2025年8月8日
September: the right month to make fitness goals a reality
To exercise more, to eat well and in the right quantity, to have a healthy lifestyle.
These are the main objectives that we set ourselves every year with the arrival of September. However, keeping the helm of the metaphorical boat is by no means easy, because the unexpected is always just around the corner and as Oscar Wilde also said: You can resist anything but temptation.
First, we can state with absolute truthfulness that the good intentions of September tend to materialise more effectively than those of January because they are the result of conscientious personal self-analysis. It is undeniable that in September, after spending the summer at the beach comparing one's physical fitness with many people, even the lazy ones, one decides to get back in shape and with the best intentions, but an important factor is motivation.
A small diversion is enough to trigger a vicious circle in which the sense of guilt you feel after missing a training session or taking a few too many calories can make you believe that none of the good intentions are within your reach. After that, giving up your goals is almost certain, inevitably leading to old habits. Fortunately, however, with a dose of good will and some practical advice, this course can be reversed.
First, we can state with absolute truthfulness that the good intentions of September tend to materialise more effectively than those of January because they are the result of conscientious personal self-analysis. It is undeniable that in September, after spending the summer at the beach comparing one's physical fitness with many people, even the lazy ones, one decides to get back in shape and with the best intentions, but an important factor is motivation.
A small diversion is enough to trigger a vicious circle in which the sense of guilt you feel after missing a training session or taking a few too many calories can make you believe that none of the good intentions are within your reach. After that, giving up your goals is almost certain, inevitably leading to old habits. Fortunately, however, with a dose of good will and some practical advice, this course can be reversed.
Never lose heart
The first suggestion is never to lose heart. Setting a goal and having it clear in your mind is certainly the most important step and not giving in to the first obstacle and looking straight to the finish line is the next logical step. Guilt has a double function: on the one hand, it is advantageous because it discourages the repetition of bad behaviours; on the other hand, it is a huge source of stress and can worsen our mood. The achievement of an objective is linked to the mechanism of self-regulation which is polarised between two phenomena: the fear of failure and motivation.
Do not set unattainable goals
Those who suffer too much from the fear of failure, as well as those who tend to feel too guilty, tend to make generally incoherent choices, setting goals that are sometimes impossible to achieve. Healthy motivation, on the other hand, focuses on reasonable challenges. Trying to lose twenty kilos in a fortnight with a regular fasting regime or running a marathon after a month of occasional training is an impossible mission.
In addition to the criterion of rationality, objectives are really achievable if they also stick to the criterion of measurability: ergo, good intentions need intermediate steps, or at least a compass to help us understand whether we are going in the right direction or not. Moreover, we must never forget that the goals we set ourselves must be calibrated to our real desires, never to the expectations that others have of us.
Why is it so easy to make mistakes? To get an answer to this question, you should probably read entire volumes of neurophysiology. Among the many reasons why people fail to comply with intentions are the so-called reward circuits, those that regulate the feelings of well-being that one feels after a pleasant or virtuous behaviour.
In addition to the criterion of rationality, objectives are really achievable if they also stick to the criterion of measurability: ergo, good intentions need intermediate steps, or at least a compass to help us understand whether we are going in the right direction or not. Moreover, we must never forget that the goals we set ourselves must be calibrated to our real desires, never to the expectations that others have of us.
Why is it so easy to make mistakes? To get an answer to this question, you should probably read entire volumes of neurophysiology. Among the many reasons why people fail to comply with intentions are the so-called reward circuits, those that regulate the feelings of well-being that one feels after a pleasant or virtuous behaviour.
Changing the plan of action
The reward circuits work with different times depending on the stimuli and results: eating half a bar of chocolate when you are not supposed to, can give a feeling of well-being, i.e. a reward, more immediate and short-term than what would come from a possible future weight loss. It is therefore very important to work to strengthen the so-called delayed gratification, i.e. the ability to resist the temptations that promise immediate rewards and wait for a more conspicuous and rewarding future reward.
Another idea, when all roads seem to have been taken and the temptation to give up our goals is strong, is to radically change one's plan of action. In this regard, group training has proven to have incredible results in keeping our intentions strong and achieving our goals. Revolutionising your diet, starting a new sport or hobby and completely overhauling your training routine are great.
Another idea, when all roads seem to have been taken and the temptation to give up our goals is strong, is to radically change one's plan of action. In this regard, group training has proven to have incredible results in keeping our intentions strong and achieving our goals. Revolutionising your diet, starting a new sport or hobby and completely overhauling your training routine are great.
