Exercise—and weightlifting especially—is a great way to shut off your neurotic brain and tap into your physical power.
Ultimately, however, you have to incorporate your brain into your fitness lifestyle. After all, our brains are what’s stopping many of us from starting our healthier, stronger life in the first place. Our brain is where our healthy behavior has to start.
So how do we get our brain on board with the program?
“Just get up and do it” can be an effective instruction. The goal there is to stop you from thinking and start your actual physical motion. But “not thinking about it” only takes you so far.
What your brain needs to understand are the coherent stages between “couch potato” and “chiseled titan of exercise.”
Fortunately, a lot of women have walked that path, and done it right here in Bradenton, too. Want to know more about changing your behavior? Keep reading.
Step 1: Absolutely Nothing
OK, technically they call this “precontemplation.” But in the fitness world this is sometimes referred to as the “do nothing stage.” This is where you’re at before you’re even considering an exercise regimen.
Yes, even if you’re reading this as you lie on the couch with Cheeto’s crumbs in your shirt, you are still achieving Step 1 of your behavioral evolution. Congratulations! Everybody starts here.
Step 2: Awareness
The second step of behavior change happens when you become conscious of the need for change. Not when someone else tells you what to do, but when you yourself realize you want to change your life for the better.
Technically, if you’re in Bradenton and you’re reading this Bradenton women’s fitness blog, you’re moving from Step 1 to Step 2. Your brain is trying to find a way to get your body going.
This step takes a ton of courage and a good deal of confidence. Good for you, you absolute hero. Keep going.
Step 3: Preparation
So, what mode of changing your life appeals most to you? A knowledgeable professional personal trainer to hold you accountable? A joyous, supportive group class to add that energetic social dynamic to your life? Have you considered a Bradenton gym, created and led by women, for women only?
Lana’s is your third-stage behavioral change achievement. You’re almost there.
Step 4: Action
All right, you think a big game. Now let’s do something about it.
Maybe you’ve gotten to this stage before, but never gotten past it. Fair enough. For a lot of people, “action” is the hardest step. But that’s no excuse.
This is where the “just get up and do it” has to happen. You’ve walked your brain through the first three steps. You’ve built that mental foundation. Now put it to good use.
So here’s where you take action, and here’s how you do it. Today. Right this very moment, if possible:
- Sign up for a small group class. You can even sign up online, and your first class is free.
- Sign up for a free, one-on-one consultation with one of our own professional, certified personal trainers. Again, all you have to do is reach out by phone, or by email, for more info.
Lana’s boutique gym for women is conveniently located in central Bradenton, right here on Cortez Road. You don’t get to move on to the next step until you’ve made this one.
Step 5: Accomplishment
Congratulations!! If you’re reading this, then we know you’ve already taken initial action on your new exercise habit, and you have earned some heartfelt compliments. Well done, you.
But the fifth and final step in behavioral change gets you more than a few kind words from a fitness blog. Maybe it’s the “well done” from your trainer or the hugs from your classmates. Maybe it’s the time immediately after your workout, when all of the chemicals in your body are saying, “HECK YEAH, THAT WAS AWESOME!”
Maybe your achievement comes the next day, when you feel just a little sore, and that soreness is like a pat on the back that keeps reminding you of what you’ve already accomplished.
Your sense of accomplishment is what fuels you going forward. It’s what turns your first single action into a long-term habit.
Because you know what? That sense of accomplishment only lasts so long. You have to keep earning it.
Now that you’ve gotten to step five, don’t turn back. Keep going. We’re here for you.
