As promised on yesterday's post, here's the 7 step program to help get your fitness (this could
be applied to all kinds of goals! But we'll focus on getting leaner and fitter on this blog =)) goals achieved.
And thus, let's begin;
1) Know your result
Decide where you want to go and what you want to be. By now you should have already
written down your goals and put them on a list! If you didn’t do that, I suggest you then
stop reading right now and go back and do the goal setting exercises! Nothing else
you read in this blog can possibly help you if you haven't clearly set your target.
You might try a technique here and a principle there, but ultimately you’ll end up blundering
around because you don’t have direction to go, purpose or motivation that comes from having
written goals.
If you don’t have any idea where you’re going, that’s exactly where you’ll end up – nowhere!
2) Know your starting point
It’s not enough to know where you want to go; you also need to know where you are at the
beginning. That's because then you can chart the right course to your destination. Once you’ve
written down your goals, you need to establish your starting point with measurements.
The most important measurements are your body fat percentage and muscle mass.
Your body fat percentage, total body weight, fat weight and muscle mass should all be
recorded in the first row of your progress chart.
3) Design a plan of action
The most efficient and effective way to choose a plan of action is to learn from those who have
already achieved what you want to achieve. Learning suggests that instead of re-inventing
the wheel, you “plug into” a proven formula that already exists! You follow those who have
done the "recon" and gone before you. You find someone who has achieved what youwant to achieve, do what they did, and you’ll get the same result, it's really that simple!
Trial and error can be a long and painstaking process to do by yourself, that's why learning
from the experts is the safest and smartest way to go. If you want to lose body fat permanently,
would it make sense to model the 95% of the population who lose weight and gain it back?
Of course not! Yet that is exactly what most people do! Going with the herd mentality, they do
what everyone else does, only to end up one of the 95% who fail.
Someone once said that if you follow the herd, you’re going to step in a lot of shit. So as it
seems sensible, I suggest you don’t do that. Instead, copy those who have mastered the art
and science of permanently losing fat while keeping your muscle mass. No one fits this description
better than natural bodybuilders and fitness competitors.
Keep in mind though, the NLP doesn’t claim that modeling will allow anyone to become Arnold Schwarzenegger
or a Miss Fitness World. This would imply that every one of us have the same genetic potential.
What modeling the experts will do for you is letting you reach the upper limits of your own genetic capabilities in the shortest period of time using a system that has already been proven to work.
It allows you to become the best YOU can be! It also allows you to become your best with
the easiest way, avoiding all the trial and error process.
Because no one else has exactly the same body type or physiology than you do, you will
always have to go through some degree of experimentation with yourself, no matter how
tested your program is. However, all people who successfully lose body fat have certain things
in common.
The basic principles apply to everyone; there are laws of fat loss just as there are laws
of gravity and physics. People who get lean and stay lean have acknowledged and mastered
these laws. You can learn these laws yourself and master them yourself.
A chef produces gourmet dishes over and over again by using the same recipe. A recipe
is a proven mixture of ingredients, that when combined in the right sequence and amounts,
produces the same delicious dish – each and every time.
This program is your “recipe” for sure-fire fat loss. The techniques you’re reading about
will provide you with a guaranteed and tested plan that has already been proven to work
by the leanest athletes in the world. If you use the same recipe, it will work for you too – every time.
4) Act on your plan consistently
You can have the best goals and the best plan in the world, but if you don’t act on
it, you won’t achieve anything. A goal without action is worthless. Faith without action is
dead. An affirmation without action is delusion. The bottom line is that you have to take action,
get off your butt and get in the gym!
Work at it! Deserve it! Earn it! Sweat blood! Nothing worth having ever comes without hard effort –
don’t ever forget that! It takes hard work and consistent action every - single - day. You have to do something every day to move you closer to your goal. Whether it's resting, stretching or exercising.
5) Learn to know if what you are doing is working or not.
If it’s working, keep doing it! (no matter what anyone
else tells you!)
After you’ve put your plan into action, you need to work on learning the to know if your program
is working. We could call this the “Sensory Acuity”. It's a NLP term used to describe your ability
to see, feel and notice even the smallest changes in your body.
Simply, it means; pay attention. As long as you are paying attention, it’s ok to make mistakes.
Wally “Famous” Amos once wrote:
“Mistakes are natural. Mistakes are how we learn. When we stop making mistakes,
we stop learning and growing. But repeating the same mistake over and over is not
continuous learning – it’s not paying attention.”
The only person who makes no mistakes is the person who plays it safe and never tries anything
new. You must not be afraid of mistakes, as long as you don’t make the same one twice.
Some people have been making the same nutrition and training mistakes for 10 years and
they are STILL wondering why they won't get any results.
Needless to say, you need to be smarter than that. If you’re not paying attention, you may continue
to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. When someone asks you, “Is your program
working?” And your reply is, “I don’t know,” then you’re not paying attention and you need to focus
on developing better sensory acuity.
