Best Body Exercises For Mass
Staying with It As you continue with your program, don’t be surprised when you run up against obstacles; they’re inevitable. In fact, it’s a good idea to expect problems and give yourself time to step back, see how you’re doing, and make some changes before going on. If your program is grinding to a halt, identify what is blocking your progress. It may come from one of the sources described in the following sections.
Social Influences Take a hard look at the reactions of the people you’re counting on, and see if they’re really supporting you. If they come up short, connect with others who will be more supportive.
A related trap is trying to get your friends or family members to change their behaviors. The decision to make a major behavior change is something people come to only after intensive self-examination. You may be able to influence someone by tactfully providing facts or support, but that’s all. Focus on yourself. When you succeed, you may become a role model for others.
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Levels of Motivation and Commitment You won’t make real progress until an inner drive leads you to the stage of change at which you are ready to make a personal commitment to the goal. If commitment is your problem, you may need to wait until the behavior you’re dealing with makes you unhappier or unhealthier; then your desire to change it will be stronger. Or you may find that changing your goal will inspire you to keep going. For more ideas, refer to Activity 9 in the Behavior Change Workbook. Choice of Techniques and Level of Effort If your plan is not working as well as you thought it would, make changes where you’re having the most trouble. If you’ve lagged on your running schedule, for example, maybe it’s because you don’t like running. An aerobics class might suit you better. There are many ways to move toward your goal. Or you may not be trying hard enough. You do have to push toward your goal. If it were easy, you wouldn’t need a plan.
Stress Barrier If you hit a wall in your program, look at the sources of stress in your life. If the stress is temporary, such as catching a cold or having a term paper due, you may want to wait until it passes before strengthening your efforts.
If the stress is ongoing, find healthy ways to manage it (see Chapter 10). You may even want to make stress management your highest priority for behavior change.
Procrastinating, Rationalizing, and Blaming Be alert to games you might be playing with yourself, so you can stop them. Such games include the following:
• Procrastinating. If you tell yourself, “It’s Friday already; I might as well wait until Monday to start,” you’re procrastinating. Break your plan into smaller steps that you can accomplish one day at a time.
• Rationalizing. If you tell yourself, “I wanted to go swimming today but wouldn’t have had time to wash my hair afterward,” you’re making excuses.
• Blaming. If you tell yourself, “I couldn’t exercise because Dave was hogging the elliptical trainer,” you’re blaming others for your own failure to follow through. Blaming is a way of taking your focus off the real problem and denying responsibility for your own actions.
