2 Secrets to Losing Weight, Getting Fit and Building Muscle

I think people are hard-wired to put the cart before the horse when it comes to getting things done. Achieving our fitness goals is no exception.

When it comes to fitness, whether losing weight, getting more fit and/or building muscle, we complicate matters by spending far too much time on trying to figure out what's going to work. We scour the web, books, videos and other resources looking for the perfect plan, workout, program, diet, etc.

The trouble is that more often than not it's not the plan, workout, program or diet that fails us. Instead, failure, or failing to succeed is a result of 2 mistakes many of us make (including me).

Those 2 mistakes are:

Failing to get started; and

Failing to focus.

Therefore, the 2 fundamental secrets to losing weight, getting fit, building muscle or achieving any lofty fitness goal are:

Get started and build momentum; and

Stay focused.

I know this stuff sounds wishy washy to you, and in a sense it is; but it's also serious stuff.

Let me ask you, how many times have you started a particular workout or program, only to switch horses after a couple of weeks?

Or, how many fitness programs or diets have you purchased that you actually never started?

I'm guilty of both. I have a computer hard drive and shelf full of fitness books, most of which I've read, but many of which I didn't complete.

If you don't do it or don't finish it, you'll never succeed

I know you know this. I do, yet why do we fall for the trap?

I think it's because it's a cycle. The more we don't start, or start and switch horses prematurely, the less results we get. We then start thinking nothing will work ... yet we remain optimistic enough to keep on researching, buying, reading ... all the things that DON'T get results.

What are the solutions?

Nothing is perfect

There is no perfect workout. No perfect diet plan. No perfect fitness regimen. It doesn't exist. In fact, how could it when a fitness lifestyle includes change.

Yes, a great fitness lifestyle will progress and include change. You won't remain on a weight loss regimen forever. You won't build mass indefinitely. You won't train for a marathon forever.

Instead, a fitness lifestyle has cycles. Take the bodybuilder for instance. A bodybuilder who succeeds will do a variety of workouts over the course of a year. The first 2 to 3 months may focus on adding mass. The next 2 to 3 months may focus on cutting fat and getting lean. The next 2 months may be a lead-up to a competition.

What does this mean?

As our fitness lifestyle progresses, so too do our goals. We never arrive. In fact, there's nowhere to arrive. Once you lose that 30 pounds, you will and should establish new goals.

Which leads me to another important point ...

Set concrete goals and stick to it

Concrete goals are important. The more specific (to a point), the better. By specific I mean put numbers to it. If you want to lose weight, set out how many pounds. If you want to add muscle mass, articulate how much weight and/or growth size by muscle.

Once you set your goals and have a program to achieve it, stick to the program. Don't stop after a week. NO fitness regimen will deliver results in a week. It takes 4 months at least to show decent results.

But, if you stick with it to the point where you see results, the results will snowball.

Does that mean you never switch programs?

Absolutely not. I do all types of training. However, I don't switch every week. I switch it up every few months. At the time I'm writing this article, my goal is to add 20 pounds of muscle mass. I'm eating a lot, lifting super hard, doing some cardio, and do some stretching. My focus is lifting and eating.

However, once I gain those 20 pounds, I'll focus on cutting up. I'll change my rep count, exercises, ramp up cardio, ramp up stretching and cut back on caloric intake.

Who knows, in 10 months, I may do 3 months focusing on yoga to dramatically improve my flexibility and alignment (after several months of heavy lifting).

Stop sweating the details

I'm a participant on fitness forums, and one of the most frequent questions I see asked is for people to evaluate their programs. Most programs I read are good. Yet, I can tell those people are probably spending more time researching, honing, revising and changing their workout programs than actually doing it.

Sure, there are fundamentals to stick with to achieve various goals (i.e. you need a running program to train for a marathon); however, most workouts I see are good only if they're actually used consistently for the prescribed time.

The nutrition angle

One final point is that nutrition is extremely important with any fitness regimen if you're seeking to achieve goals. I'm not advocating getting fanatic about nutrition, but it's important to eat basically healthy foods. If you lift, include more protein. Otherwise, focus on whole foods (fruits, veggies, grains, quinoa, legumes) and you'll establish a decent diet in no time.