The first and most important point I want to make is that despite the fact that I have to generalise to some degree in writing this article, each and every person who reads it is unique. It is my aim and hope that you may be able to apply some of the following criteria to your particular situation.

I separate my consultations into three separate sections, past, present and future, in order to prepare my clients mentally for the changes and challenges to which they are about to make a commitment.

Firstly, and most importantly we reflect back on their past experiences. If we don’t learn from our pasts we will continually repeat history. Humans are innately habitual creatures and without conscious thought and decision we repeat patterns of behaviour in every aspect of our lives. For example, you tell yourself that you will open the box of biscuits and have just one with your cup of tea, then somehow the whole box has gone, and that will not be the first time thatthat has happened!

• What exercise/sport did you find the most enjoyable?
- Has there ever been a particular activity or an instructor that held your interest for longer than normal (maybe you gave it up as you had to move out of the area, etc)

• What exercise/sport have you found the least enjoyable?
- How likely are you to stick to a programme that you really don’t enjoy? What will become more tempting – your exercise or the sofa and a bar of chocolate!

• How do you feel/think about your past exercise programmes?
- e.g. did you feel uncomfortable/nervous/intimidated in the gym? Were you scared that when you got out of breath you would never breathe again?

• Have you achieved the goals you set yourself in the past, and what were those goals?
- If YES what happened after they were achieved? What happened immediately after to your motivation and to your longer term motivation? Often, once a goal is achieved, if a new one is not set immediately then there can be a negative impact on motivation – well, I’ve done my marathon, that’s enough running for one life time.

- If NO How do you feel about that? What barriers stopped you achieving your goals? Were your goals realistic in the first place? How would you know you had achieved your goals (e.g., what did you mean by “get a bit fitter”/”lose a little weight”) if they are not easily measured?

When you’ve had a chance to reflect on and contemplate the above questions, do you notice any patterns in your answers? Do your attempts always last roughly the same length of time before coming to an end? Is the reason for ending your programme always the same, even if at first glance it seems different they may have a theme, such as time restrictions – kids went on school holidays, work got really hectic, a relative came to stay? Being aware of your patterns of behaviour is a big step in changing them.

So, at this point we take a little step forward to the PRESENT.
Looking at yourself in the present moment may sound easy, but it takes more awareness and honesty to reflect on how you are here and now, than it does to look back; they say hindsight is a wonderful thing! The best time for this is a quiet moment alone (the presence of even trusted loved ones complicates the situation as our perception of what they will think of us will come into play): a quiet moment alone will give you the chance to think carefully and be open and non-judgemental about yourself. Women in particular, but not exclusively, find letting go of self-judgement tricky to do, so do not be hard on yourself if you do not manage it first time.

Whilst in a relaxing, comfortable place, think about:

• WHERE you imagine you are with your fitness now?
- e.g. how strong you are, how flexible, or how is your endurance, etc

• WHAT time constraints do you have on your exercise programme?
- There is no point starting an unrealistic programme that calls for 3 hours a day if you are working a 40 hour+ job and have a family = you are only setting yourself up for failure

• WHAT time in your day do you have the most energy?
- One of the most common questions I get is “when is the best time of day to train” my answer is simply – “whenever you have the most energy”

• WHAT is motivating you to start exercising?
- A comment from an unkind co-worker? Medical advice? Inspired by watching the London Marathon? What is it about it that is inspiring you to exercise? How can you capture this inspiration so you can remind yourself when times are tough? (one of my clients carried a photo of himself at his heaviest so that he could look at when he felt the desire to snack, whilst another had a photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger above his PC to inspire him to get to the gym).

• HOW important is it to you to initiate the changes you are aiming for?
- What are the consequences to YOU of sticking to an exercise programme (both positive – healthier, slimmer, more confident - and negative – less time with family, sore muscles) vs. the consequences of NOT sticking to an exercise programme (again, both positive –plenty of time to be with family/friends – and negative – poor health, get fatter, feel sluggish).

• HOW motivated are you to change?
- On a scale of one to ten how motivated do you feel to start an exercise programme? If it is less than 8, what can you do to get it up to a 8-10 out of 10?

Compare these answers against the next stage, which is to think about the FUTURE.
This is often the part people find easy when using very generalised terms, for example “I want to get fit and tone up, but such objectives are too vague, and more specific goals are required to help keep you more focused and allow you to see when you have achieved what you set out to achieve!
For example, if you want to run for 5km without stopping, then it will be very clear when you have achieved your goal... On the flip side, how do you know when you’ve reached your goal of being fit? It is always possible to get fitter or stronger, trust me – I am the eternal perfectionist with my own training and fitness regime, and there is forever a higher standard that I’m stretching for, so if I was simply striving to be strong, I would never feel I had achieved anything and my confidence would suffer as a result. With this in mind, ask yourself:

• WHERE would you like to be in terms of your personal fitness
- e.g., more flexible (able to touch toes) /cardiovascular fitness (be able to run 5km) /strength (able to do 20 push ups, 50 ab crunches and 50 squats without stopping).

• DETAILS of your goals (both the overall, long term goal and more short term goals that act as stepping stones towards your overall goal)

• TIME FRAME how quickly do you want to achieve your goals? We have all left our homework to the last minute at some point.

• IMAGINE yourself achieving your goals and how it will happen, as well as how will it feel?

Now you have all the information, what do you do with it? When you’ve noticed the most obvious patterns in your behaviour, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

• WHAT do I need to do more of in order to succeed?
• WHAT do I need to do less of in order to succeed?

With the awareness you now have of your previous experiences, can you pick out the barriers or blocks that have hampered your previous exercise regimes? For example, work took over, or too much to do with the family. I find preparation is the key to beating these barriers. Try writing a list of your most common reasons for not exercising and plan your coping strategy for each ahead of time. Then keep your list of “excuse busters” on the fridge or somewhere you will see it regularly to remind you of your coping strategies. For example: