Happy 2015!
It’s a brand new year. The slate is clean, the cache emptied and the reset button has been pushed. Now that you have your blueprint for success firmly in your hands, inPeak Physique, 2015 is finally going to be your breakthrough year.
It would seem every January is a somewhat reoccurring groundhog existence in your renewal and vows for a healthy lifestyle and physical excellence. In the days prior to January 1st, and of course with the holidays occurring, we often load up on processed foods in excess just before beginning our New Year’s Resolutions and thus our decision to reinvent ourselves for the coming new year.
And like many, what often occurs is failure and early failure at that. We simply set the bar too high and are too extreme in our methodologies and executions of arriving in peak shape. The result is often many attempting to cross the bridge, but few actually making it to the other side. Well, this year is going to be different. 2015 is the year of you!
These 10 tips will kick-start and help to ensure that 2015 will indeed be different. 2015 will be your break-through year in which a change of former habits will now result in desired and long sought after results.
1. EVENT PLANNING – The first step to the new-and-improved 2015 you is to clearly define your destination. Perhaps your goal is to be bikini or board short ready come the summer. Beginning in January will give you plenty of time to bring about a major change in your physique. Starting a journey without defining one’s destination is akin to driving the car to nowhere – you may never get there, when ‘there’ is not defined.
2. AVOID SELF SABOTAGE - The voice that says you can’t is not telling the truth. Living in the era of instant gratification, it’s all too easy to self-medicate with sugar and fat-laden processed foods when feeling down or to skip a workout to feel at best temporarily better. The self-defeating voice can be silenced and you and you alone have the power to do so. You have the power to keep clean and nutritious foods stocked in your kitchen and you and you alone have the power to walk into any gym and give your all and improve your physique.
3. CLEAR THE WEAK LINKS – Be it a non-supportive friend or non-supportive garment, it is imperative to keep a team in your life that shares your goals, beliefs and methodologies. This goes a long way to actually getting your goals accomplished. Hanging with positive people that are also working on bettering themselves creates a safe and friendly, “got your back” atmosphere that is completely supportive. Trim the fat, not just from food, but also from your life.
4. THE MIRROR IS YOUR ONLY COMPETITION – Besting the image in the mirror is your foremost goal. Not starving or attempting to achieve by any means necessary the images that the media deems desirable. Since you only have control over yourself, it’s best to keep your focus there. 2015 is about adopting new positive lifestyle changes and making them work for you – over the long-term.
5. DON’T SHOOT FOR THE STARS – Many 2014 resolutions fell short of reaching the mark because they were too severe, too extreme and too unrealistic in terms of maintaining them with regularity for any length of time. While you should be looking to become your best, realize that it takes steps and time and a consistent, measured approach to achieve. Saying you will work out every day for hours and eat perfectly and not drink is simply too unrealistic. Better to say, I will have a few wonderful workouts per week, do my cardio and eat mostly clean with a splurge here and there. You’ll be pleasantly surprised over the long-term how much more you will accomplish this way.
6. PACK AHEAD – You know the saying “failing to plan ahead is planning to fail.” Though most of us tend to live fast lifestyles today, leaving the house to go to work without packing foods to support your healthy lifestyle is almost sure to derail you. Taking the time each evening before work the next day to grill some chicken, steam some veggies and prepare some yams/sweet potato really doesn’t take too much time and will empower you in this ‘all or nothing’ society we tend to exist in. By bringing meals with you, you are also less likely to eat poorly and skip gym sessions since you will be properly fueled for performance.
7. WORKOUT PARTNER - For many, a workout partner ups the ante and makes it a commitment. Someone else is depending on you to get a common goal accomplished, as a team. If you find someone who shares your common need of improvement, latch on to that person, and make it a double. A workout partner can even create a friendly sense of competition.
8. PHOTOS/CHECK-IN – For me it has always been about showing a clear-cut progression, and nothing says progress more than visual proof. Taking photos of yourself at the start of your transformation, although perhaps highly personal and sensitive, is an amazing tool to show improvement and sustain motivation well into the New Year. Today, take photos of yourself from the front, side and rear and then put them away. I guarantee you that 12 weeks later following the Peak Physique Challenge you will see non-refutable change that will make you beyond proud. Additionally, perhaps try on a garment that is tight or too constrictive at the start of your 12-week program. I also guarantee that it will fit better, sometimes far better after the completion of your 12-week program.
9. CHANGE – The same thing day in and day out can thwart goals and challenges. That is why, armed with change, you’re suiting up not for a sprint, but for a marathon – for the long-term. Be it a different outfit to the gym, a different routine, a different spice on your meal, make it desired and interesting. For some, seeing the almost weekly changes in the mirror or improvement in exercise performance is more than enough change to keep you motivated and progressing.
10. A PROMISE – To yourself that this year, 2015 will indeed be different. You will achieve more than you have before. You will best the image in the mirror. You will adopt a lifestyle, not a fad. It has helped some to make them accountable by posting on social media one’s goals. Saying you need and will make a change in writing is a lot more powerful than wanting and trying to make said change. Your word, in the end, it’s all we have. Make your words turn into actions that count and make a difference.
2015 is about becoming the change you have always wanted to be. Now that you have Peak Physiquefirmly in your corner, you are not alone. You have a plan and most importantly, you have yourself. The creation of Peak Physique was my own challenge and call-to-action to get myself into top shape (it had been a while), and then to help lead others on this amazing journey to self-transformation.
We want to see your transformations. Post on social media #peakphysiquechallenge to show your progress and inspire others. Remember, transformations do come true, it just depends on how much you want them. Make it so.