Manage Your Expectations,
Improve Your Odds of Success

It's February, and by now your New Year's enthusiasm for getting in better shape has probably worn off—sure, you've done some good workouts in the last few weeks, but your weight hasn't changed much, you're still wearing your same clothes, and the pursuit of getting in better shape is starting to feel like a chore instead of an adventure. You might be thinking, what's the point of all this fitness stuff anyway? Or you might be complaining. You may even be ticked off that you're not ready to appear on the cover of a magazine in your swimsuit yet.

Believe me, you are not alone. So many clients come to us and after weeks or months or sometimes years of exercising more than they used to and are disillusioned because they haven't seen the results they envisioned. But when we ask them about what they are doing to promote their health and fitness beyond their twice a week resistance training, the answer is often nothing. "But I've been doing these workouts for three months—I should be seeing more results than this," they typically say. As if just signing your name on the contract and showing up is going to do it.

I've said it a million times before and I'm sure I'll say it again a million more times before I die: creating permanent change in your body takes a lot of work—more work than two good workouts a week. It getting and staying fit were easy, not only would everyone be at their ideal weight and fitness level, there would be no need for me to be in this business.

If you've been unimpressed with the results of your efforts to lose weight and get in shape, it's time to review the Five Steps to Fitness:

1.  Nutrition. Most people do not give their diet enough credit. They feel that if they don't eat fast food every day and get a vegetable or two during the week that they are eating "good." Not eating a completely crappy diet is not enough to promote fat loss. You need to know how many calories your particular body needs, based on your goals, weight, metabolic rate. Then you need to consistently eat that number of calories, making sure you keep a balance between getting the nutrients your body needs and eating a diet that you enjoy and that provides you sustenance beyond just the calories and vitamins it provides. If you aren't giving much thought to what you eat, you are dismissing a vital piece of your fitness program.

2.  Cardio respiratory training. Everyone understands the importance of cardio exercise, especially for fat loss.  But not everyone understands that cardio cannot promote weight loss if you don't do it consistently. When we ask our frustrated clients about how much cardio they are doing each week, they most often confess that they aren't doing as much as their trainer suggests. Skipping your cardio is sabotaging your results, simple as that. We don't recommend you do things just because we like to torture you. We tell you what you need to do to get the results you want.

3.  Supplements. While there is no magic pill, supplements do provide the nutrients your body needs to lose weight, gain muscle, and function at its peak. Yes, food also provides nutrients, but not as consistently as supplements—and food also contains calories.

4.  Resistance training.  Resistance training builds muscle, and muscle boosts metabolism. Are you doing the additional exercises that your trainer took the time to prescribe for you? So resistance training not only helps you achieve the results you want, it helps make it a little easier to maintain them once you do. If you're not doing all the resistance training your trainer suggests, you're making your body's job a lot harder.

5.  Get help.  For those of you who are not working with a trainer, studies prove you have an 80% greater chance of seeing results when working with a professional.  Even though we are in challenging economic times, if your health and fitness are important to you, quality personal training is an investment worth making.

If you need help with any of these five areas, please don't hesitate to ask us. Email us at info@kriswade.com or call us at 908.604.8900.

Yours in good health,
Kris Wade