The Big Fitness Picture

What are your fitness goals? If your goal is to loose body fat, tone up or gain lean muscle, have you ever found yourself looking in the mirror and wondering, “Why haven’t I got the body I want?” You swear you’ve been doing everything your trainer told you to do. You’ve religiously followed what some newsstand glossy swears is the be-all, end-all program for fat loss or muscle growth. Or you’re doing the routine that some gym-bunny you know swears gave him that chiseled chest or washboard abs you’ve been lusting after (but he neglected to mention his Vitamin-S supplementation).

Let’s consider the “Big Picture.” The “Big Picture” is like a puzzle. If one of the pieces is missing, you won’t get a complete result. If you put one piece in the wrong way, you might be very close, but not on the mark. When it comes to achieving your health and fitness goals you need to understand and be in control of all the ‘pieces’ to succeed.

Everyone and ‘every-body’ is unique. There are many reasons why a program you read in a magazine will not work for you but will work brilliantly for someone else. It’s the same with fad diets: some loose weight, while others – due to metabolic differences, activity levels, stress, carbohydrate tolerance, etc. – do not. One person will need to work on different parts of the “Big Picture” than someone else.

The key pieces of the “Big Picture” are Mindset, Nutrition, Knowledge, Flexibility, Recovery and Body Mechanics. By no means is this an exhaustive list of the variables that we need to understand and control to achieve our health and fitness goals.

So what is mindset?

You need to develop the mindset to succeed! This means focusing on what you want and using positive self-talk and affirmations in the present tense. The more you say, “I can’t” you simply will not! The brain is a powerful tool and will do what you tell it to do, so pay close attention to the chatter in your head. Is it positive or negative? Does it make you feel good about yourself? You will get what you focus on.

Here are a few points to help you improve your mindset.

Write out your goals. Start with what you want to end up with and work backwards listing the various steps and the dates that brought you to your ultimate goal. Goals need to be written in the present tense and they need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.

Get detailed! Imagine yourself, see yourself with the body you want. Cut out pictures from magazines and paste a picture of your face over the model’s face. Focus on that image daily, first thing in the morning and before going to bed. Do not underestimate the power of the sub-conscious, especially when you program your mind before going to bed.

Use affirmations to reinforce your goals. An affirmation is a positive statement written in the present tense. For example, “I make healthy food choices on a daily basis to keep my body lean.” Or, “I eat healthy, muscle-building food to fuel my body for lean mass gain.” Decide on what you want and then use key words in one or two affirmations and then do it. Affirming what you want and not following through is a waste of time.

Most importantly do this for yourself and not for someone else. This is your body, your self-image. Be proud of who you are on the ‘inside’ first (read: believe in yourself), and changes to your physical appearance will come more easily. Surround yourself with others who are working on similar goals. Remember the saying, “Birds of a feather, flock together?” Others in pursuit of the same goal will help to keep you motivated and consistent. Your determination on a regular basis will be key in creating new habits and leaving old ones behind.

In the next article we’ll consider how nutrition, knowledge, flexibility, recovery and body mechanics complete the ‘”Big Picture.”