Spring Break is less than a month away, and whether you are going to Cabo or Canada, right now can can be a good time to set some goals.
With only one month to work with, huge changes won’t be happening by Spring Break. However, this shouldn’t deter you. Even in just a month, you can make some great lifestyle changes and start to form habits that can build the foundation of a fit lifestyle.
From a beginner’s standpoint, fat loss is "calories in calories out." So you have two options: you can either increase the amount of calories you burn or decrease the amount of calories you consume. Individually, they work fine but combined they are the building blocks for achieving your goals. Workouts are 100% and Diet is Workout.
To change your body, you must elicit enough stress for it to adapt. If you are looking to lose a few pounds before Spring Break, your training program needs to change from what it has become accustomed to. You need to jog longer, cycle faster, or do some interval work.
Interval training has been proven to burn more calories than traditional long, slow distance cardio. A simple 1:1 work-rest ratio is a good place to start. Hop on a bike or treadmill and start out running, or biking, at a high pace for 30 seconds. Slow it down the next 30 seconds, and repeat. You can get more work done in ten or fifteen minutes than some people who just jog at the same pace get done in closer to an hour.
Changing your diet can be complicated and it can easily backfire on you. If you are just trying to get in shape for a sunny beach somewhere, you don’t need to make any drastic changes.
The first step is being mindful of what you are putting into your body. Really think about whether that entire Domino’s pizza is going to help you reach your goals. Start small and slowly build on the progress you make every week.
Begin by cutting out a few things at a time; soda and fast food are a great place to start. Replacing soda with water will keep you more hydrated and help you lose weight. You would be surprised by how much your body can change from just eliminating a few unhealthy things from your diet. There are great food tracking apps out there that you can use to help monitor what you eat and keep you on track with your goals.
The best thing to do, no matter what your goals are, is to make a plan and stick to it. A month might not seem like very long but I challenge you to challenge yourself. Write a plan and stick to it.
You will be surprised by the progress you can make in such a short time. Put the effort in and all your friends will be jealous of your Instagram account for months.
“A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan next week.”
-Gen. George S. Patton
