putting green before a round psyching up a player. Each of these mind guys would have a way of trying to make his player believe in his abilities and in so doing, reach their potential on the course. In a nutshell our spoken word and our thoughts must be on the same page. This process of belief is as applicable to sinking a seven foot putt as it is to getting to our true fitness and well-being potential.

Most people can speak at a rate of 150 words a minute . We think at up to 1500 words a minute. What this means when it comes to getting in shape is simple, if one’s words dont match up with one’s thoughts, getting in shape isn’t going to happen! The person that says to his or her personal trainer, “I’m going for it this year”, but thinks to themselves ” Don’t kid yourself, you’re always going to be out of shape”, is more likely to sabotage their efforts by stopping on the way back from the gym at the petrol station and eating a crispy cream doughnut! More than ever when I start to train clients these days, the issue that needs to be understood from the start, is what their beliefs are about becoming fit? If the belief is not there than I must help them believe, for without it, the best training advice will be worthless.

One of the best ways to achieve belief in our goals is NLP.  NLP stands for neuro (the brain and the rest of the neurological system,) linguistic (this relates to language, both spoken and not spoken),   programming (this is about our behaviour and our thinking patterns). To apply NLP to getting fit is to understand what thoughts, language and behaviour is needed to achieve our goal of true fitness. Here is my step by step version of  the way forward using NLP.

Step 1- We need to have a clear vision of what we want to happen( lose excess fat, look unbelievable,etc). We may want to have a clear picture in our mind or one that we write down, perhaps one that we saw in a magazine and we stick it on the refrigerator. We must try to get our husband, wife or partner to be on the same wave length and to block out and get rid of negative thoughts whether old, one’s (childhood) or new ones (my last board meeting).

Step 2 - We must like Nike says “just do it”. There is nothing worse than hearing words with no action taking place. There is nothing more irritating than looking for a specific supplement at a Vitamin Shop and being told by an unhealthy looking salesperson which brand is best. Workout harder and briefer when exercising and dont spend the whole time in the cardio theatre watching MTV. To change the way you look and feel, hit the weights 2 to 3 times a week. Work each set till failure (till another rep in perfect form is impossible). Don’t train like you’re on a construction site (doing set after set), the best results come from quality not quantity training.

Step 3 - You are what you eat. Diets dont work but eating plans do! Try to eat 4 to 6 small meals daily (every 3 hours). A palm size portion of protein and one of complex carbohydrates make up one meal. Try to drink about 2 litres of water daily ( your muscles are made up of 60% water and insufficient amounts cause fatigue ). One has to understand that our food and water intake is at least 75% of the fitness formula!

Step 4 - You get fitter when you recover from training not while working out. If you don’t have non- training days factored into your fitness regime, you will not reach your potential and you may eventually get injured by over- training . More is not better! Sleep, rest, and peace of mind play a huge part in getting and staying in great shape.

So for those that want to get true health use the above as your plan this year. Keep things simple and stay positive. There is nothing more important than achieving true fitness and health , however it all starts with believing you will get there!