Have you ever thought to yourself “if I could just lose these last 10 lbs” or maybe “I wish I was in better shape”? Or, have you ever gone to the beach in the summer and been so self-conscious that you kept your T–shirton? Did you spend the day paralyzed with fear at the thought of having to be around your family and friends in a bathing suit, when you weren’t even comfortable in your own skin? I have.
I started my fitness journey eight years and 75lbs ago. People often ask me how I lost all the weight, as though it was some kind of super-human feat. The fact is that there is no “big secret” and there DEFINITELY isn’t a substitute for hard work. The truth is pretty boring: I made healthy nutritional choices, and I exercised regularly. There are some more technical elements to a program than that, but the reality of it is that we are taught from a very young age that we should eat healthily and exercise. The truth is that in large, many of us don’t have a knowledge problem, we have an accountability problem. We know what to do, we just choose not to do what we know.
Through my fitness journey and my seven-year career as a Fitness Professional, I can wholeheartedly scale everything down to one statement: you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Whether you’re competing in your first marathon, trying to lose 50lbs or simply working to maintain your level of fitness, you HAVE to know where and how to work! Simply put, knowledge is power, and if you know where you are, you can better understand and manage how you get to where you want to go! So, before you start or further progress in your fitness journey, take a moment to evaluate a couple of things that could make or break your success:
- Do you workout with a chest mounted heart rate monitor like MyZone®? – If you don’t, you SHOULD! Your heart is the most important muscle in your body: if it’s not working, nothing else really matters, right?
- Do you track your nutrition using an app like MyFitnessPal®? If you don’t, what are you waiting for? If you know what you’re taking in nutritionally, you know exactly how to plan your day and your workouts.
- Do you track your body composition? Could you right now, tell me how much muscle vs. fat your body has? – If you can’t, how are you planning on tracking progress? Spoiler alert: YOU’RE NOT!!!
- Do you have a program to follow? Every time you come into the gym, you should have a PLAN! Results don’t happen “on accident.”
Geraldine Chapman is the Director of Information Marketing & Social Media at American Family Fitness in Richmond, VA. She’s been in the fitness industry professionally since 1997 as a personal trainer, group fitness manager, and fitness instructor. She has trained and certified in multiple fitness programs over the years. Her favorites to teach are barre, Active®, Blast®, and Power®. Geraldine graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.A. in Communication Arts & Design. She is also a Certified High-Performance Coach and Applied Neuro Strategist. She is passionate about researching autoimmune diseases and how lifestyle, fitness, nutrition, and mindset play a vital role in the prevention and management of autoimmune issues. When not working, you can find Geraldine with a camera in hand, enjoying quality time with her family and riding her motorcycle around town.
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