Train with joy – 10 tips to a good start

• 10 kg weight loss
• More energy and surplus during the day
• More joy and motivation to exercise
• The ability to run a marathon
• Living healthier and healthier dieting habits
• In shape following a birth etc.

Every day I meet people with targets who are motivated to change their lifestyle, but needs the final push to get things going. I hear many stories of how the bad habits have accumulated, and have turned into dead weight for the person. As a personal trainer I am that resource, I possess the tools, that for some is just what is needed to succeed in making a lifestyle change.

I believe that we as people should not settle for dreaming about a stronger, healthier, and slimmer body, but actually make those dreams a reality.

Below you can read my advice on how to reach your goals. Many people, though, need professional support and help, and it might therefore make sense to get a little help in the beginning.

To succeed with the project, a series of factors needs to be in place. Some of the most important areas are motivation and the importance of your goal. You need to be 100 percent motivated, and the project needs to be important to you. The importance is measured on a scale from 1 to 10 (where 10 is the most), and the value given should be at least 7 or 8. You need to prepare yourself mentally to be able to focus on the goal, despite bad excuses, soreness and pain. The project needs to be so important to you that you keep going, even if you periodically does not move as much as you would like. Your goal needs to be so important that you train even you are tired, do not feel you have the time, or you are tempted by good food, red wine, or socialising.

Luckily, you are also able to be aided. Here are my 10 best tips to get going with the training. If you want to train with joy, you need to take note of my last tip about using the LifeWave patches to increase the enrgy levels and increase the fat burn. Several times, I have experienced that tip number 10 in particular, which is about using the patches and products from LifeWave concurrently with the training, has boosted the energy, relieved pain and soreness, as well as healing smaller injuries faster.

1. Set yourself some targets

If you want to loose weight, get in shape, and live healthier, then it is crucial that you are ready, are motivated, and that you are resolved concerning your goals and milestones. It is also important that you make yourself aware of the exact focus areas crucial to motivating you and to keep you motivated – all the way. Have a concrete plan of action done with diet and training programme, so you can avoid deliberations and procrastination, but simple have to do the ‘chores’ of today – in short: How you adhere to the contract with yourself. In order to see an effect, you should exercise/train 2-3 times a week.

2. Know your pitfalls

What is the greatest barrier stopping you for reaching your goal? Make yourself aware of where the greatest challenges lie. Remember, for instance, to always shop on a stable blood sugar level so as not to tempt yourself with unhealthy choices. By being conscious about them, you are more likely to avoid them. If you fall in anyway, then evaluate the reason. Get yourself a ‘lifeline’; a personal trainer or a training partner, who can support you when your motivation falters, or when you fall back into old habits.

3. Make firm training arrangements

Experience shows, that if your begin training by yourself, focusing on, say, weight loss and training, you will be good at changing your lifestyle for a short period of a few weeks. After that, things get tough, and there is noone to support you and remind you of the importance. This is where the risk of falling back into old habits is extremely great. Train together with a partner. Make firm training arrangements. It is too easy to skip training if you do not have a firm agreement as to when. Use each other to support one another by texting together. This can be the difference between failure and success.

4. Train outdoors

Training outdoors is a good way to gain energy. You can run, bike (both MTB or road), and do innumerous strength exercises. Being outdoors absorbing light and inhale fresh air markedly improves your joy of life and helps boost your mood – even if the weather is bad.

5. Combine training for fitness and strength

Combine fitness training (running, swimming, or bike riding) with a round of strength/weight training for the muscles in the same training sessions. With fitness training, the heart rate is increased and your fitness will improve. You burn a lot of calories, and it is often able to decrease your appetite. With weight training, you create an ‘afterburn” of calories for building of muscles, gving you more muscle mass, and thereby increase your at-rest metabolism.

Therefore, you should start your training with some running or riding (a lot of other options) for about 25 minutes, then a weight training programming taking about 15 minutes. A good and simple start of the strength training programme could 3 rounds of 20 repititions (air squats, arm stretches (preferably on your knees), crunches (sit-ups), backbends, and planking for as long as possible. Remember to time it for the 3 rounds.

6. Optimise your training programme

Remember to continuously optimise your training according to wishes, focus areas, and weaknesses. Keep challenging your body, and as you improve, you can turn up the intensity, tempo, durations, and repititions.

7. Consider your diet – drink lots of water

Remember that training cannot stand alone, but that training along with an altered diet makes for a fantastic opportunity for weight loss and improved strength and fitness. Eat healthily (lean meat, plenty of vegetables, a few pieces of fruit and the good fats) – avoid overeating, and remember to drink plenty of water.

8. Get a good night’s sleep

Make sure to get enough sleep. I recommend 7-8 hours of sleep at night, in order for your body to recover, and so that your willpower can stay high al day.

9. Celebrate your victories

As your succeed with your milestones and goals, you need to reward yourself – in short: Remember to celebrate your victories. This should not be done with candy and cakes, but more along the lines of, say, a trip to the cinema, new training outfit (perhaps one size down as you lose weight). Yes, the options are many.

10. Increase energy levels with patches from LifeWave

When we talk about changes in lifestyle, health, sleep, and recovery, there is no getting around talking about the acupuncture patches from LifeWave. I am myself a daily user of the energy patches and I recommend everyone to use the patches for an optimised lifestyle. To me, the patches from LifeWave affords me more energy for training and an increased fat burn (up to 22 percent). The products from LifeWave can also provide faster recovery on a daily basis, faster healing after injuries, improved sleep (with for example the sleeping patch Silent Nights), and increased muscle mass. In shorit, the products from LifeWave is a natural part of my everyday, and I would not like to make do without them.

If you struggle with your weight, then read Knarkegård’s story “The fight against overweight kickstarted with LifeWave” here on the ToHuman blog. The patches from LifeWave helped Knargegård increase the energy levels and motivate him for training. Also read Jan Dibbern’s story “Renewed life energy in 480 days” – about how LifeWave helped him to increased enegery and pain relief, allowing him to continue training and reach his goals.