As a Personal Trainer, I get asked all the time about ways to get better, faster results for whatever goal they're after. Bottom line is, it's not necessarily EASY, but it is SIMPLE.
There's no magic bullet. Doesn't matter if you're trying to lose weight, gain it, be a bodybuilder, be a triathlete, or have Kelly Ripa's arms...it will take hard work, consistency, and focus. Regardless of your physical goal, here are my top three rules for success:
Track your food. I can hear your thoughts already.: "UGH! NO! Say it isn't so! I won't do it! You can't make me do it! I HATE food logs!"
I know. They're not fun. But study after study have found significantly higher rates of success in wight loss groups that used food logs to track what they consumed. The act of writing down will make you more mindful of what you eat and will give you and I both some good insight into what needs tweaking. Without it, we follow guidelines but can't get very specific. The idea is to keep track of your food for a week or two...LEARN FROM IT...and then be done.Get INTENSE. Two people can go through the same workout, do the same movements, and get drastically different results. Often times the difference is their intensity. If your workout is a social hour that's your call. You'll make some great friends, blow off some stress, and have a good time (which I realize is why some people workout, and that's fine), just know that you'll get minimal physical results. If you want to change your body, you have to turn things up and start demanding more from your body, period.
Be Consistent. This should probably be rule #1. It will play a part in every aspect of fitness. You can eat well sporadically, workout when the stars align, you can even get all fired up and intense occasionally. But unless you do these things consistently you not only miss out on the benefits you could be getting, you'll also create a mentality of failure in your own mind. You'll start believing that you can't/won't/shouldn't be successful when all you need to break that plateau is a little consistency.
Many of you are rocking all three of these rules and reaping huge results from it. Many of you have found a good balance that works for you: you're getting out of your nutrition and workouts a level of success that you're comfortable with. If you're not in either of those groups, what needs help? Which rule needs a little focus this coming week? What can you and I do TODAY that will make you and your results BETTER? You have me! I'm here to help.