It’s great to have a fitness goal, whether you want to compete, win or take part. But we know as well as you do that results don’t come without sacrifice. What exactly does success take?
Results in sport, fitness and weight loss don’t just happen. You need to put the effort in. That’s not to say that success has to be a lonely, painful path. But it’s going to take some hard work on your part. Here are 5 things to think about:
Don’t Find Time, Make Time.
How many people do you know who “don’t have time” to train, to prep their food, or to sort out their nutrition? Don’t be one of them. The fact is, we all wake up with the same amount of hours, minutes and seconds in the day. Sure, some people have longer working hours, more gruelling commutes, or more complex family lives. But the truth is, if you want to make changes to your fitness and health badly enough, you can (and will!) find the time.
It comes down to a choice. What do you want to do with the pockets of free time in your day? Is it more important that you watch Netflix, go out for a beer, or do a DIY project? Or are you prepared to identify those areas of time in your day or week and use them to close in on your goals?
Meet Challenges Face On.
Think around the challenge. So you work till 6pm and feel too tired to train after work, or need to get home for the family? Get up a bit earlier and train before work instead. Become a morning person (sinking some ELEVATE™ will help!) Get fuelled up, grab your pre-workout, and get your training done. Refuel with Complete Breakfast Smoothie™ to get your nutrition right, then on with your day. Or get a 30-45 minute blast in at lunch time. Sometimes knowing we’re up against the clock can bring about a really intense, focused workout. And lunchtime training breaks up the day, increasing productivity in the afternoon. And you’ll have your mornings and evenings free!
How Tight Does Nutrition Need To Be?
To see results, you don’t need to be militant with your eating. Leave the perfectly-matched plastic tubs of identical meals to the guys who are competing. People like you – who want to see visible results in a sustainable way – can get a great physique by eating sensibly and staying consistent. But make no mistake, just because you don’t need to eat out of tupperware 24/7, you can’t go too far in the other direction. Takeout food, quick-grab snacks and eating on the go won’t cut it. Just as with training, make a plan for your food and see it through. Cooking more food from scratch. Try a new vegetable every week. Limit the takeaways to once a week. Reduce the amount of snacking you do. Swap the snacks you know aren’t supporting your goals with some healthier alternatives: try things like biltong, raw almonds, protein flapjacks or nut butters, like peanut butter.
Crank Up The Intensity.
See those guys in the gym who just amble about, no focus and no plan, on their phones between sets, chatting more than they’re working? They’re not the ones who will make amazing progress in their physique, fitness or strength. They’ll look exactly the same 6 months from now. And you know what, that’s fine. Everyone is there for their own reasons. But you want results. So have a plan, get focused and train hard. Get a sweat on and feel your blood pumping. If it doesn’t feel like a workout, it probably isn’t. Stuck for ideas or unsure on technique? Ask a trainer for some help.
Develop Lifestyle Habits.
Your everyday lifestyle needs to support your goals in the gym, otherwise you’ll constantly be pulled in two different directions. Let’s talk about alcohol: we all know it has a negative effect on sleep, gym performance, fat loss and food choices. And it’s packed with empty calories. If you think alcohol is a bad habit you need to fix, reduce the amount of drinks you have across the week by 25% just for now. And what about sleep? It’s far more important than most people realise. Sleep is the optimal time for recovery, so put habits in place to get more good quality sleep consistently. Trouble sleeping? Try our Complete Bedtime™ which promotes a good night’s sleep with its clever combination of protein, HMB and ingredients like Tryptophan. You’ll feel better, you’ll look better, and perform better when you train.
About the Author:
Nicola Joyce has been writing for (and about) sport, fitness, nutrition and healthy living since 2004. She’s also a keen sportswoman: her background is in endurance sport but she now competes as a natural bodybuilder, most recently winning a world title with the INBF. When she’s not writing content, she can be found blogging. Follow her here www.nicolajoyce.co.uk and on Facebook & Twitter (@thefitwriter) too.
