1 month, that’s all it takes. 1 month of lifting, sweating, pushing, pulling, falling, failing, flailing and dieting to get into the best shape of your life.
I’m not saying you’ll have abs that you can grate cheese on or muscles you can pull cars with, but if you commit 100% of yourself into it for just 1 month, you can get some pretty amazing results.
In this short amount of time, I’ve undergone a significant transformation and I did it by simply following what we all know, but all chose to ignore.
Fitness isn’t hard it’s just really tough
5 steps to kick your ass into shape
Step 1) Diet before dumbbells
The old saying “abs are made in the kitchen,” is (unfortunately) true.
Calories go on far easier (and more enjoyably) than they come off so if you’re eating junk, then spending hours in the gym every day becomes somewhat of a waste.
Finding the right diet:
If you want to burn fat and gain strength than you need to find a diet that feeds that goal.
There are literally thousands of theories out there on what a healthy diet looks like, but eating healthy doesn’t have to be a rocket science experiment.
We all know eating fast food, candy, chips and heavy carbs isn’t good for us, and frankly, that’s not why we eat them (they taste amazing). So avoid the garbage and stick to the stuff we all know what we should be eating: Veggies, fruits, & meats (preferably local and organic).
Knowing this, try to find a diet that focuses on those 3 core ingredients. I chose the Paleo diet and had great results.
Sticking to your grub:
It’s always harder to stick with the diet than it is to commit to it, so the trick to getting into shape is to make dieting as easy as possible.
Look for a diet that has lots of free online resources like recipes and health guides so that you’re not scrambling to find meal ideas when you need them. You will inevitably tire of eating salad every day so make sure you have help spicing things up.
Prep everything in advance. Your meal plan, shopping, and leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. Never leave yourself in a position where junk food seems like the easiest and best option.
Step 2) Don’t reinvent the wheel
Just like dieting, fitness training can be equally confusing and frustrating to try and narrow down what the best option is for you.
The trick to getting into shape is to not make this decision so complicated.
The best thing you can do is find a premade program that interests you and commit to it 100% for at least a month. In the beginning, it’s just better that you’re doing something rather than the nothing you were doing before.
Crossfit, Zumba, kickboxing, Spinning, Boot Camps, Weight Lifting, or Step Aerobics. All of these have great structures that take the pressure off of you to know what you’re doing and all have great coaching/instructions no matter what your fitness level. But if you simply can’t get to the gym (or can’t afford it) try an at home fitness app like Freeletics.
Whatever you choose into shape, make sure it’s fun (as much fun as sweating can be), safe (it’s grounded in some sort of kinesiology), and it’s accessible (don’t make yourself travel 30+ minutes to get there otherwise you just won’t go).
Step 3) Go with a bro (or broette)
Going to the gym by yourself (especially in the beginning) sucks… Going alone will just leave you feeling lost, self-conscious and unmotivated which will only lead to half-assed effort.
Get a good group of friends together to commit to getting into shape with you (not just 1 friend as odds are they will flake on you).
Together you will push each other to get up and workout every day, and when you’re there you will all try a little harder knowing someone is watching you.
Step 4) Schedule your torture
If you don’t know when you need to be going to the gym, you’ll end up not going.
Find a schedule that works for you and stick with it; whether it’s first thing in the morning or right after lunch. Whatever you choose make sure it’s functional for your life so you will stick with it in the long run.
Step 5) Commit don’t quit
No matter who you are and how motivated you feel, I can guarantee at some point things will get tough and you will want to quit. The question, how will you keep yourself dedicated when you feel like throwing in the towel?
- Have S.M.A.R.T. goals that you can keep yourself accountable to.
- Make your goals public so others will hold you accountable.
- Put something on the line. There are many apps that let you put up money or embarrassing pictures as an incentive to keep you motivated along the way. Check out Pact and Stickk as great options.
Bonus) Failure is an option (but not forever)
Often we put such high pressure on ourselves to be perfect in our workout goals that it becomes the very causes for us to break down and bail out.
Let yourself be imperfect once in a while. If you missed a workout, get sucked into to eating a cookie, or had a beer with your friends on a Friday night, it’s not the end of the world. The important thing is that your head is in the right place. If you slip up, don’t beat yourself up about it, try your best to make up for it and move forward.
Fitness should be about building a better, happier, healthier you, so allow yourself to enjoy the journey and don’t get down when you stray off course.
