#JustTurnUp January – and Why Doing It Is Better Than Overdoing it
Whether you’re going to the gym in Worthing or elsewhere, January signals a wave of positive intentions like no other time of year.
Vegan this, jogging that, have abs by *this* date – it’s all admirable, and we’ll get behind ambitious goals any day of the week. But it counts for virtually nothing if you try to do too much at once.
You might wind up falling short of extreme benchmarks and become trapped in a spiral of self-punishment, which won’t help you preserve or build your health. Overdoing your return to proactive health decisions could even mean that you injure yourself, knocking your training momentum for six.
So Project Spartan wants to help you nurture a healthier you – the right way. We’ll break down how to take small but determined steps in the right direction.
A word from qualified trainer James Collins, B.Sc.
We often wait for motivation to hit us, but motivation usually follows action. Suppose you can force yourself to take the small initial steps you need. In that case, motivation will snowball from enjoying movement, being with like-minded people, or appreciating the medium- to long-term results.
Consistency is everything.
Visualise what you want – but start simple.
Perhaps you’ll turn up to your first gym session in Worthing out of curiosity, to see what you’re capable of, or because a friend or spouse has persuaded you into it.
Ultimately, though, forming a mental image of how you want to feel or identifying parts of your body you’d like to work on can help you build resilience in working toward that goal.
If you work in construction and want to keep up with the others on-site in terms of heavy lifting, you’ll have a different set of goals to someone who has pre-diabetes and wants to manage their weight to reverse the course of their blood sugar problems.
It might not even be a physical goal – you might just want to feel more confident and coordinated while moving through everyday life.
Knowing what you want not only helps you shape your approach to improving your health, but it can also give you the spark of motivation you need to kick off your new approach to fitness.
You don’t need to sit down and have a big, time-consuming planning session – but it can help to be a little mindful of how specific actions feel. Is leaning forward to grab the soap in the bath a struggle? Try envisioning a smooth movement that doesn’t have you wincing.
Instead of checking out pictures of Captain America and setting your sights on becoming General Goring-by-Sea, start with these little motions and moments that will make your day a little easier. It all adds up.
Avoid thinking only about one aspect of your health.
It can feel overwhelming to consider the full spectrum of peak health between movement, nutrition, and mental well-being.
The bad news is that, to feel great, you’ll likely have to work on all of them. The good news is that you can set out with the tiniest adjustments and start to see improvements in each.
Plus, these three parts of you work together.
So, eating better will help your performance in the weight room. Exercise has been proven by science repeatedly to support your mental health. And taking steps to care for your emotional well-being can put you in a better position to administer consistent self-care.
These adjustments might be as simple as:
- If you eat a chocolate bar every day, replacing it with a piece of fruit.
- Swapping out potatoes for sweet potatoes in recipes that call for it.
- Going on a 15-minute walk every day.
- Watching (and following along with) a 10-minute yoga video on Youtube before you go to sleep.
- Spending 10 minutes reading a book every day.
- Swapping out crisps for something like lentil chips or low-cal popcorn.
- Eating one rich tea with your Earl Grey instead of three.
- Eating takeaway one time less every week.
Just getting used to movement, new foods, or simply sitting with yourself can be challenging. But these little nods towards your overall health help you work towards it without swamping you. You’ll feel better before you know it, and your discipline will slowly start building.
Get yourself an accountability buddy
Working with others – whether it’s a good friend, a spouse, or a community of people – gives you a support system.
It’s not just about accountability. Other people set benchmarks to reach, give you ideas to implement, and provide encouragement when your arms are about to give way during a shoulder press.
And especially when exercising as part of a larger community, you’ll encounter people every day who are in both better and worse shape than you.
Working out with others gives you a sense of perspective, reinforcing that you’re further along than you think but still have plenty of room for growth. And studies have shown that exercise communities can help you achieve tangible health outcomes (like a lower risk of diabetes in older adults).
How can Project Spartan support your journey?
Project Spartan is an individual odyssey with a team backing you up:
- You’ll sit down with one of our qualified coaches in a consultation to work out precisely what you’ll gain from your sessions. This can help you picture a healthier you in a targeted way.
- Then, you’ll work through three hour-long sessions every week with the support of our fantastic community of like-minded warriors. They’ll have your back in the fitness studio and our buzzing Facebook groups.
- We track your progress using state-of-the-art 3D body scanners, allowing you to build motivation and see the fruits of your efforts flourish in real-time.
Get in touch today about our programs and membership tiers that can fit any budget.
