Now let’s fix it
Do you have a friend, family member or coworker that is super fit? You know, the one that everybody wants to be like or get tips from. Are you dying to know what their “secret” is, what they do to stay so fit? Or maybe you’ve asked them and they’ve told you. But if you ask enough fit people you’ll find you might get dozens of different answers. Things like:
- Low carb
- Low fat
- High Carb
- Lots of cardio
- Lots of weight training
- Don’t lift weights or you’ll get bulky
- Only short cardio
- Don’t eat after 6:00 o’clock
- Eat 6 meals a day
- Fast all day and eat one big meal
- Do Pilates, Yoga, CrossFit, Powerlifting, Jazzercise, Inverted three-person tackle pickle-ball or whatever the popular workout program is that week
Not only is the list endless, it is a completely dichotomous pile of worthlessness that you can’t make heads nor tails of. You might be willing to work as hard as they did, but how do you know where to start?
Fitness is a sign of how well we take care of our bodies. No matter how many “reasons” aka excuses, you (yes you, who do you think I wrote this for?) have to be out of shape the truth is there are MILLIONS of people with a lot of &#!^ going on in their lives that just make it happen. So if you are not in the shape that you want to be in, you either A) haven’t put in the work or B) have been putting in the work but in the wrong way for YOU.
The path to fitness is different for each individual. Maybe you gain fat and muscle easily and your friend is a hard-gainer. They might have to lift 5 days a week to not look like a beanpole while you need more conditioning to achieve a goal of fitting your stumps into a smaller set of jeans or a new dress.
Know what else? Some people actually do get fit just a little bit easier. Are you sure you’re not one of them? Because even these people (like the middle 50%) can’t achieve the look most people are going for until they find the right diet and exercise program for THEM. Genes matter, but not as much as finding strategies that are the right fit, like your other jeans.
Can you really copy everything they are doing? And would you want to? That person that you think of as so fit might be a marathoner. Do you WANT to be a marathoner? They might get up at 4:30 every morning and lift unimaginably heavy weights. Are you willing to trade that sleep for iron? Maybe they eat rice and tuna for every lunch, and you hate fish. They might get to sleep 10 hours a day and you are lucky to get 7. Even stress levels can make a huge impact on fitness. Trying to match every single thing somebody else says to do to stay fit could actually end up stressing you out!
What worked for them, well, may not work for you at all.
They might do amazingly well on a high carb diet that could make you look like the Stay-Puffed marshmallow man! Or the low-carb diet that keeps your strong buddy looking trim might leave you low on energy and crashing by mid day. They’re workout plan, while it might be hugely effective, wasn’t written for you.
So what do you do?
Know thyself. Start by learning exactly where you a starting from. And what type of athlete you are. Great coaches and gyms will help you learn what works for you and what doesn’t. They can provide you with nutrition info, workouts, and accountability that fits your body type, your fitness goals and your personality. Not just a cookie cutter approach that may have worked for someone else.
Set clear goals. Do you want the same physique as your fit friend? Maybe you want to lose fat, to gain muscle, to have better energy and stamina. There is more than one right answer to what your goals should be. Although, I’d recommend they include some component of improved lifestyle and health along with your physique based goals. The important thing; get clear about what you wan too achieve.
Get a Coach. If you are serious about getting fit, drop the “bro” or “sister” science. It’s time to get a coach. While your fit friends, family, or coworkers might all have your best interest in mind. Can their plan, diet, or program really be exactly what is best for you? Find a coach that can help you establish a baseline of where you are really at. From there they can show you what the best nutrition and workout programming is to take you from point A to point B. And most importantly, they’ll be there to hold you accountable. Because the best plan in the world can only outperform the worst plan in the world if it is executed. A great coach will make sure you do.
If you want to learn more about how our coaches can help you fix your fitness and keep you on track contact try one of our introductory programs like Elements or Project Origin.
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