Getting in Shape...Where to Start?

Lee Spence, an experienced personal trainer at Wellington's Platinum Habit Health & Fitness Club, offers you some invaluable tips on kicking your new fitness regime off with the right foot.

Many people are unable to find the time to fit a gym session into their busy schedule, so I can only imagine how a bride-to-be must feel. Attempting to find that spare time to workout, when your life is that much crazier, must seem like the hardest thing in the world. However, here are a few tips to keep you focused and set you on your way.
1.    Take the First (Small) Step
Don't keep putting it off! If exercise isn't really a part of your lifestyle, finding the 'right time' to start isn't going to get any easier. Make a decision to get started as soon as possible. This doesn't mean running out and joining the first gym you see, but rather making an effort to find ways to fit exercise into your daily life. This could be as simple as getting off the bus four stops earlier then yours, taking the stairs instead of the lift or tackling some vigorous housework.
2.    Be Realistic
Once you've completed Step One, it's time to start planning. How much time do you have available each week, and what would you like to achieve before the big day? If you are four weeks out from your wedding and can only train once a week, then deciding to lose 15kg is probably a bit too big of a stretch. If you have the opportunity, speak to a personal trainer at a gym who can discuss your ambitions with you and realistically plan a time scale in which you can complete them.
3.    Get Motivated
Find out what really makes you tick and use it as much as you can. It could be anything - a picture of you and your partner when you first met, the measurements of your dress, a particular song - whatever will help keep you going when you would normally want to stop. And if you know in advance that your motivation is severely lacking, organise someone to motivate you. It doesn't have to be a personal trainer (although it will help). Schedule reminders in your Blackberry or email. Let everyone know that you are starting your regime, and then see their reaction when you tell them that you just don't have the time to exercise this week.
4.    Team Up
Find yourself someone to train with each week. A little competitiveness never hurt anyone, and the support you'll take from each other will certainly help you through it.
5.    Log It
It might seem like a chore, but note down what you're doing and when. There are a lot of benefits to be had from this. The main two are that you're going to be able to chart your progression (motivating in itself), whilst also being able to see what works for you and what doesn't. That 6am run that you forced yourself to do made you grumpy for the rest of the day, while the 1pm yoga class perked you up right through to bedtime. There's only one winner there! You'll want to note down what activity you did, the time of day that you did it and how long it took you to do it. Mark it on a scale of 1-10 difficulty and whether or not you enjoyed yourself.
6.    Have Fun
It is a cliche, but that doesn't mean that it's not true. The more you enjoy your excercise, the more likely you are to stick to it!

- Lee Spence, Personal Traininer, Habit Health & Fitness