The title says it all. “22 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Got Fit” is a blog by Paul Nobles written on December 16 of 2014 and has already been shared worldwide over 10,750 times!!
I hope it has the same effect on you as it did on me. There are a lot of ‘Ah Ha’ moments that really put things into perspective of what I’ve learned vs. what I thought when I first started.
It also hits even closer to home for me because I hear clients like you say these things to me everyday.
It’s a great read, here you go….
They say hindsight is 20/20. Everything makes so much sense as you get older and gain experience; what seemed insignificant then clearly matters now.
This is just a short list of musings regarding training, nutrition, and life in general that I put together to share with you after five years of consisten dedication to becoming the best person I can be. Enjoy!
1a. Sex is a lot better when your wife isn’t worried that you’re going to die (though technically that was my first exposure to intervals).
1b. Let’s just say that your manhood decreases the more unfit you become and leave it at that.
2. Fat is math, so if you are 220 pounds and 40% body fat and want to get to 10%, you basically need to lose 66 pounds of fat.
3. Healthy food can be enjoyable and it can also be convenient.
4. Throw a salad into the mix most every day; it makes a big difference. (Do it up right – no McDonald’s drive thru bullshit unless that is all that is available.)
5. Ice cream on weekends never made anyone fat – ice cream every day plus 4,000 additional Calories of food does the trick quite nicely.
6. Foods that made you fat will make you jacked when you lift weights.
7. Feed your cardio.
8. You don’t have x amount of fat to lose – you only have 5 pounds or 3 pounds or whatever it is you choose. I found that taking on my goals in bite-sized chunks made them much more attainable.
9. Re-evaluate. I went from the mid 40th percentile of body fat to 9% but I got too small. I am now about 15% and feel more comfortable. That said, my goals are always progressing. For weightlifting and powerlifting, being bigger is better. If I decide I want to pursue something more endurance-based each percent only equals 1.75 pounds (I weigh 175 pounds). So losing say 10 lbs. gets me back under 10%. I constantly re-evaluate based on what I enjoy doing or what challenges me to stay active.
10. Get better at exercise. If your exercise isn’t enjoyable, find something that is – whatever you do you will be more motivated to do it daily if you are seeing results and it stimulates you mentally.
11. Abs are muscles. Want visible abs? Don’t eat in a Caloric deficit all of the time.
12. Don’t diet in the beginning. Change the quality but not the quanitity – you are going to need that extra energy for all the new cool stuff you are doing.
13. Don’t be so drastic.
14. The goal is progress, not perfection.
15. Allow guiltless, joyful eating to be a part of your life.
16. Do something you enjoy outside of the gym.
17. “Doing” is more important than you think so when you want to diet without activity, realize that isn’t what humans evolved from. Can it work? Yes. Does it often work well? Not really.
18. Whatever you do, try and do it with others.
19. What got you here won’t get you there. To get to 149 pounds I was WODing (working out) 6 days a week but I was hurt a lot. Now I WOD 2-3 days a week with some long endurance and some slow lifting days and that feels more correct after 5-6 years in.
20. Make sleep a priority.
21. Record everything. Take pictures, take measurements, and record your workouts. It will shock you the changes you make in a short period of time.
22. Lastly you won’t look like George Clooney when you are done and that’s OK. People have unrealistic expectations of what the end product will look like and that sets you up for failure. Embrace the process as an ongoing endeavor rather than an end zone where you have an 8 pack and you will mentally be in a much better place moving forward.
http://www.eattoperform.com/2014/12/16/22-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-got-fit/
….Derek here again.
Good stuff right? Learn from people who have done it before and trust the process.
I hope these tips push you in the right direction to continue your fitness journey.
Remember, one step at a time.
Committed to your fitness success,
Derek Kuryliw, Fitness & Nutrition Coach
www.LiveFitBootcamps.com
