Todays blog is an uncharacteristically short one, in part because the message is a very simple one, and in part because I should be feeling a bit conflicted by what I am about to write (that I don’t feel conflicted in the slightest worries the businessman in me, and pleases the trainer who just takes simple delight in helping people achieve their very best). All too often I encounter earnest souls who are suffering from paralysis by analysis in their training/fitness/fat loss/muscle building/nutritional regimes. The internet has clearly exacerbated this problem so that with some people it appears to be out of control. In fact, it seems to me as if it is the other side of the coin of that other painful internet problem the keyboard warrior/expert who knows everything yet when you scratch the surface just a tiny bit it reveals he has achieved nothing!
Too many of you are concerned that your exercise program isn’t ideal, or that you may be missing out on one magical piece of the puzzle that is holding back your results tenfold. Let me tell you something, you do not need someone like me to get results from your gym work! Yes, there you go, the truth that cannot be spoken. Of course, I sincerely believe that a great Personal Trainer/Coach can magnify your efforts, save you a whole load of time, and teach you so much more than you’d ever learn by simple trial and error, but when it comes down to it the most important thing you can do is to (and I hate to steal this line, but needs must) JUST DO IT!
You can be uncertain that your gym routine is spot on, but if you hit the gym with vigour, intensity and wholehearted gusto then I assure you that you will get results. If you are sensible with your diet, eat healthy and clean food and do not over indulge to excess, you will no doubt lose body fat and start to change the shape of your body for the better. If you cut out late nights, make an effort to sleep properly, and ditch the beer, you will feel better and be much healthier. It really is that simple.
The magic bullets rarely exist, and when they do they typically make percentage points differences only. The big things pushing yourself in the gym, not coasting, being consistent with diet and exercise, can come from within yourself. Even if we use a more extreme example than merely getting fit, and look at what it takes to build appreciable muscle/shape (always the most challenging body composition task, and one that seems to be beyond the ken of many commercial gym Personal Trainers), the gym secret is hardly something that is kept under lock and key. It is open and accessible to anyone. You go to the gym regularly, you grind it out, you keep pushing that little bit harder each and every time, and your body has no choice whatsoever but to progress.
I think if we look at any walk of life, and anyone who has ever been successful, yes they developed plans and over time I am sure that their routines (be it sport, business or the Arts) probably became increasingly more sophisticated, but pretty much everyone we can think of, from Schwarzenegger to Steve Jobs to Madonna, started at the bottom and clawed their way up through determination and not some secret weapon that only they had access to. As high-falutin as that may sound when compared to simple exercise regimes, it should give those of you who are prevaricating and not doing your best pause for thought.
You will go so much further just by going for it and being committed than if you wait around for the perfect opportunity, the dream trainer, or the magic supplement.