Your program is either working or it’s not. There’s no middle ground here. Ask any physicist:
Nothing in the universe stays the way it is. Everything is growing or dying; creating or disintegrating.
You are either moving forward or backward. You need to keep chart of your progress towards your
goal in writing and pay attention to the direction you’re heading – and if it’s the wrong direction, change
course, and quickly!
Elite bodybuilders and fitness competitors have developed incredible sensitivity to
the way they look and feel. They have the uncanny ability to notice even the tiniest
difference in their bodies when they change their nutrition or training programs. Then
they can decide whether this change was effective or not. Without this kind of sensitivity
to your results, your program could be working and you might not even notice. Or even
worse, it might not be working – and you don’t notice!
High levels of sensory acuity won't develop overnight. It is a science and an art that takes
a little time and some trial and error to develop, but anyone can master it.
You simply have to know what to look for and then pay attention. Ultimately, you need to
learn how your own body responds and then be able to make your own adjustments. You
must become expert of your own body
Coaches and trainers are helpful tools, but no one knows your body like you do. Once you’ve
locked onto a winning strategy and you’re getting the results you want, don’t change a
thing! Have the strength to stay your course, no matter what anyone tells you!
6) If it’s not working, you must try something else!
The moment you realize you aren’t making any progress, you must immediately adjust your
approach. But remember! Don’t ever get discouraged and don’t quit! If you didn’t get the
result you wanted – you didn’t fail; you succeeded at producing a result. You have only failed if
you quit. You must develop tireless persistence!
Use the feedback you receive as a lesson. Find ways to learn from it. Mistakes are OK
when you are noticing them and learning from them. Once you see that what you’re doing
isn’t working and you recognize it as nothing more than feedback, then try something
different. On my later posts, you’ll learn about the many options you have for changing your
strategy when things aren’t going in the way you planned.
7) Be resilient in your approach and be persistent
Keep an open mind and be flexible. Be willing to adjust your approach as many times as
necessary until you have reached your goal. Be willing to try as many different things as
necessary for as long as it takes. Do not do what it takes for your training partner, or your
neighbor, or your spouse or anyone else. Do what it takes for YOU.
Motivation guru Anthony Robbins once told the story of a man at a seminar who
was extremely frustrated with his lack of results in his business. The befuddled
businessman said he had tried “everything” but nothing worked. Here is the exchange that
went on between the two of them:
Robbins: "You've tried EVERYTHING???"
Attendee: "Yes, I've tried absolutely everything!"
Robbins: "Tell me the last HUNDRED things you tried,"
Attendee: " I haven't tried a hundred things."
Robbins: "OK, then just tell me the last FIFTY things you tried."
Attendee: "I haven't tried fifty things."
Robbins: "Alright then tell me the last DOZEN things you tried."
Attendee: (getting somewhat embarrassed) "Well, I haven't tried a dozen things."
Robbins: "I thought you said you tried EVERYTHING! So tell me then, how many things
HAVE you tried?
Attendee: (shrinking back into his seat, embarrassed), "Two or three."
Now ask yourself - and be honest – have you quit prematurely? How long have
you been working at losing body fat? How persistent have you been? How many different
training and nutrition strategies have you tried?
If your first plan doesn’t produce the results you want, the number of training and nutritional
strategies you can experiment with is virtually unlimited! Don’t be too infexible or rigid in your
approach. Be pliable. It’s necessary to have an action plan, but don’t get too clinched to your plan.
The more options you have at your disposal, the greater your chances will be for success. Leave
yourself room to improvise.
In developing the martial art of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee worked hard to quantify
and formulate a philosophy for self-defense and personal growth. His formula was: 1)
Research your own experience, 2) Absorb what is useful, 3) Reject what is useless, and 4)
Add what is specifically your own.
Beware of “gurus” who declare, “It’s my way or the highway.” There is no single best way
which will work for every one of us. By studying, reading and copying others, you can quickly
master all the principles and laws that regulate your body composition. Once you’ve absorbed
these basic laws, then through persistence, action, dedication and sensory acuity, you can go
on to evolve your own “personal formula.” Your personal formula is based on your unique body
type and the way you respond to various combinations of nutrition and training.
By bypassing all stilted styles and systems, you’ll no longer be bound by a particular way of
doing things and thereby gain the freedom to reach your highest potential. Successful people all
have certain things in common. “Success leaves clues”. Model successful people, but instead of
limiting yourself to a single way, model from many successful people. Take a little from here, a little
from there, keep what works, and throw away the rest. “Be a student, not a follower.”
So there's the formula, which will help you get and keep yourself propelling towards you goals!'
Tomorrow I'll continue on ways of getting feedback from your results. I will also scratch the
surface on things like how to break the fat loss plateau and knowing when to rest and recover
Until then!
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