Reaching your fitness goals requires immense focus, motivation, and dedication: three things that don’t always come easily. Whether you’re interested in building muscle or improving your health, specific strategies can help you realize those goals faster. Follow these hacks by fitness and health expert Ilija Jahura to improve your chances of success!
Don’t Skip Recovery
This tip may seem counterintuitive to some. You might say, “Wouldn’t it be faster to work out more?” But fitness and health are about the journey; reaching any fitness goal will still take time. If you aren’t focusing on recovery when your body and mind need it, you’re increasing your chances of quitting and giving up.
Listen to your body, and remember to take breaks when you need them. Alternate days when you workout and avoid exercising the same muscle group repeatedly. And schedule some time for some mind/body connection through meditation or yoga to recenter and galvanize yourself for more intense workouts.
Stay Consistent
Regular or low-intensity exercise will always yield better results than sporadic exercise at high intensity. Indeed, you could still see results either way, but if you’re exercising only occasionally, you’re not focusing on building a habit.
Investing time into your overall health is the critical factor here, and whether you have this habit or not could make or break your fitness goal.
One of the easiest ways to stay consistent is to build a ritual around your workout. Try to exercise simultaneously every day if you’re struggling with consistency. But if the rigidness of your consistency starts to work against you, don’t hesitate to be a bit flexible.
Switching up when you work out is okay if it doesn’t fit your schedule. The important thing is that you continue to show up, even in small ways, whenever you can.
Raise the Bar
If you don’t see the results you’re after, take a good look at your workout and ask yourself if it’s still challenging. If you’re starting to plateau, there’s a chance your workout isn’t pushing the limits of your muscles or mind anymore. And when this happens, you can quickly become disinterested and lose sight of your goals.
Don’t be afraid to increase intensity safely. Short-term workouts at a higher intensity can even be as efficient as longer workouts if you’re short on time. HIIT workouts are a fantastic example, as they’re designed to expend a lot of energy quickly to burn calories and assist with fat loss.
Who Is Ilija Jahura?
Based out of Kelowna, British Columbia, Ilija Jahura is a health and fitness expert focused on helping clients achieve their goals. His individualized approach to diet, muscle development, and cardio health cater to each client’s needs.
His passion for seeing clients succeed stretches far beyond their fitness achievements — his real goal is to get people to feel confident and happy in their bodies.
