Step Two- The What and When: What do you want to accomplish and when do you want to accomplish it by?

 

A wise man once said the difference between a goal and a dream is a goal has a date.  So we already figured out you want to look better naked!  Now we need to establish a plan to help you achieve your goal(s).

 

Let’s take a look at 3 ways I track my clients progress.

 

1.)     Scale Weight: This is by far the least important goal, but it gives a number that’s worth tracking. Please do not get too caught up on the scale or you may self sabotage your results.  The rules for weighing yourself are simple.  Take your initial weight before you start, first thing in the morning naked, on an empty stomach after you use the bathroom.  Only weigh yourself about once a week, but please be sure it is at the same time and on the same day each week.  You also must understand that there are a lot of variables that control the accuracy of the scale.  If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then just skip this one altogether if you must, because the next two markers are far more important.

 

2.)     Dress/Pant Size: This is probably the most simple, but least used method of tracking progress.  I have witnessed clients only lose 10 lbs, but managed to lose 2 dress sizes.   If your clothing size is going down, you’re looking better.   A little trick I like to use is I like my clients to keep one pair of pants with the tags on 1 size down and keep trying them on until they fit.  After that, they return them and get a smaller size.   If your goal is only 2-3 sizes less, I would also recommend buying a pair of pants in your goal size as well.  Clients that follow our program as outlined tend to lose about a clothing size each month.  Just imagine yourself comfortably getting into clothes that use almost rip when you put them on.

 

3.)     Pictures: Pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. We have taken pictures of nearly every client that ever trained with us.  It’s so easy to do I don’t understand why all trainers don’t use this method.  I urge you to take before pictures before you embark on your fitness journey, you’ll be so happy you did.  Trust me I have heard all types of excuses as to why a client doesn’t take like to take pictures.  The excuses range from, I can just look in the mirror to I don’t like my body and I can’t let anyone see me like that.  Talk about some poor excuses.  Looking in the mirror at your progress is equivalent to watching your hair grow.  You can look all day long, but you’ll never see anything.  The fact you don’t like your body is no excuse either.  Sorry to sound harsh here, but you need to see what you are putting your loved ones through when they have to look at your body.  If you want to look better, what better way is there to assess this than pictures?  When you take your pictures, be sure to wear something that will show you have made significant changes.  We like our women to wear a tank top or sports bra and a pair of shorts or tights.  A bathing suit is also acceptable.  For the guys, just go skins.  The clients whom I’ve transformed that failed to take before pictures in the past have nothing but regret about it. Your before pictures will become your trophy and they are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. We generally take new pictures of our clients monthly until they reach their goal(s).

Step Three- Planning for the Unexpected:  What obstacles may prevent you from achieving your fitness goals?  Why did you fail in the past?

 

Now that we know what you want to accomplish, it’s time to plan and prepare for the unexpected.  Let’s take a look at some of the most common obstacles.

 

In general, the number one thing I hear is that people are too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to get their workouts in or make their meals. We all have the same 168 hours in week.  Ask yourself has anyone else with your schedule or busier, accomplished what you’re trying to.  If the answer is yes, then you know it can be done.  Before Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon, people thought it couldn’t be done.  Fast forward to 2009 and several people have walked on the moon.  I don’t care how busy you think you are, there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if your re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. Nothing tastes as good as lean and buffed feels.  Make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment.  Losing body fat doesn’t take nearly as long as it took to gain it.  Most clients that train with us can buckle down for 3-4 months and get in the best shape of their life.  If your current program isn’t delivering those results, click here.

 

Many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is, you guessed it, to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom strikes and you can beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.

 

At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks our clients encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. The clients who have had the most success with us have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially since most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success your desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early.

 

How Bad Do You Want It?

Blair

www.amblerbootcamps.com

PART 1 

 

 

In the last four years alone, I can’t begin to count the number of people I have helped change their life and bodies for the better.  I guess you could say, I’m good at what I do.  Not to sound conceited, but like the great Bruce Lee said, ”if I tell you I’m great, you’ll just say I’m boasting, but if I tell you I’m trash, you know I’m lying”. Here’s what I need you to understand, I have a proven system for losing body fat fast.  If you don’t know me personally, you may be a little skeptical reading this.  There are a lot of internet gurus out there claiming to be the best but have never trained anyone before.  Personally, I’ve forgotten more than most trainers know.  I made a lot of mistakes, did a lot of trial and error over the years, came in contact with some great people who took me on as a protégé.  But, today I am going to share something more powerful; something that must be set in place before you can even start to think about following a fitness program.

 

Are you ready?  Here we go.  What do you think is the real secret behind my client success? You probably think it’s the fact that they have someone pushing them through their workouts and telling them what to do and eat.  If that was your answer, then your answer is wrong. Yes, I do those things, but unfortunately it’s useless if someone is unwilling to start it AND stick to it, right? What I have found to be the most important component of changing your body is finding the motivation to achieve your goals.   Today I am going to take you through a process that you must entail if you want weight loss success.  In fact, it’s so important, I’m considering making it a requirement for all future clients before they work with us.

 

Before I get into this goal setting process, let me let you in on a little secret.  By age 65, 95% of Americans are either dead or dead broke.  Studies show that ONLY 5% are financially secure by this time.  What do you think those 5% have in common?  That’s right, they all set goals.  They know exactly what it is they want to accomplish and why they want to accomplish it.  Not to mention, they have a plan in place in case of any obstacles they may come across.  So as you can see, goal setting isn’t just about weight loss, it’s about taking control of your life.  If you think the thought of setting goals is useless, please do us both a favor and stop reading this article and go buy another useless weight loss book or pill because I simply cannot do anything for you. I can only help people who want to learn.  If you think you know more than me and are not willing to listen, I cannot help you.  So if you’re still reading, then let’s hop right into it.

 

Step One- The Why: Why do you want to get in shape?

 

Before you answer, think long and hard.  I heard it said, if your “why” is strong enough, the “how” becomes easy.  Most of the time when I sit with someone and ask this question, I get very basic answers like “I just want to lose a few pounds and be healthier.”

 

Nope, I don’t buy it. Sure, I know they want to lose weight and be healthy, I mean who doesn’t, but really WHY do they want to do this? What is it that’s going to get them up at 5 am to get their morning workouts in or take a couple of hours on Sunday to plan and prepare their meals for the upcoming week? It sure isn’t “being healthy” because for some reason this just isn’t a very powerful motivator for most people (though it should be).  I have met with people who were told by their doctor to lose weight or die and still they weren’t motivated to get started.

 

Let’s face it: everybody, including YOU, wants to look better naked. Stop laughing, you know it’s true and we all know that vanity is probably the best motivator there is. This shouldn’t be such a big surprise since the main life mission of humans, or any species for that matter, is to procreate. This is instinctual. And obviously, looking better makes this more of a reality.

 

We all want two things out of life, and that is to gain pleasure and avoid pain.  People will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure.  So before you decide to embark on your fitness journey, you must acknowledge that you are carrying this pain and you want to do something about it.  After I find their past or pain, I then establish their current and future ambitions.  Some people want to be able to wear a bathing suit at the beach this year and not feel self-conscious. Others want to get back into their favorite pair of skinny jeans because the nicest clothes they own are too small for them.  Then there are those who just want to look and feel more attractive to those of the opposite sex to help their relationships.  Last but not least, you are preparing for that big day because you want to look your absolute best in your wedding dress.  These are the emotional reasons that get people fired up to make some serious changes. 

 

So, the first thing you have to figure out is your personal WHY. To make this even simpler for you, just answer this question: what are your physical dreams? Once you establish this, everything else is simple.