What is the most important lesson to getting your dream physique? For me, one of the absolute best things I ever did was to stop freaking out about what is optimal and instead simplify things as much as possible. For example, when I was younger I would worry about extremely tiny details. Here are some examples; - I would only eat organic food and never eat anything I considered too processed. - I would only eat freshly prepared food and wouldnt eat anything unless I knew the entire ingredients list. - I would eat every 2-3 hours without failure and not go out without taking my own food with me in a lunchbox. - I would make sure I could train at the same time for optimal circadian rhythms. - I would strictly time every single rest interval in my workouts with a stopwatch and record my lifting tempo for each lift. - The list goes on. The problem with this was it made me stress unnecessarily over details which made zero to little tangible difference. It was not a sustainable lifestyle for me because I used to avoid eating out at restaurants and socialising with friends. Not only that but I was in worse shape then than I am now. Dont get me wrong, I still love knowing how to squeeze out an extra advantage and will research meticulously to try and find it. I just made sure I stopped focusing too much on things that stressed me out and made my diet and training regime as simple to adhere to and as enjoyable as possible. I weigh something up on a cost to benefit ratio. Hypothetically, if training at the same time every day gave you a 1% advantage would it be worth it if it created a lifestyle which you didnt like or couldnt sustain? I would prefer to just fit my workout in where I could and give myself time to enjoy with my friends or family. That 1% difference wouldnt be worth it to me. - My meal frequency now is anything from two to four times per day. It doesnt bother me and just depends on my schedule. - If I fancy eating junk food occasionally, I will do so. - I dont weigh or meticulously calculate anything I eat but am simply aware of rough ballpark figures. - If I need to diet, I gradually eat less over time and genuinely do keep it that simple. - I dont care about being neurotic over rest intervals and lifting tempos. Instead I keep some relative uniformity and make sure I enjoy my workout as much as possible. Lets be blunt here. Creating an amazing physique takes a very, very long time. We are talking years, not months or weeks. For you to get there you need something which you can adhere to and maintain consistency. There is very little point worrying about trying to get something perfect if you are only going to be able to maintain it for a few weeks (new years resolution diet plans, anyone?). Create a lifestyle and enjoy it. Make sure you enjoy going to the gym, do not try and stick to a workout you hate as you maximise your chance of failing to stick to it. Make your nutrition plan as stress free and easy to adhere to as possible. The problem with diet plans is they are seen by the user as a temporary fix. They usually plan on sticking with them for a few weeks at best. This is not a lifestyle and it is not sustainable. So, my real secret is; I enjoy working out. I actually want to go to the gym instead of dragging myself there. I stick to a nutrition plan which is as easy as it can be whilst getting the job done. These things combined have allowed me to stick with a routine for years, not just weeks or months. Just long enough to create something I am starting to be proud of.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 17:30:00 +0000