In Step 1, you determined “Where you are at!” (see FitBit, Friday 1/7/05).  In Step 2, you determined “Where you want to be!” (see FitBit, Tuesday, 1/11/05).  Today, in Step 3, I am going to share a simple process for making dramatic changes to you, your personality and your life.  This process has worked for hundreds of years, is working now and will continue to work for hundreds of years into the future.  This process has been used by many of the world’s great achievers and is, in fact, the secret behind their great success.

Surprisingly, this process was never meant to be a secret.  In fact, Benjamin Franklin detailed this process in his autobiography.  (“Ben Franklin’s Autobiography” was on the recommended reading list I prepared for you in one of last years Fitbits).  Ben Franklin meant to give you and all mankind, a stellar process for self-improvement.  Ben desired to impart his wisdom on you to give you the opportunity to maximize all the talents given to you.  Not just for you to share the joy of great achievement, not just for you to share the joy of becoming a mighty force of nature, but for you to use all of your talent to make the world a better place. 

If you are going to use this process, you must make some attitude adjustments.  It is unfortunate that we live in such a negative world, with so many negative people and ideas.  You cannot be positive if you are surrounded by negative.  You must extricate yourself from the negativity.  You must disassociate yourself from negative people, regardless of who they are:  family, friends, coworkers, employers, employees, etc. You cannot rise to the clouds if your associates are dragging you through the mud.  Associate yourself with positive people of the highest quality.  It is far, far better to be alone than in negative company.

Whether you begin this process alone or with a few high quality people, you must dedicate yourself to this process of fulfilling your destiny.  You begin this process by review of Steps 1 and 2.  Pick one of the personality characteristics that you want to improve.  For example:  You are an impatient person that constantly interrupts and cuts people off when they are talking to you.  You want to become more patient.  You want to stop interrupting. 

Take a sheet of paper, small notebook, journal or something similar that you can keep with you at all times.  Write “PATIENCE” at the top of the sheet.  Draw a line down the center of the sheet vertically.  Divide the rest of the sheet horizontally in seven sections representing the seven days of the week.  Designate each section by the seven days.  When you finish you will have seven sections to the left of the vertical line that you will label “+” at the top and seven sections to the right of the vertical line that you will label “-“.

Beginning Monday, you will give yourself a checkmark on the “+” side every time you exhibit patience and you will give yourself a checkmark on the “-“ side every time you exhibit impatience, at the end of the day before you go to sleep you will add the “+” and “-“ checkmarks and put the totals in the appropriate section.  Whether you are pleased or not with your performance is irrelevant.  The process is to strive for improvement everyday.  This process does not require perfection.  All that is required is that you keep taking action everyday to take “patient” action and avoid “impatient” action.  You only need to keep taking appropriate actions leading to the result of becoming a “patient” person.

Work on your “characteristic” for a full week.  After the week is over you can decide if you want to continue or move on to another “characteristic”.  The same process works on every other goal you set for the year.  For example:  You want to develop expertise as a “Sports Conditioning Specialist”.  You determine the best course of action to accomplish your goal.  One of the IFPA’s most popular certification courses is the Certified Sports Conditioning Specialist, but I noticed that the completion rate is somewhat lower than that of the IFPA Certified Personal Trainer course.

You can make all of the excuses you want and come up with some very good reasons why you can’t get it done, but it always comes down to discipline.  The process provides you with discipline and accountability.  Use this process to force yourself to spend some time everyday working to complete your goal.  Use this process to complete ALL your goals!

I have provided you with a very simple and remarkably natural process that will lead you to accomplishing all your goals.

Now I must warn you that regardless of how much you may “need” to use this process, you must “want” to use this process.  It is far, far easier to go home every night, watch T.V. and fall asleep.  It is far, far easier to remain precisely where you are and not make any effort to achieve anything.  That is commonplace.  I warned you when I began that over 97% of people fail to achieve their goals.  If you are going to be among those high quality, positive few that choose to be uncommon, it is going to require courage, indomitable spirit, steadfast determination and perseverance.

Transformation:

How to Take Them from Sedentary to Active - Part 3

By Wayne L. Westcott, PhD

HOW TO TEACH:  CREATING THE DIALOGUE

Most exercise enthusiasts are self-motivated and require little more than good instruction to initiate a regular training program. However, the typical sedentary individual needs both education and motivation to become an exercise participant. We strive to provide a positive, productive exercise experience for our new members. The following 10 teaching guidelines have proven helpful in this regard; they will take you through a useful “dialogue” with the new exerciser.

1. Clear Training Objectives. Let trainees know specifically what you expect them to accomplish during the workout. Example: “Tim, this is exactly what I want you to do today.”

2. Concise Instruction/Precise Demonstration. Tell and show participants precisely how to perform the exercises. Example, “Tim, this is exactly how I want you to perform the leg extension exercise.”

3. Attentive Supervision. Many inactive individuals lack confidence in their physical ability and are reticent to perform exercise without supervision. Observe them carefully.  Observation is a motivating factor for most new exercisers. Example: “Tim, I’ll watch as you perform your leg extension repetitions.”

4. Appropriate Assistance. To assure proper exercise performance, it is often necessary to provide some form of manual assistance. This may mean assisting participants onto a machine, helping them fasten a seat belt or guiding them through an exercise movement.  Example: “Tim, I’ll guide you through the first repetition to establish the proper exercise form.”

5. One Task at a Time. Projecting a series of performance tasks may be confusing to new exercisers. Give one directive at a time to increase the probability that they will successfully complete each task. Example: “Tim, all I want you to do is exhale as you lift the weight.”

6. Gradual Progression. Progress slowly when teaching people with little exercise experience. Don’t introduce a follow-up task until the first task has been mastered.  Example: “Okay, Tim, this time I want you to inhale as you lower the weight.”

7. Positive Reinforcement. Most new exercisers experience uncertainty over their training efforts. Positive comments, personal compliments or pats on the shoulder are simple reinforcers. Example: “Good job, Tim. You are making excellent progress.”

8. Specific Feedback. Positive reinforcement is more meaningful when it is coupled with specific feedback. Giving a reason for your positive comment increases its value as an educational and motivational tool. Example: “Good job, Tim. You performed every repetition through the full movement range.”

9. Careful Questioning. New participants may not volunteer information that could be useful in their program design, so ask how they are responding to the exercise experience. Example: “Tim, tell me where you feel the effort in this exercise.”

10. Pre- and Post-exercise Dialogue. Try to sandwich the exercise experience between an arriving and a departing dialogue. A couple of minutes before and after each workout to obtain the participants’ perspectives is time well spent. Example: “Tim, thanks for exercising with us today. I think you did a great job, but I would like to hear your impressions of the workout.”

TRANSFORMING THE INACTIVE

Generally speaking, fitness professionals have not so far had a major impact on the majority of Americans who are essentially non-exercisers. However, through our efforts at the Y, we have discovered it is possible to create successful programming for new exercisers.

You can use your expertise and imagination to effectively reach out to this unique group. You are likely to find—as we have—that little can compare with the satisfaction of helping inactive clients transform themselves into regular exercisers.