Throughout life, from the very day we are born, we want things.
We want to eat, we want to crawl, we want to walk. Later as children we want to ride a bike, or learn an instrument, or play a sport. Into adulthood we want to learn, and improve a specific task so we can go into a field and do said task to make a living.
How do we eventually do well at these things? Or with some of them, how do they eventually become afterthoughts of effort, and just become the norm?
We prioritize what we want to get better at, we put effort towards it, and we sacrifice (make less time for) things that don’t get us closer to our goal.
So why is it that we still see ads, diet books and “workouts” that claim no effort needed, or it will feel like you are cheating, or all you need is 4 minutes a day, etc etc…??
Because these quick fix promises sell and are sexy.
They may not sell in the form of direct money, but i could be in the form of “likes” and shares via social media.
Do you really think that the tight bodied 25 year old girl doing the “chair workout” where all you need is a chair – and go figure, you don’t even have to get up from it – got her body from doing that chair “workout”? (I won’t get into the terrible movements for the spine seen in this video, that’s too much for now”
Do you think that the super jacked dude got that jacked and massive by slamming his sponsored protein drink and by doing only 4 minutes of ab exercises per day?
Bock on track now…
As kids, when we want to learn how to ride a bike, we dedicate close to 100% of our time practicing and honing this craft until we learn. You may ask, “but what does a kid really have to sacrifice to learn how to ride?”. Everything must be in perspective here. Yes, kids don’t have to put food on a table, but to a child, they might have to give up time playing video games with friends, or whatever else things kids do these days.
When we are in college, we prioritize what we want to do and this leads to where we get. If a student prioritizes studying and learning, chances are that he or she will have better grades, and maybe a better job outlook than the student who PRIORITIZES boozing and partying.
I’m not saying you can’t do both…trust me. Think of it as being a on a scale:
If the things you do that are “pro-goal” out weight the “anti-goal” choices, then you will more likely reach your goal at a faster rate.
So do I have you convinced that you need to put effort towards things that you want?
So why do we still think that it doesn’t take the same diligent effort for body composition changes (fat loss, muscle gain)???
Yes, we all have much more going on in life than the baby learning to crawl, or the young girl learning how to play basketball – but we also have many more disposable distractions that can take us away from reaching our goals, and take us off task.
TV shows, social media, efforts to be social justice warriors of facebook, cell phones, sports on tv, nights out drinking and chowing down food, and the list goes on and on.
You must move whatever you want in life up in your list of priorities, and something must move down (aka sacrifice).
We all have 24 hours in a day.
It comes down to this equation that I just pulled out of my coffee fueled brain:
Change or Results = Thoughts + (1/Priorities ^ Action)
You see, thinking about something is great, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t do much at all.
With your priorities, the closer they are to priority #1 or 1, the bigger impact your action towards them would be.
So what the heck do I do? I want change! I want results!
1 – Prioritize your goals.
Want to get jacked? Lift more frequently, eat like an adult, get your sleep, and expect some challenge. Want to lose body fat? Lift more frequently, create a caloric deficit with healthy foods, sleep more, and expect some challenge.
Those answers won’t sell products to most people. But they are the truth.
Think back to the scale picture that I sketched out. The more “pro goal” things you do, then less “anti goal” things you do and bam – closer to your goal.
When it comes to working out, you need to focus on what works the muscles, not what looks cool, or gets the most stuff done in the least amount of time.
Focus on ONE THING AT A TIME, and focus on the one moment in time – do NOT try to multitask. Quality will ALWAYS trump quantity.
***RANT ALERT***
Walking on a treadmill while pumping 2 pound weights over your head then punching out front makes you look like a jackass. Stop it. Yes that may sound harsh, I apologize for the language, but it’s the truth.
This such BS is perpetuated by “trainers”, intaTrainers, and social media because it “burns more calories” because you are multitasking. You know what it doesnt do? It doesnt make you better at overhead pressing, doesnt make your shoulders stronger, which means it doesnt make more muscle, which means you dont raise your resting metabolic rate, which means it becomes harder to maintain that terrible 1000 calorie cleanse your trainer put you on – and boom, back to square one. (coffee rage)
Or doing a step up onto a BOSU, then doing a bicep curl with one arm and a lateral raise with the other arm while holding 5 lb. dumbbells..why? If circus training is your goal, then carry on.
Example: If your goal is to build strong legs, then do the step up with 40’s. If your goal is build strong arms, then do your curls on the ground with 20’s, and if you are trying to hit your delts do your lat raises with the 10’s. Doing all of these lifts with the same exact, under weighted 5 pound dumbbells is a waste of your TIME. – I would LOVE to hear otherwise.
What would be better? Training your (insert muscle group) with appropriately challenging weights for the goal reps, then training your next muscle groups with appropriately weighted reps for multiple sets, and then doing a good cardio session separately.
***RANT OVER***
2 – Focus on your task at hand.
Working out? Then workout hard. Get off your phone, stop watching tv, and stop chatting to the person next to you on the elliptical (also, get off the elliptical).
I have nothing against the social stroll on the treadmill, if that’s what you are there for or if its a low intensity recovery day.
If you are at the gym to create strength, or challenge your muscles (yes you need to do this) – then do this. Commit to the moment you are in 100%.
3 – You must make sacrifices
Yes, I said it. We all want to live in a world where we can have our cake and eat it too, and also have a six pack (abs that is).
I am not saying that you need to live in a hole, and eat nothing but chicken and broccoli, or live at the gym 24/7 – but you will need to replace some things in your life if you are not getting where you want.
Need more sleep? Sacrifice your late night tv show.
Need to lose more body fat? Sacrifice your after dinner dessert.
Need to get stronger? Sacrifice your morning hour of ESPN watching and add another pump session in.
It doesn’t need to be all or nothing, but you will need to make changes and you must accept this.
You must accept that you wont be able to eat every single cookie in the cookie jar, or that the squat rack is less comfortable than your couch. These are facts, and they must be accepted.
Effort, consistency and making some sacrifices is what must be done. Don’t over analyze things, just do them – and do them well.
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Stay healthy my friends,