Monday, March 8, 2010

What is Your Operating System?

Do you find it hard to lose weight (or substitute with any other fitness goal)? I know a lot of people who do. And they always come up with a lot of excuses on why they can't achieve their fitness goals.

Have you heard of people who say that having a new year resolution is useless?

I also know people who went for plastic surgery, look good for a while, only to put on the weight again after some time.

What is the problem?

The operating system is the problem.

If you think like the majority of the people think, then you WILL NOT succeed. Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? It applies to many things in this world. You have to think like the people who are successful in fitness.

Here are some simple steps to get you on the right track. Acronym GSM.

G - Goals

Set a long term goal. Set it to be very specific, eg, do not write "i want to lose weight", write "i want to lose 10kg of FAT (not muscle) in 3 months time".

Break down the goal into short term easily achievable chunks. Following the example above,
10kg in 3 month = 3.3kg per month = 0.825kg per week = 118grams per day.

118 grams per day is insignificant, ie can be achieved easily.

S - Strategy

Ok, so you have set your goals. Keep it at the back of your mind. Now design a training program that you WILL follow to the letter to lead you towards your goal.

I recommend the 4x7 program as mentioned in my performance tips.

Don't know how? Get me as a personal trainer, i can help you in your program design.

You jobs is to follow the training program and focus on the process. Don't worry about the outcome. The results will come when you have done your homework.

Keep a training log. I can't emphasize this enough. KEEP A TRAINING LOG. How else do you keep track of your progress if you don't. You can remember what you did last week. But can you remember what you did last month, last year?

The goal is your destination. The training program is your vehicle. The training log is your map.

M - Motivation

What is your motivation?

Write down your motivation and meditate upon it. Why you must achieve these goals.

If it is a smaller dress size, buy it and display it in your bedroom (or training area, if you train at home).

If it is a performance goal, do a test of your performance on set times and reward yourself for achieving those goals.

Some times you can pig out when you have achieved some short term goals. You need to keep yourself sane too. Don't believe the people who say they can eat clean 365 days a year.

I hope that have helped you in your fitness journey.

2 comments:

laiboonh said...

With regards to the 4X7 program. Is it even possible to have progress of 1min every cycle. Sometimes one simply cannot perform above a number of minutes and form begin to degrade.

Herman Chauw said...

When that happens, repeat the cycle for one more cycle. You should not take more than two cycles to progress.

Also take a look at your No and Low days and see if you are doing sufficient recovery work. And if you are doing too much on the Mod day.