Consistency and Nutrition

We all know what we are working for. We have it embedded in our minds, written on our vision boards, taped to the refrigerator, and it's the reason why most of us go to the gym. I am right there with you. Bikini........skinny jeans.....jiggle free inner thighs and arms......flat tummies. I completely get it!

Establishing a FITNESS GAME PLAN is absolutely fundamental. Once you know your goal you have to know how you will achieve that goal. Without a plan, how will you know what to do in order to obtain results?

If you train with me and have been reading my newsletters you are familiar with my strategy. First, set a goal. Second, determine how many days you will workout in a week. Third, set fitness appointments on these days and adhere to them just like you would if they were office meetings. Next, take measurements and determine how you will track your progress. Then establish a nutrition game plan. Prep and prepare your meals and snacks for the week. Eat clean.

With each client it is my goal to guide them through the above process. Organizing a plan to achieve desired results is your own personal fitness road map. It's essential to not only know where you are going and how you will get there, it's absolutely crucial to have a plan to get you back on track when you come across the inevitable obstacles of life.

It's the obstacles of life that get in our way of achieving the goals we have set out to accomplish. There's always a reason why we may not make it to the gym or why we couldn't eat nutritiously at lunch. This is life folks and IT WILL NOT STOP. So what are you going to do about it?

Consistency and nutrition are the two most important elements of your fitness game plan. Without these you will not reach your goals. Without a weekly consistent exercise routine you will find it difficult to fit into that pair of pants that have been taunting you every time you open your closet. Without a healthy and clean nutrition game plan fat will remain on your trouble areas. It's simple fact my friends: consistency and nutrition are the two most common missing links in an exercise game plan and without these YOU WILL NOT GET THE RESULTS YOU HAVE SET OUT TO ACHIEVE.

Consistency produces results. Burning fat and gaining lean muscle mass requires commitment, flexibility, and patience. It does not happen overnight and there really isn't a magic pill. Results come from hard work. That means lacing up your sneakers when you'd rather sit on the couch or drink with your friends; passing on the cupcakes a co-worker brought to work so you will feel good in your bikini when at the pool with your significant other; getting up early before work to prep and prepare healthy meals and snacks for the day to help you stay on track with your goals.

Consistent movement creates consistent change. I recommend at least 2-4 hours of resistance training and 1.5 - 4 hours of cardiovascular training a week. Vary your workouts. Make it fun. Do it with a friend. Discover new activities that keep you motivated. Just do it! You will always feel better after a workout, even if the last thing you want to do when you get up in the morning or leave the office is exercise.

Clean nutrition is 80% of the equation. You can go to the gym 5 days a week and do your cardio and weight workouts with a vengeance, however if you are not eating properly your hard work will not pay off. YOU WILL NOT SEE THE RESULTS YOU DESIRE. Just because you had a fantastic, heart pumping, and sweat dripping down your forehead workout this does not mean you can eat a hamburger and fries and not gain weight. Exercise does not give you a free pass. Yes, there is no absolute in life, hence why you have to be flexible and ebb and flow through what life throws out at you, however you also have to be disciplined. If you eat clean 80% of the week you will see results. Limit your consumption of processed food that contains a high content of sugar, fat, sodium, and empty calories. Increase your consumption of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, fiber and bring on the fruits and vegetables. This nutrition game plan will help you look and feel the best you can. And when you do treat yourself - the other 20% of the equation - you will have not destroyed all of your efforts in the gym.

Make it happen my friends. Be consistent! Eat clean. Know what you are working for and why you are working for it. Stay the course my friends and weather the storm. Results will be waiting for you.