By Matt Norris - Personal Trainer www.3dtraining.co.nz

Your wedding is coming up and you feel like everything is getting a little too much and, to top it off, you have your dress fitting coming up in a month and you haven’t started your exercise regime yet. Don’t worry, I know that it’s not the easiest habit for most people and especially when you have a wedding to organise. But don’t beat yourself up about it. The important thing is that you’re reading this and if you follow these simple steps you will be able achieve your goal of feeling great on your wedding day.

Why do most people have trouble making exercise a regular habit? 

There are lots of different reasons but here are the main three I see in my job each day.

1. Too difficult. People start out with a bang and set themselves a big goal. “I’m going to go to the gym for an hour every day!” For most- this goal is too difficult to sustain.
2. Too many goals. Often we set out to do too much. We want to train everyday, eat really healthily, stop smoking, cut out chocolate, stop drinking coffee, try a new class etc etc. This makes it easy to lose focus on those small sustainable steps that we sometimes need to take just one at a time. 
3. Not enough expert advice leading us to fail. People have started exercise routines and failed and failed time and time again and because of this it doesn’t leave us with much faith to trying again. You may be thinking right now - Is it really worth my time, effort and money? Well is going round and round in a circle what you want to be doing, or taking advice from a friend because they read something in a magazine?!

The 4 Simple Steps To Succeed!

So how do we solve those problems? Keep it simple. Here are 4 simple steps to start your exercise habit (and keep it going).

1. Set one easy, specific goal.

Write it down, tell a friend, hang those tight jeans on the front of your wardrobe!  

Start Easy- make it achievable. You will be amazed at how great you feel when you meet your first goal, and then you will want to set a new one! You can build on this!

Be Specific- plan exactly what days, what times and what form of exercise you are going to do! You even need to plan how long for - so I am going to run for 15 minutes, and do 3 sets of 10 push ups and 10 sit ups, Mon-Fri as soon as I wake up at 7am. This will give you little room to fail!

2. Tick as you go

Log your workouts in your diary, in your phone or on your fridge - you will feel great for ticking that off once it’s complete and so guilty if you don’t get around to it that you will become accountable to yourself! Write down exactly what you have done and you may even want to impress yourself and do a bit extra so you can log it down.

3. Report to others.

Tell your friends, family, colleagues…whoever will listen! This is what you are going to do and this is what you’re going to stick to! Not only will you be accountable to them, you will have that extra support!

4. Add motivation and reward yourself.

The first three steps might be enough for you to get the habit going. But if not, don’t just give up. If you start to fall off the wagon you need to look at why, and add a new motivation. If you reach your weekly workout target, are you going to treat yourself to a coffee from your favourite café this weekend… or if you reach your weight loss goal, are you going to buy yourself that top you’ve been eyeing up? This should help you re-focus and get back on track.

5. Ask for help!

If you have tried before, like really tried and failed, seeking advice will be a good move for you. It is important that your time is spent wisely and that you are seeing results from what you are doing. Ask the team at your local gym, seek advice from a friend that has had some great results, or better still invest some money in a Personal Trainer.

About the author:

Matt is the owner of 3D Training and founder of The Quick Fat Loss diet.

"Training my clients so they look and feel fantastic on their wedding day is so rewarding for me - I love helping people fit into their dress, and wear it with confidence and pride.

Shaping your perfect body is most brides' number one stress. Let me help you - leaving you more time to worry about the venue, flowers and where your great Auntie is going to sit! This is supposed to be a happy time, not a struggle! I now have the great pleasure of writing for weddings.co.nz, so  I can now help more bride-to-be’s succeed on their path to their big day. 
I’m here to help so please, if you have any health and fitness related questions or have article topic suggestions - don’t hesitate to ask."

For more help go to www.3dtraining.co.nz