Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. 6:30am alarm. Snooze. 6:39am. Snooze. 6:48am. Snooze. [Cue my husband grabbing my phone and throwing it across the room so I’m forced to physically get out of bed to retrieve it.]
Sound familiar? If you are anything but an upholder, you have probably snoozed, procrastinated, or flaked out on something …even things that you know will make you happy. Thankfully, we can enlist people to help throw our phones across the room, or other less aggressive but equally effective forms of accountability management. Here are 4 great ways to use an accountability partner/team to help you meet your body month goals (or any goal really):
1. Partner Up with a Friend/Team: This is probably my favorite strategy. In fact, the ONLY time that I have successfully been able to call myself a gym rat (6x a week for 9 weeks straight before an injury :-/) was when my husband and I started a program together. If I would sleep through an alarm (noticing a trend?) he would wake me up. If he got stuck in a late-night Netflix time-loop (which is a real, scientifically proven form of time-looping), I would shut the TV off. In this case, it’s good to enlist someone who you have close contact with, like a significant other, roommate, sibling, parent, best friend, etc.
Currently, I am doing a program called CIZE and Shakeology (Interested in this program? E-mail me at whatshappyning@gmail.com) I love both the workout and the shakes, but honestly don’t know if I would have the same results if I didn’t have my accountability team, “Ignite the Fight”. We are in touch via text, phone or social media, every day sharing inspiration and updates. This could be the missing ingredient to successfully shaping the body you envision for yourself.
2. Get a Personal Trainer/Fitness Coach: Even though I grew up as the daughter of an inspirational personal trainer, one of my body gurus, Rebecca Manning, I still didn’t see the full potential of having a fitness coach, myself. As my mom, she already clocked enough time telling me what to do growing up, I wasn’t trying to enlist her for another hour or two, especially not to get my ass handed to me in the form of burpees and sprints. So this precious resource was mostly wasted. Man, do I regret that…
If those bodies aren’t motivation enough…
This month (Body Month), while making a conscious effort to move more and eat cleaner, I stumbled across Meredith- an acquaintance I had lost touch with since college. She brought me on to her fitness team and has invested hours and hours into making sure that I stay on track, all from states away! Finding a coach that really cares about me has made me a true believer. I now realize the importance of those 6am phone calls my mom would make to her alarm-snoozing clients. After all, when someone like my mom or Meredith gets up to call your sleepy-ass, you better wakeup and put your sneakers on. After some time with the team, I decided to try a hand at coaching myself, and have already started building a team!
When the obstacles of daily life come into play, there is no failsafe as beneficial as a fitness coach/personal trainer. Find one that really cares about you because they’re out there, and you deserve it.
3. Start a Challenge/Train for a Race with a Group:
Do your eyes light up at the thought of a little friendly competition? I know mine do! If you are more motivated by the pressure to win than the pressure to participate, harness this energy and start a challenge. Sign up for a 5K, 10K or MARATHON and start laying down the smack talk. Sometimes friendly banter is the best fuel for a morning run. Even if you lose, you always have the rematch! But be careful… kicking your friend’s/sister’s/boyfriend’s/etc. ass is the most addicting form of accountability! 🙂
4. Post Your Goals & Progress on Social Media: What good is a network of millions of people if not to keep you accountable every time you say “I’m eating clean!” or “I want to lose 10lbs by next month”? Trust me, you do not want to be the boy/girl who cried vegan. If the fear of breaking a promise to one person doesn’t keep you accountable, maybe your entire social network will. Plus, you’ll be surprised at the outpouring of support you’ll get to give you that extra boost of energy to keep going.
Looking for a fitness team to keep you accountable? Want me as your fitness coach?Interested in hearing specifics about how you can kickstart your body journey? E-mail me at whatshappyning@gmail.com. I can’t wait to give you all the tools I have to offer! What is your experience with accountability? Share in the comments!
