Can I be completely honest? I’m extremely fed up with the direction that today’s fitness culture is going. I can’t log onto Facebook without seeing a self proclaimed fitness expert preaching about living an active and healthy lifestyle while they sit on their ass stuffing their faces with Pizza and Oreo Cookies because “It Fits Their Macros”. And good luck scrolling through my Instagram newsfeed at any given time without seeing at least a handful of scantly clad women and/or men showcasing their “results” while their bent-over in the bathroom mirror or taking a shameless selfie in the squat rack. These fad diets are getting to me and these fitness narcissists are annoying me.

So what should I do?

Block Them? Bully Them? Beat Them?

No. These actions are not answers nor are they solutions. So rather then rant and rave and use my words as weapons, I’ve decided to try a new approach and use my words as wisdom. This week, I want to reach out to you the reader. I want to simplify this fitness lifestyle. I want to get you excited about training. I want to get you motivated about cleaning up your diet. And I want to do all this without taking a shirtless photo and/or trying to promote some kooky diet/training program.

So get ready because I’m about to officially rock your fitness world!

My 3 Questions for Success

Whenever I meet with a new client I always ask them the same 3 questions:

1) What’s Your Goal(s)?
2) What’s Your Timeline to Achieve Your Goal(s)?
3) Do You Have Any Physical Limitations and/or Health Issues That Would Stop You From Reaching Your Goal(s)?

You Gotta See It To Believe It! 

Now funny enough, most people who come to see us, don’t actually have a specific goal in mind that they want to achieve. In fact, most people have very vague health and fitness goals such as “I want to lose weight” “I want to be bigger” “I want to look slimmer” “I want to be healthier”, etc. I think it’s extremely important to have a precise goal in mind when it comes to transforming one’s physique and overall health. Therefore I ask all of my clients to think of a specific goal that they want to achieve. For example, rather then just aim to “lose weight” I ask my clients to choose a target number of weight that they would like to lose. I find that people are more likely to achieve their goal, when their goal is precise and they can see what that exact goal looks like in their head.

Make and Meet Your Deadlines!

I’m a firm believer in setting a timeline to achieve any goal that I set. And I expect my clients to do the same. I find that when people give themselves a set amount of time to accomplish a task, they become more responsive to learning and completing the task at hand in the allotted time that they are given. With that said, it’s important to set realistic deadlines to achieve your goals or else you’re just going to set yourself up for failure in the end. So if for example, you feel that you need to lose about 30lbs, don’t give yourself 3 weeks to do it. Yes, extreme dieting and overtraining can help you yield quicker results. However, these results are not real and this method of training and dieting is simply not sustainable and therefore in the long run is not efficient. Set SMART Goals whenever you do anything in life, whether it be related to your health or not. This will help keep you accountable and motivated to achieve any goal that you ever set.

Don’t Be Ignorant to Injuries

The most important thing that I’ve learned when it comes to getting older is to take my time and slow down. What I mean by this is to pay close attention to what your body is telling you to do. When it comes to training and dieting, I ALWAYS let my body lead the way. If my body tells me it needs a day off from the gym, then I take it. If my body tells me that it needs an extra hour of sleep, then I do it. If my body tells me it’s injured, then I provide it with what it needs to recover quickly and fully. My health doesn’t operate on a set schedule. I rely on my body to design this schedule for me. Whether you are dealing with a chronic or acute injury or health condition, “pushing through the pain” is not always the answer. And sometimes, the solution is not always to “take a break” and/or “go light or easy” either. Nobody can tell you how much to lift, how often to exercise or how to fuel your body properly better then you can. Yes, a good coach can make a significant difference with the results you achieve with both your physique and your health. But even the greatest of coaches don’t not know your body better then you do. Pay close attention to your aches and be mindful of your pain and let your body do the rest and you will continue to be successful with your progression in and out of the gym.

Alright, that’s it, that about all I’ve got to say. If you want to lose weight, I can help you. If you want to gain muscle, I can guide you. If you want to improve upon your health and make a difference in your quality of life, I can teach you. But I can’t do any of this unless you have a specific goal(s), a timeline to accomplish that goal(s), and an understanding of how to listen to your body to ensure that you continue to achieve all of your goals.

“Don’t Reinvent The Wheel, Just Realign It”
Anthony J. D’Angelo