1. Start with WHY: In fitness, your WHY is extremely important; it’s the one thing that will propel you toward success no matter the challenges you face or the feedback you get from naysayers.
2. Perfect motivator: Finding a trainer who invests in you emotionally and mentally, the way you are going to invest in them financially, is key. If your trainer sees you as a dollar sign and not as a person with a goal, they won’t challenge you in the right ways, no matter what you’re aiming to achieve.
3. Get your ZZZ’s: You can’t go to bed at midnight and expect to be in the gym for fasted cardio at 5 a.m. and perform at your best. Sleep is so important for your body’s recovery, for upping your energy levels and for maintaining your sanity!
4. It starts in the kitchen: When it comes to competition diets, it’s not about starvation, it’s about fueling your body with multiple meals and portion control so your metabolism speeds up and helps you push harder, burn fat faster and build healthy muscle. Your trainer can only do so much.
5. Eat for function, not for fun: Every 2.5-3 hours should be “feeding time.” To keep your metabolism moving, don’t ever skip meals, especially breakfast. It’s not about what your body wants, but what it NEEDS — once you realize that, you’ll be able to eat your food hot, cold, on a plate, in a Ziploc, with a fork or with your bare hands!
6. Progress, not perfection: Does the scale know when pants fit looser, when skin feels tighter, when you’ve got more energy and stamina, or when you see someone different in the mirror? Trust the process and don’t worry about a number.
7. Cut out the negative noise: Only 5% of people are willing to do whatever it takes to follow through on their fitness goals. Building a strong support system will help you focus on what matters most by surrounding yourself with people who will lift you higher.
8. Be your own trophy: Being fit is about being the healthiest version of yourself possible and believing you are beautiful the way you are. Use people and their work ethic as inspiration, don’t envy or hope to become them. And whatever you do, don’t aim to just LOOK fit, aim to BE fit.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
› Christine Corson is the Director of Public Relations & Marketing at the InterContinental Miami Hotel and serves on the Board of Directors for the Arts & Business Council of Miami. She recently competed in the 2015 IFBB/NPC Prestige Crystal Cup and earned two trophies during the competition; BodyByCC.com.
