First you have to set a goal. The goal is not set until you write it down. Then you have to write out the steps, the short term and subsequent strides. When speaking about fitness goals there are many barriers that can fall in your path.
I'm going to talk about the top 5 barriers I personally have come across and give you some solutions to try to overcome these road blocks.
1. BAD DIET
With so many ideas floating around the gym and the internet, it's very easy to get confused on who to listen to. First you need to decide what your fitness goals are. Are you trying to improve athletic performance, simply feel better and be healthy, or try to get shredded and drop body fat to the single digits? I'll tell you right now, it is never healthy to completely cut anything out of your diet.
Eating a well balanced diet with minor tweaking is your best bet and there are some great options out there to make this super easy for you.
Good Measure Meals is the best I've come across. They deliver fresh meals right to your workplace, with the calories and macro nutrient ratios already pre measured. Plus they taste amazing!
It is imperative to have you're meals prepared in advance if you intend to stay on track. In addition to my 1700 cal plan I get from Good Measure Meals, I also cook additional meals every Thur and Sun, weigh and package the food in tupperware containers, and carry the food to work in my Six Pack Bag.
Pre workout I drink NOXplode and after my 45 min of strength training, I do an additional round of intervals on some sort of cardio exercise. Post workout I drink CELLMASS and then 30 min after that Syntha 6.
The new Orange Smoothie flavor is the best yet! Tastes just like an orange creamsicle! Awesome in a blender with ice and water after a hot day in the gym!!
2. NO STRUCTURE IN WORKOUT PLAN
Joining the gym is the first step, but walking around aimlessly doing a few machines until you finally settle on watching a tv show while you walk for half an hour on the treadmill is not going to give you the results you wanted. You need to plan ahead how many days you are going to make it in to the gym for the week. Then you can structure which body parts you are going to lift and what type of cardio you are going to do. Finally once that is in place, you can determine which exercises to do on those days and how many reps and how much rest to implement into your program.
Here is a sample plan:
2 DAY SPLIT
MON - FULL BODY
FRI - FULL BODY
3 DAY SPLIT
MON - Chest/Back
WED - Arms
FRI - Legs
4 DAY SPLIT
MON - Chest/Abs
WED - Back/Triceps
FRI - Legs
SAT - Shoulders/Biceps
5 DAY SPLIT
MON - Chest
TUE - Back
WED - Biceps/Triceps
THUR - Shoulders
FRI - Legs
Check out some of my YouTube videos to get some ideas on some workouts to do for each body part.
↵ Use o
Get into bed 1 hour prior to actually needing to be asleep so you can get a full 8 hours of sleep.
Use this time in bed to write out any thoughts in your head so you can not have to worry about remembering them. I like to read a few pages from a favorite website with the lights out while I wind down and try to get tired. Listverse.com is one site I find entertaining.
Get a sleep machine to provide some background noise and turn the AC up so its a little cold.
Valarian root can help calm you and if you've been jacked up on stimulants all day, Melatonin can usually bring you back down if you really need to take something as a last resort.
Valarian root can help calm you and if you've been jacked up on stimulants all day, Melatonin can usually bring you back down if you really need to take something as a last resort.
4. NO ROUTINE
Try your best to get yourself on a regular routine that you can learn to follow everyday. Eventually it will become second nature and you wont even have to think about it. Mine consists of checking my emails every morning while I have my coffee (with Syntha 6 :) and cooking my oatmeal and egg whites for after my morning cardio. I pack my clothes and food for the day and do 30 min of cardio before I eat. After a few weeks of this, you just get used to it. Its a great way to start the day and I really enjoy this time to get my thoughts in order and prep for the upcoming work to do. Schedule your workouts in advance. Never say you don't have time....MAKE TIME.
5. NO SUPPORT
This is a tough one on many levels. In order to obtain the healthy life I currently life I've had to go as far as switch careers and leave my friends. I used to work in the recording industry as an engineer, working all night long with little to no sleep between gigs sometimes. On top of that I was working at a rap studio with artists such as Lil Wayne and 50 Cent. So you can only imagine the environment I was subjected to. As exciting as that life was, I had to make the decision to leave it behind. You may have to come to that realization yourself.
Listen to the mentors who have appeared in your life that you look up to and whose opinion you value. Maybe try going to church. (Unless you feel your going to burst into flames stepping inside the building LOL) Try to meet with those people regularly to remind yourself to follow through on their advice.
Sometimes its your own family who is unsupportive. Maybe they are scared to give up the bad foods they've grown accustomed to or are afraid to have to be more active. Try to help them to understand why it is so important for you to make this change. Maybe they just never saw it as a priority like you do.
Finding a good gym you are comfortable hanging out at is a great place to meet like minded people and maybe find a workout buddy who you can schedule regular times to meet with. Show up to that cardio kickboxing or start attending team training classes. Bring a friend with you to try a new sport and take classes together.
Hire a personal trainer! Colony Square Athletic Club has some of the very best in the business conveniently located in the heart of midtown.
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