Yesterday in the Departing Guests’ Announcements – when I often ask for feedback from the guests about the program – what you liked, where we could improve, etc – a guest commented that we do not provide enough time between our afternoon classes to change from a bathing suit to workout clothes – especially if a blister needs to be tended to.

I hear this comment alot – it’s nothing new. But for some reason yesterday I was able to come up with a thought:

We provide 15 minutes between classes. For the record this will stay the same. The trainers/instructors are reminded quite often to end classes on time to allow guests adequate time to change. Often times pool class is ended early allowing guests 20 minutes to change. the reality is that 15-20 minutes is enough time to change from a bathing suit to workout clothes and even gives you time to bandage your blisters….but only if you prepare.

One of the things that we are trying to teach guests at Fitness Ridge is that preparation is a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle.

If you know you only have 15 minutes between classes and you are going to want to change your clothes – put your workout clothes out neatly on your bed so you don’t’ have to look for them. Put all band-aids, ointments, etc next to your clothes so that prepping any blisters is efficient and effective. The small amount of time it takes you to prep for this will save you much for time in the long run.

The same is true for when you go home – If you plan on working out at 6:00a – and don’t want to wake up at 4:30a to prepare for your day – you might consider preparing what you need the night before; laying out not only your workout clothes but also your work clothes; knowing what you are going to eat for breakfast, prepping your lunch, thawing out what your are going to eat for dinner. By preparing these things before you go to bed at night not only can you make your day less stressful but can help you be successful with your days’ plans.

lthough we are tough here, we really are trying to set you up for success for when you go home but creating situation that you may experience there.

Preparation is part of any healthy lifestyle. Knowing what food you are going to eat during the week; knowing when you are going to get your workouts in; even prepping emergency meals during the week for when that unexpected meeting might happen. All of these things help lead you to a healthy, less stressful, more successful lifestyle.