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Break Free from Dead-End Fitness Routines
With more than two-thirds of the US population clocking in as overweight or obese, we are a country in need of a healthy change. Even those who work out regularly find themselves stuck in a rut, plateauing with their weight loss, or even losing ground and gaining back the weight. "There are people are exercising much longer than I am and not getting the workout that they want," says fitness expert Dan Nguyen. "Year after year, people are going to the gym, but they're not getting the results."
Each of these exercise tips can serve as anchors to create momentum and inspiration for an effective workout and help you boost your fitness routine at the gym and the get the results you want faster.
1. Set Your Intention and Focus On It: Dan explains that focus is what's missing. "A lot of people go to the gym and they're 'walking zombies.' There's no focus. I tell my clients, even when you walk into the gym, focus on what you're doing that day," he says. Focus allows you to create a vision of where you want your body to go. "Today, I went to the gym and I worked on my abs. It probably took me 10 minutes to finish on my abs because every crunch, every movement, I see that picture, I visualize that in my mind first, and by doing that I create a direction where my body goes," he believes.
1. Set Your Intention and Focus On It: Dan explains that focus is what's missing. "A lot of people go to the gym and they're 'walking zombies.' There's no focus. I tell my clients, even when you walk into the gym, focus on what you're doing that day," he says. Focus allows you to create a vision of where you want your body to go. "Today, I went to the gym and I worked on my abs. It probably took me 10 minutes to finish on my abs because every crunch, every movement, I see that picture, I visualize that in my mind first, and by doing that I create a direction where my body goes," he believes.
2. Visualize Your Actions as Achieving Your Goals: We have the power to see our way to melting fat while exercising. "I'm able to do cardio for 15 or 20 minutes and I'm breaking a sweat because when I get on the elliptical machine, even the first step I take, I visualize the fat melting from my abs and I see that picture so clearly that the body felt is melting," explains. Dan. "The person to my left is reading a book. There's no focus, there's no intention behind the workout. The person to my right is watching TV. They're going through what I call the walking trance; they're just doing the motion of the workout." He continues that he is able to accomplish his workout after 20 minutes he is breaking a sweat and getting off the elliptical.
3. Anchor Your Focus So You Can Easily Return to It: Music is a great way to support focus during your workout. "I like to listen to upbeat music," Dan says. "It really gets me going, and I listen to similar beats every day. When I put my headset on, it becomes an anchor, or a trigger for me to go into that state of focus. Listening to music is a benefit to your workout because you're able to anchor yourself and get into that state easily."
4. Embody the Energy of your Goals:
Dan Nguyen (pronounced WIN) is a fitness behavior expert and creator of the Absin8 fitness program. An authority on the mind-muscle connection, Dan is a certified trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) also certified as a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a brain-training process that boosts effectiveness.
3. Anchor Your Focus So You Can Easily Return to It: Music is a great way to support focus during your workout. "I like to listen to upbeat music," Dan says. "It really gets me going, and I listen to similar beats every day. When I put my headset on, it becomes an anchor, or a trigger for me to go into that state of focus. Listening to music is a benefit to your workout because you're able to anchor yourself and get into that state easily."
4. Embody the Energy of your Goals:
- Visual: Just find a picture of someone that has the abs that you want and imagine you're floating into that picture and imagine what it feels like to be that person.
- Auditory: What does it sound like once you reach your goal? Maybe you hear friends and family giving you compliments.
- Sensory: What does your body feel like when you accomplish that goal? How will you stand? How will you breathe?
Dan Nguyen (pronounced WIN) is a fitness behavior expert and creator of the Absin8 fitness program. An authority on the mind-muscle connection, Dan is a certified trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) also certified as a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a brain-training process that boosts effectiveness.
