Who's On Your Coaching Team?

Sooner or later, everyone decides that they want to improve their health. Get fit. Lose weight. Get strong. Eat healthier. Feel more rested and energetic. Decrease stress.

These are all reasonable, desirable and attainable goals with respect to ones health. So what is it exactly that gets in our way? Why does it seem so difficult to fit in a 30 minute workout 3 times a week? Or to cook healthier meals? Or get to sleep earlier?

The answer is simple. By saying we want to get healthier, we are acknowledging that there is something about our current lifestyle that is unhealthy. That lifestyle has been practiced, repeated and ingrained in our habit loop for years. Its hard to change! We are, by nature, creatures of habit, and we enjoy the comfort of same. Not change.

First off, this is normal and not something we should ever feel guilty or ashamed of. However, we do need to look at as something that is getting in our way of attaining a healthy lifestyle, and therefore the benefits that it reaps. How do we interrupt this habit loop?

My solution: Get a coaching team!

By engaging a team of people and resources, you will become empowered to reach your goals. You will have someone to remind you of what those goals are, how well you are meeting the expectations you have set out for yourself, whether those expectations are realistic and to help you reevaluate your scenario and approach when needed.

For example, partnering with a friend or family member to help motivate you to follow a workout regime can ensure that you keep to a schedule. Coming to an arrangement with your partner can also help: ‘Honey, tonight I cook dinner and clean up, I will see you when you get back from yoga.’

Or your can utilize the numerous smart phone apps available to help remind you of when to exercise and what your strategy is for that day.

Have you ever considered hiring your coaching team? Basement gyms and workout DVD’s are always convenient and easy to implement, but they don’t come with supervision, feedback or variability. Performing an exercise incorrectly can not only lead to lagging results, but also to injury. Which is why working with an instructor or personal trainer can help you attain better results in addition to keeping you motivated. Also, many people find it easier to follow through with a work out plan if they are away from home.

What does your community have to offer? Living in, or near, Smiths Falls, we are all so fortunate for everything we have available to us to engage healthy lifestyles. In the summer time, our landscape offers trails and waterways, parks, tennis courts and even a skate park. In the winter we have access to hockey rinks, curling rinks and an indoor running track. Year round we have a squash club and an indoor swimming pool. Smiths Falls is home to martial arts studios, yoga studios, group fitness clubs, active seniors clubs and even a learn to run group. What our community has to offer your health is truly unprecedented.

Most importantly, everyone has a health care team to help guide them towards a more active and healthier lifestyle. This includes your medical doctor or nurse practitioner in addition to your chiropractor or massage therapist. These professionals can provide you with personalize health recommendations to ensure a sustainable change in your lifestyle and help you get the most out of your body.

So. Who’s on your coaching team!?