Little by Little

-Michaela

Improving your health, fitness and body composition is no different than any other long term commitment in our lives. Nothing is earned in a day. To say that you need to earn heavy weights on the barbell or a sought after physique is an understatement. You can not buy a 500# back squat or 6-pack abs, that is why we admire those who have them so much. To earn these goals you have to be more than motivated. You have to do more than simply want it. You have to be ready to work, and work hard for the things you want in life.

Unfortunately we have been sold a long list of lies surrounding our health and fitness. The first that being motivated is all it takes. The second that it takes some predetermined amount of time to achieve our goals. This being said, we have been sold a load of BS!

Motivation is amazing. It gets you excited, it pushes you to take a first step or initiate a change towards your desired outcome. And for the first week or so motivation may be all you need to hop out of bed to workout at 4 in the morning. It might be all you need to turn down the cupcake at work in exchange for a salad. But what about 2 weeks later? What about the next month? How about 6 months from when you started? Where is your motivation now?

What you need is a clear goal and some commitment.

It is extremely difficult to wake up everyday committed to something you do not understand. Think about as a child how frustrating it was to hear “because I said so”. How can you commit to the consistency needed to achieve your goal if you do not know what your target is or how to reach it? I strongly suggest that you figure out what your goals are and why. You can not enact an enduring change without some level of understanding.

So first step is to DEFINE your goal: What exactly is it that you want? To just  “be stronger” is too vague. To “back squat more” is a little closer. To “back squat more than other people in the gym” is still a moving target. To “back squat 500#”, now that is something we can measure. Great! We have a clear and defined goal.

Now we need to figure out WHY this is your goal: Could you tell me how your goals affect you? Your happiness or success? How would it positively affect your life? How about your self esteem and self worth? Squatting 500# because you simply want to be strong is not going to have you in the gym every day before work. Because you want to impress the people around you is not going to help you finish that last set you want to skip. Because you have some underlying self esteem issue tying your self worth to your strength… maybe work on yourself first and then revisit this goal. Or because you want to prove to yourself that you can achieve something you never thought possible! That is an awesome why! That will have you heading to the gym after a long day of work instead of to the couch and Netflix.

So now that you’ve established your goal and why you want to achieve it it is time to act on it! Don’t be afraid to ask for help either. If you knew exactly how to achieve your goal, you understood why you wanted to achieve it and you had the resources to do it, it would already be done! Is your goal a strict pull up? Ask a coach for some tips and accessory work, come into the gym a little before class or stay a little after. Want to trim up for summer or fuel your performance in the gym, set up a nutrition consult with me! Want to get a 200# snatch, maybe consider some 1-1 time with Michelle or one of our other olympic coaches!

And your goals don’t have to be limited to the gym, strength or body composition. Your goal might be to spend more time with your family. Or get a promotion at work. My main goal right now is to take one day off a week to do something I genuinely enjoy. Just for me, not for work or a chore, because y’all know how much I love grocery shopping…

Lastly understand that your goals will forever be progressing and shifting. If you are a truly hungry individual you will never be satisfied. The second you achieve your goal you will already be setting another one to demolish. Everyday make the small choices that align with your goals and take the necessary steps forward to achieve them!  Hunt greatness and constantly be pursuing excellence.

Categorised in: Blog, Nutrition