Biggest myths around getting fit and staying in shape

  THERE are many crazy ideas around being fit and healthy. Just as there is a lot of good information out there on how you can be fit and healthy, there are also a lot of myths. These myths can actually slow down or stop your fitness progress. We recently spoke with Christine Suter, a personal trainer at C2Sky Multisport, who helped us demystify the issue. So, what is the biggest myth around getting fit? “That it is easy and you don’t have to make other changes to your life except go workout in the gym more,” Suter said. She shared her top tips on how you can stay fit and healthy (and avoid those fitness myths!) Make sacrifices to get there. People who are successful at getting stronger and fitter commit themselves to this goal and make sacrifices to get there. They are also consistent with their training and make it a priority in their life. Stop making excuses. Many people will not make sacrifices like having to get up earlier, or going to the gym after work when they are tired or come up with excuses like the house is dirty or there’s no time—but the excuses do not happen just once. They are constant. Learn to adapt. Life is always going to happen and we must adapt to emergencies like sick kids, working late, a project deadline—but it is how we deal with these things that is important. We recognize them as a potential roadblock and then we come up with a strategy to overcome them. Get in the zone. How does your mental and emotional well-being play a role in being fit? Great question! What do you say to yourself: before you go to the gym or for a workout, when you are at the gym, when you look at a fitness magazine, or when you look at yourself in the mirror? Keep your eyes on the goal. Do you believe that you can achieve the goal that you have set out for yourself? Visualize you are being fitter and stronger, what does it look like, feel like and what are other people saying to you. Be aware of what you say to yourself. What you say to yourself has an impact on your self-confidence, which is the belief in your abilities to accomplish something. We need to start to be aware of what we say to ourselves. With this awareness we can start to challenge our negative thoughts through different performance enhancing techniques like positive self-talk, thought stoppage and reframing. In cognitive behaviour therapy, individuals are educated on how their thoughts affect their feelings, which affects their behaviour. If you are saying to yourself, “I am fat and ugly”, you will probably be feeling depressed, and your behaviour may be to do something that comforts you like curling up on the couch with a book, or eating something maybe not that healthy, but you are probably not wanting to put yourself into your gym clothes and march out the door to the gym. Steps to improve fitness What are the best steps you can take to improve fitness? Suter says you need to take action. Do something instead of talking about it. Find out what you enjoy doing and start with that. If you need someone else to motivate you find a training buddy to workout with or join a fitness class where someone structures the workout for you. Some people think they need to work out for hours but ten minutes is better than nothing. If you do not have enough time to drive to the gym, pick 4 or 5 exercises do each one for one minute and take a one minute rest (if needed) after completing all exercises and do this 3, 4, 5 times or more! You can do things that do not need any exercise equipment, like jumping jacks, high knee running or marching, push ups, sit ups, air squats, lunges, plank holds, single leg squats onto a chair. Climb the stairs in your office or at home. It’s one of the easiest ways to burn calories.   Sacha De Voretz is a lifestyle and fashion blogger based in Vancouver, Canada. Read her blog on sachad.com or follow her on Instagram on instagram.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