What are you training for??
Why are you training??
Who are you training for??
People often show up to training in spurts and go from 0-100-0 quite quickly.
Why?? Because they don’t know why they’re training. They know what’s trendy. And in fitness the trends change like the seasons.
Few and far between survive the ages, but one thing’s for sure. HARD WORK done with consistency and a balanced regime of cardio, resistance and maintenance work leads to linear results through a level of adaptation that is truly sustainable.
At the end of the day you can train as hard as you like but if you’re injured 6-10 weeks of the year that’s not great. If you’re only going 3 days a week because you’re not actually loving it then you’re unlikely to get a result.
The same goes if you’re going hard as F@+* for 5, 6 or 7 days a week with high impact, HIIT or double sessions without purpose or nutritional and recovery guidance. YOU WILL burn out and break down, you’re almost assured of that.
Why? Simple, just like a car you can’t thrash it every day and expect it not to break down. Your body needs regular maintenance. If you don’t put enough fuel in – you won’t reach your destination. You put the wrong fuel in or too much and well we all know what happens there.
Often, this is greatly under estimated and “diets” are so extreme they starve you and make you more likely to binge or burn out from accumulative fatigue. Are most people training to lose body fat? YES, so we don’t want to over fuel and get spillage leading to more body fat. This is often targeted by tracking calories and macros. The only issue there, while being a good guide for the short term to gauge portions, is everyday can be dramatically different so your fuel and food should be too.
Macro and Micro Nutrients Image: GETTY
This is where our original plan comes into play. Nature foods are the key here. Quality nutrients and macros to keep your body firing and healthy. The other 2 things to consider are: What do you want from training and how many times do you want to train?
These decisions influence your whole training plan because its the difference in how much pressure goes on your body and how much recovery etc. you’re going to get or need.
A perfect example of this is the greatest swimmer ever to live, PHELPS, from the US who did approximately three times the work load of swimmers before him. He had to smash 10000 calories per day! For most humans this would mean morbid obesity and certain chronic and metabolic disease, but for him it meant more medals than a war hero. This is applicable to you regardless if you have a sedentary job vs an active job. Your calories are obviously going to be different so we make that adjustment and listen to your body.
NOW, what do you want from your training??
If you’re looking to build muscle, doing 5 days of HIIT isn’t a good idea.
If you’re looking to get fit then don’t just walk on a stair master for 30 mins at Goodlife.
Make the smart choice. Not the trendy choice, not your friends choice. UNSURE?? Seek advice from a knowledgeable and unbiased source. This is a must.
I’ve seen people wanting to get fit doing Pilates 5 days a week… NO. Pilates is a maintenance type regime which requires great nutrition to stay lean so if you love a burger and a drink Friday night it’s not the right plan for you.
FIND your WHY!!!
That’s a big one. YOUR WHY. It doesn’t matter if it’s “shallow” or you want to look good naked. If you want to complete a marathon or a spartan race go for it! Do NOT listen to or accept judgement from others, they’re not going to help you achieve your goals.
These choices are the same as your other life choices. You can work for the money, career evolution, or for yourself (like myself). It’s your life to live and you have to do what makes you happy.
The HOW is harder!!
The HOW is sub goals and plans, something closer and more achievable than a goal that may be 1, 2, 3 or 4 years away. You need to enjoy the process. Imagine making $1million a year and hating everyday you arrived at work. That’s getting a result but hating every workout. That’s not sustainable. It’s not fun. And many good years will be wasted.
NOT every day will be fun fun. You’ll be tired… you’ll be sore… you may have outside stress… but if you attack a workout you’ll always feel better once its done and done. That I can guarantee!
Results are cumulative. They aren’t weekly or fortnightly, we are always looking at the runs over the long term!!! Which means if you’re trying to counteract years of neglect in mere weeks, it’ll be bad.
Sometimes wanting to do “challenges” all the time can actually make it harder on yourself. There’s one challenge in life and that’s to be better and to move towards your goals consistently even when life kicks you in the face. You check them and move on to the next goal.
There are enough ebbs and flows in life without adding more just to line someone else’s pocket. I run member challenges, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a habit challenge.
The challenge is how much can you improve your day to day life over 3 months. Sugar intake, sleep, hydration, training (intensity and consistency), more vegetables, less alcohol and the list goes on. Now that’s a challenge that doesn’t set you up for failure.
Most challenges run similar to Bodybuilding competition preps (obviously on a much lesser scale). LOW calories often cutting carbs, caffeine and sugar, over-training to get the leanest body in a short space of time. You may very well get the desired result, lean and mean, but I’ve been there coaching those same systems and now I’m not. They’re not sustainable. To me it’s like busting your balls to get a pay rise, you get a small bonus instead and stay on your normal salary.
It’s counter intuitive and sets you up for mental and emotional stress as nobody wants to go backwards in life. Why not take your time to nail down a lifestyle that you can sustain and enjoy. WHILE moving towards your goals in a way where the process also stays enjoyable.
DO NOT train with someone who says you can achieve your goals in a short amount of time… you wouldn’t do it with your money, right? “Hey give me your money and I’ll make you rich quick” hahaha. You’d be like “Hey Mr scam man, no thank you!”
FIND who you are and what YOU want to be.
Come up with a rough plan. For example if you’ve been unfit and overweight for 30 years don’t expect to have abs in 6 months. Set smart achievable goals with help if needed. Most importantly show up and do the work.
STOP choosing short term pleasures over the shit you actually want out of life.
STOP making pitiful excuses.
DO THE SHIT YOU’RE BAD AT.
That way you can enjoy the stuff you’re good at.
DON’T give up on your goals even if it takes longer than expected.
BE THE BEST YOU.
