Monica Morris
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
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1. Get an accountability buddy with similar goals. Even if their goals aren’t similar, you could each work on separate goals and hold each other accountable by checking in or even FaceTiming/video chatting during the scheduled workout time.
2. Communicate your goals to the people in your life , whom you see regularly, so they too can help encourage or support you.
When friends ask me to go out to lunch together or grab a drink, I respond by suggesting that we meet at my gym for a workout or do something physical. This will help shift the dynamic to healthier habits with the people you love or care for.
3. It is said that it takes 21 days to build a habit . That’s first and foremost; something small and attainable just to create a regular time that you get grounded in your body and work towards your gains. The acronym commonly used is SMART , meaning:
S- Small
M- Measurable
A- Attainable
R- Realistic
T- Time sensitive
For those 21 days, set a timer for 10-15 minutes each day and just start with core/abs or stretching. If the goals are too large in the beginning, your brain will develop an aversion to exercise or working out. The task becomes daunting rather than enjoyable. To help facilitate the brain's rewiring, ask yourself after a workout if your mood has improved or if you feel better compared to before the workout. Asking yourself this question helps develop the neural pathways that associate working out with positivity, since the answer will likely always be 'yes, I feel better".
4. Keep a journal, set an alarm, and block off the time on your school/work calendar . Help yourself by helping yourself. People who work out regularly also started somewhere small, so watch for comparing yourself to other peers.
5. After your 21 days of consistency, graduate to 20-minute bouts of training . Rather than off days, just do mobility, so you don't get thrown off when beginning to build a daily routine.
6. For muscle development, at the start, begin with an upper body day and a lower body day . Level up to push, pull, and leg day for 3 workouts a week. There is more "leveling up" to be done, but this would be the first few months.
To gain weight, calorically dense foods help put on weight faster. One unit of fat compared to your other two macros is more than double (9 cal per gram).
With that being said, consume foods that are high in fats like avocado, steak, salmon, etc. Eating foods closer to bedtime (as well as throughout the day) sends a message to the body’s metabolism to store the food rather than burning it off as fuel.
It’s important to distinguish between healthier fats (unsaturated) and unhealthy fats (saturated). To avoid the undesirable side effects of high-fat food plans (high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels), avoid foods high in saturated fats as much as possible.
Hydrating properly and keeping cortisol levels low will also help visceral fat (belly fat) diminish.
In addition, it’s proper etiquette to always wipe down any equipment you have used. It’s appropriate to use one machine at a time until you have completed using it. Using more than one machine at the same time is frowned upon, unless there are a few other gym goers present. Correcting other people‘s form is also frowned upon.
Arbonne (pea protein) - vanilla
Global Formulas (whey protein)
*You can add more ingredients, but definitely add water, ice, and banana for texture.
For protein bars, I like:
Barbell protein bars – chocolate caramel
Power Crunch – chocolate wafer
Quest – blueberry muffin
Built – churro
Always remember that you want to look for a third-party tested protein and watch out for too many unwanted added ingredients. Also, pure protein sources found in fresh foods are preferred over protein supplements . The body digests them better, and often, these protein bars are packed with sugars, but they are better than a low protein intake.
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