With the 2017 holiday in full swing and this year's resolutions a distant memory, you might be looking toward 2018 and really getting after and making those new year's resolutions truly stick, this time. Sure it's not yet 2018, and you're still going to the gym, still doing the cardio, still taking the classes, still trying to make better choices on the menu. But you may not be going quite as deep on the squats, or fitting as well into your gym clothes. And who can turn down a Halloween cookie, or Thanksgiving leftovers or Christmas drinks? In short, 'tis the season to pull back the throttle. After all, you know what to do and how to do it and when the time it right (2018), it's most definitely on! Right?
Yes my fitness friends, every year many tend to over promise and under deliver. In January, the gyms are packed. iPods, Lu Lu Lemon and Nike are in full effect, oh my! But in early February and Valentine's Day looming, resolutions are often, placed on reserve. But why? Why is every year going to be "the year", while often missing the high expectations we have previously set for ourselves and burned into our brains?
It starts with putting off the promise and the work. If it were easy having the perfect body, everyone would have it. But the truth is, while we can buy most things in life, a body to be proud of, forged in the gym and at the dinner table, can not be bought. It must be earned. A tailor can make a suit to your exact specifications, for a monetary price. And you can forge your body to look exactly as you want, for a price paid through taking consistent and imperfect action.
That's right, I used the word "imperfect", for consistency will yield better results over perfect. And so the first step toward Resolving Resolutions, is to look at things differently. Instead of training perfect, eating perfect, breathing perfect, living perfect, let's take it meal by meal, rep by rep and day by day. Let's do our personal best in every day laying down a solid brick. Just a brick a day. For those bricks add up and one day there will be a house, your house, the body you built by taking imperfect action.
The next step, is reinforcement, as in positive reinforcement. Whichever your dominant bodytype, Ectomorph, Endomorph or Mesomorph, perhaps find a picture of one whose body you wish to emulate, and have it on your phone or on the fridge or anywhere that you might see it and remember that, hey this is what I am working toward! It could even be a picture of you, perhaps at a time when you like how you looked. When I get myself ready for a book shoot, I look back at my previous photos with the goal of bettering myself.
Which leads to my next point. Focus on the image in the mirror. You have no control over the person on the station next to you with the bigger bench press. Or the guy lifting his shirt in front of the mirror with the six-pack abs. Or the girl with the full and perfectly round derrière. But you can build your own, bigger bench. And showcase your own, rippling midsection. And build a butt you can bounce a quarter off of.
Being prepared by having a plan puts out into the universe your intentions and gives you something concrete to focus on. Without fail, every year I type up a list of my projected annual goals, print it out and hang it up with a magnet on my refrigerator door so that each and every day I am reminded of what I am going after. When I competed in bodybuilding, I wrote down my routines and target sets, or sets that were personal bests on my way to making gains and improving myself for the stage and ultimately, victory. Weights, reps and even food was recorded. I would update the entries on contest day itself to show what worked and what didn't. Write it down. It's worth the extra few minutes of investment that it takes to yield a progressive and constructive plan over time.
Arsenal of methods of advancement. What does that mean? With so many tools easily accessible to chart your progress today, it's a disservice not to enlist them. When it comes to achieving your goals and resolutions, and keeping them, winging it simply does not work. The scale, how your clothes fit, the mirror, photos and videos, show real world progress that isn't confusing such as real news and fake news can often be. It's actually news, of how you're improving over time. I used to set up the video camera in the same spot every week as I practiced my bodybuilding poses and it was really cool to fast forward as fat would seemingly be melted from my body and muscles bulged from everywhere. If only it were that easy!
A sound plan, in terms of architectural renderings, is one of your greatest assets in achieving your physique goals. Bought that new TV? Leased that new car? Picked up the latest smart phone? Surely you've looked through the instructions to get the most from your experience. Complete Physique has got you covered. No matter your sex, experience or current state of physical being. When you walk into the gym with Complete Physique, you're being accompanied by a friend, a friend that supports you, and a friend that's been there.
Planning ahead will lead to results. We all have the same 24-hour clock. The art of learning how to eat out in restaurants and the real world while supporting your goals (included in Complete Physique), is certainly part of it. But it really doesn't take much time to prepare healthy and fulfilling meals at home. You can microwave some yams or potatoes while grilling chicken breasts and then tossing in frozen vegetables with the other two in Tupperware, thusly preparing in minutes, meals for the day. Protein powder can be scooped into shakers and raw nuts placed in baggies. Simple and effective.
By following the above list, you will not only achieve your physique goals, you will resolve your resolutions and the often yo-yo, up and down win/lose scenario of achievement.