Project Transformation: Do the “Don’ts” for Making 2008 Your Year of Fitness (Part 2)

5 Critical Don’ts to Observe for Making Your Fitness Plan Work

It’s that time of the year again. You’ve seen the commercials on televisions. You’ve heard the spots on the radio. You’ve seen the well-sculpted, slender bodies. You’ve seen the rippling muscles. You’ve seen the tight butts and sexy legs. You’re tempted to respond, to buy into the hype. Yes, you’ve heard and seen all of the new member specials at your local gym or health club. You think to yourself, “This is the year that I will get into shape.” You tell yourself, “I’m going to walk everyday, diet, and workout six times a week.” Ah yes, the much ballyhooed New Year’s resolutions; these things and more you plan to do for 2008.

While it’s great to talk about all you will do, consider what you won’t do. That is, in the midst of your do’s, consider the “don’ts” as well. Your don’ts are just as crucial as your do’s to helping you improve your plan for health. With that in mind, consider the following five (5) don’ts for setting a solid foundation for your 2008 physical fitness.

4. Don’t Believe in Spot Reduction.

You’ve probably heard previously the phrase, “spot reduction.” If not, let me use one example to illustrate it.

Some people go into exercising thinking that if they do a million crunches, they will magically shrink their guts and waistlines. I have one word for that: bull. Let me let you in on a little secret.

At the beginning of Project Transformation, I had a gut that was very pronounced. It was an embarrassment to me. Rarely would I wear my shirts out, as the visual lines were not flattering and only served to emphasize just how distended my stomach was from the rest of my body. For the four months that I’ve given to the project, I’ve only done about six sets total of targeted abdominal exercises. Seriously. Out of the hundreds of sets, and thousands of reps done over these past four months, I’ve only done about six sets of abs exercises.

So what of my gut? Well, I’ve gone from wearing a 44 in the waist to wearing a 40 (and the 40-inch pants are starting to get rather baggy). My stomach is about 1/3 the size it was previously.

What’s my point here?

You need to work your entire body to see results in a particular area. You need to work all of your muscle groups, especially the large ones, if you want to burn fat all around. Circuit training and split-body workouts are good in this regard.

Moreover, if you over-train one area of your body, you set yourself up for potential injury because of the under-training of other related areas. Think of your muscles as a system. Large muscles are supported by smaller muscles; work both for balanced development and greater overall strength.

5. Don’t Try to Hit a Home Run in Your First At-Bat

Finally, as you start your fitness for the year, don’t overdo it the first few times. Otherwise, you will only be in the gym a few times for the entire year.

Underestimate your level of fitness rather than overestimating it. Take it easy the first couple of times in. Remember this (and it might come as a shock to some of you): you can’t reach your goals in just one workout!

Use the first two-to-three weeks to get your body used to exercising consistently and to get over the initial soreness you will feel.

To determine where and how you should start your fitness plan, take a fitness test. Ask trainers or personnel at your gym or health club about fitness tests you can take. Don’t be discouraged by the results. Use the results as a starting point. After a few weeks of working at your starting level, gradually increase your workout intensity and duration.


Do the “Don’ts” for Making 2008 Your Year of Fitness (Part 2) by
Dennis J. Colwell, is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.