Whether it’s losing weight, shaving time off your run, or adding weights at the gym, we all have various fitness goals we want to achieve. One of the best ways to accomplish them is to set weekly goals and commit to having the discipline to follow through with them.
But how exactly do you go about doing that? After all, motivation can often be challenging to sustain. Thankfully, we’ve compiled a comprehensive yet concise guide of what you need to do every week to help achieve your fitness goals through careful research and tireless dedication.
1
Let Yourself Recover
You’ve heard all of the standard wisdom around working out, and it still applies: join a gym, find a workout buddy, be safe, and perhaps invest in a personal trainer. The one caveat that fitness experts have added to this list recently is to place more intention on recovery.
Many experts nowadays believe that your rest days are actually more important than your exercise days, with some advising one rest day for each workout day at the minimum, and others advising two rest days to each workout day. An important principle to remember here is that your muscles don’t grow when you work out; instead, they grow when you rest after working out.
2
simplify your diet
It sounds cliché at this point, but clichés are cliché for a reason! Without diving into all of the trend diets and faux science, one tenet has remained throughout the history of nutrition: eat simple, natural foods. Stay away from processed and sugary foods and opt for dishes where you know (and can pronounce!) each ingredient.
The best strategy to attain this is to make your own food. I know this may seem like a daunting task, but by keeping your meals simple and natural, you will find that it doesn’t take as much time as you expected. The changes in your body and your wallet will be more than worth it.
3
supplement your diet, naturally
Even with a healthy diet, the human body could still use some extra help to get all the nutrients needed to help you perform at your physical peak. At the end of the day, ingredients found in nature and not in a lab are still the most effective catalysts for making sure that your body runs precisely the way that it needs to. So fittingly, a blend of natural herbs specifically designed for fitness and activity is what you should ideally be looking for.
A few common herbals to look out for in a blend are Willow Bark Extract for soothing sore muscles, Boswellia Serrata Resin Extract for helping manage post-workout inflammation, and Passionflower Aerial Part Extract for sleep aid to optimize full-body recovery. Our own diet supplement, Vivazen, an all-natural herbal blend that contains all of these beneficial herbs, plus a few more, to help speed up your recovery and increase your gains.
4
set attainable goals
One of the biggest killers of fitness goals is their loftiness. We’ve all been there: when we expect to see the beginning of a six-pack after the first week and end up feeling inadequate when it’s not there. The solution is to set attainable and measurable goals. Make it your goal to just drive to the gym each day during your first week, and then celebrate the achievement of that goal.
As long as you move that marker forward a little bit each week, you’ll find that you’ve conquered more ground than you might think as you grow more comfortable. Trying to achieve your fitness goals can seem like a monumental task when considered as a whole, which is why it’s better to break down the bigger project into small achievable steps.
5
break up the monotony
No matter how much of a jam your music is at the gym, eventually, you will get bored of the gray walls, gray equipment, and stationary bicycles. Break up that routine with some extracurricular workout sessions like hiking, biking, racquetball, or any fit and fun activity!
Although at first the intent of these extra sessions is to break up the traditional gym routine’s monotony, you will soon find that you enjoy these activities even more thanks to your newfound health and fitness.
final thoughts
If you do these five simple things each week, you will be able to achieve your fitness goals, no matter what they are. Make sure you simplify your goals to make them easier to achieve. Plan ahead, eat well, utilize supplements, and be sure never to cheat yourself. After that, be sure to get plenty of rest to help keep your body and mind energized. Doing this consistently throughout the week will help you stay fit and healthy for many years to come.
You will soon realize the true benefit of being healthy and fit, and that is just feeling great in your own body. Achieving functional fitness is by no means easy. After all, if it were, everybody would be doing it. But thankfully, you can attain it if you keep these small steps in mind each week of your journey!