Accountability

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  If you are an avid gym goer, you probably have noticed that there are busier and slower times of the year, when the gym becomes more or less crowded.  I like to call these the seasons of the gym.  For example, some of the busier times are the beginning of January when everyone is ready to start with their resolutions and overcome their holiday eating, and the late spring when people are gearing up for donning summer clothes.  Similarly, there are the slower seasons, such as the end of January when people have already fallen off of their resolutions, and middle of summer when people are more interested in enjoying the weather than maintaining the body that they had worked so hard for.  Another set of seasons I notice different gym seasons revolve around the beginning and endings of college breaks.  Gyms tend to get crazy crowded in the middle of December and May when colleges let out.  And where I know there are many gym clients who do not like this sudden influx of additional people on machines, I have a bit more compassion for these students who had just finished finals and have handed in term papers.  I was in college long enough to know how much those breaks were needed, and I also remember how much I wasn't a fan of doing term papers.  In fact, I don't think many people are fans of doing term papers.  But why then do we do them?  We do them because we have and/or had to.  The semester's grade was dependent upon it.  That fact is what held you accountable for doing it.  Even when I teach my Jr. high science students, I know that they are much more likely to study when they are preparing for a test, as opposed to just because it would be beneficial to them.  Think about any assignment you had to do for school...there were probably some you enjoyed more than others, but I would bet that a great deal of them were done only because you had to.  And if you didn't, your grade would suffer; that is because you were held accountable for it.  In the same way, you would be much more likely to exercise and/or keep up with a healthy meal plan if you had some form of accountability for doing so.  I'd like to make a few suggestions here on how to do that, because the more accountable you are for something, the more compliant you will be.  Whether you do something because you want to, or because you have to, doing it is what will get you achieving your goals.

          I pride myself on the experience and education that I have to offer my clients who personal train with me.  Heck, I even think my winning personality has a bit to do with my client retention.  But I would be lying if I said I believed that some of the appointments that my clients keep weren't simply because they "had" to.  In fact, sometimes I even express that one of the best aspects of having a personal trainer is simply so that you have an appointment that you need to keep; in other words, an appointment that you will be held accountable for.  Again, I know that I provide my clients with much more than just an appointment time, however having that appointment time certainly creates at least one more need for that person to get to the gym.  Most personal trainers also have some form of cancellation policy, as do many other professionals who work on appointment times.  But with a personal trainer, that policy isn't just a good business practice, it is also creates a requirement on the client, a sense of accountability, to get to the gym.  So one way to construct instant accountability for maintaining an exercise routine is by scheduling sessions with a personal trainer.  Not only do you get all of the proper training techniques offered from that trainer, but you also now have a need to get to the gym.

        Once in the gym, a technique that a personal trainer may use to keep you accountable is through the use of a training journal, or some other means of record keeping.  By keeping track of what you need to do, have done, or plan to do, it puts down in writing what you are capable of.  I have one particular client who uses the phrase "The book don't lie!"  He and I use this phrase when I tell him what weight he needs to use, and the number of repetitions that he needs to complete.  This sets up a "black and white" outline for what he needs to do while in the gym.  In the same way, nutritionists do this as well when they have their clients use food logs/journals.  A food journal can provide a list of the healthy foods and proper portion sizes that you need in order to meet your nutritional goals.  Furthermore, you can use those recommendations to make a shopping list with before you go to the store.  The goal would be to only purchase what you NEED and not what you want.  That in itself is a form of accountability.  But the food journal also does much more.  If you are recording what you are eating, and being honest about it, it is like you are submitting your homework to an instructor when you meet with your nutritionist.  If there is something in that "assignment" that would get you a "poor grade" you certainly would make some changes.  Keeping a journal, whether for exercise or nutritional goals, will help you both set up what you need to do, and then give you a measure to assess what you have done against.

        Another way to establish accountability for your fitness goals is by making your goals public.  This might seem intimidating and may not be for everyone, but by letting others know what you are looking to accomplish, you will establish those who can check in on you.  Obviously the more public you make your goals, the more people there are to give you feedback.  But you can just as effectively create accountability by sharing your goals with only one or a few trusted friends, family members and/or partners.  Politicians are often judged by whether or not they have fulfilled their campaign promises.  They are held accountable by their constituents.  In a much more private way, individuals in recovery programs communicate their actions with a sponsor.  In both cases, accountability is set up where one person sets forth their goals to at least one other person, and then those other people are always there to help make sure that the individual stays on track to meet their goals.  Your health and fitness should be taken just as seriously, and meeting your goals becomes much easier if you have others holding you accountable for staying on track.  To do this, you can either post your goals on a social media site that you use so others can ask/see how you are progressing.  Or, you can have a friend be a fitness sponsor...someone you share your goals with that you can check in with to make sure you are doing all you can to meet them.

         There are lot of different things that are the motivation for people to get something done.  Valuing your health and wanting to stay fit should be enough motivation to stay active and eat healthy.  But, we know that isn't always true all of the time for most of us.  So, we need to come up with another way to stay motivated, or at least have some reason to eat right and exercise.  Finding a way to be accountable for your actions could be that factor.  For most of us, there is a much greater chance that we will do something, even things that we aren't too fond of like doing homework assignments, if we know we will be held accountable for doing so.  We might not have the incentive of getting a particular grade on a report card, but by being accountable to something or someone will give you the incentive to keep up with your goals.  Being accountable for what you do, is a motivating way to be a fit new you!