Time to set new fitness goals

In little less than 48 hours, we will be welcoming the New Year. So looking back through 365 days of 2017, what  have you done? Were you able to achieve your goals in business or work? Or you finally met someone that you've long been looking for that “one true love”?  Have you been a good boy? Whatever your plans are, always add a fitness goal on top of your new year’s resolution. Because no matter how much money you have, the best investment is still health. And having found the “one true love” would become useless if you can’t be there for it.

So here are some famous motivational quotes that will help you get through 2018!

•Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live in. Your body is like a top performing engine of a sports car. You feed in dirty fuel and oil into the system, it will be not function properly and eventually bog down. It needs proper maintainance and regular check-up. If you push your engine to its limit, your engine will overheat and breakdown. Just like our body, aside from regular exercise, it needs rest and recovery.

•One of the greatest moments in life is realizing two weeks ago your body could not do what it just did. I believe that you need 2 weeks to make something into a habit. Just like eating healthy food and exercising the first two weeks is crucial. After two weeks, it will slowly become a habit. In our boot camp, results are usually evident in the first two weeks as exercises get more intense after each day.

•Better sore than sorry. The pain you feel after an exercise is temporary. Sometimes soreness comes in a day or two after and the only way to make soreness disappear is to exercise again.

•Let exercise be your stress reliever not food. When one exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins, which triggers receptors in your brain that reduces the perception of pain and triggers positive feeling in the body. Improving one's self-esteem is a key psychological benefit of regular physical activities. Seven years ago, every time I am stressed from work, food is my best friend but now, I turn to exercise. Even as short as a four-minute exercise would help me feel better.

•Being healthy is not a quick fix but a permanent change: just like the biggest loser or any weight lost challenge 90 percent most often gain the weight back. Being healthy and fit is a lifetime commitment.

•A four-minute exercise is less than 1 percent of your day! No excuses. The no. 1 excuse why people don’t exercise is time, “no time to exercise,” “I work over time,”  “I have to be early in the office.” The four-minute exercise is less than 1 percent of the day. And its intensity increases as you get stronger. The four-minute exercise is composed of jumping jack, squat, push up, and lunges. The exercise increases your heart rate and focuses on the big muscle group in the body. Do 10 repetions each and repeat until the four minutes end. A beginner or sedentary may find it hard to finish one round of all the exercises, a weekend warrior may finish between one to two rounds, an average active athlete may do four to five rounds, while an elite athlete may finish five to eight rounds of four-minute workout.

•Fitness is like marriage you can’t cheat and expect it to work. This quote is self-explanatory. There's no need for me to expound it. As they say, use your common sense.

But then again, the bottom line is that all of these motivational quotes are useless if they remain a motivational quote. It is not about having time, it is about making time. So go out find time, make time and just do it!  Here's wishing everybody a happy and prosperous New Year!