Fitness Goals, Weight Loss Recipe

Lean-Body Fitness Secrets e-Zine: Fitness Goals, Weight Loss Recipe

It's great to be back in the new year bringing you another issue of Lean-Body Fitness Secrets e-Zine. As always, if you enjoy this information, please feel free to forward to your friends, family, and colleagues. In this issue, you'll find:

Resolutions = Failure; Concise Goals = Success

Lean-Body Pizza Recipe

Press Release on Resolutions by Virgil Aponte

New Year Resolutions = Failure; Concise Goals = Success

With the new year upon us now, and everyone making their new year resolutions, the gyms are once again packed to the gills with people trying to lose weight and get in better shape. The sad thing is that the vast majority of people will give up on this resolution by as early as February without having accomplished anything.

Here's my opinion on resolutions...I say forget about the resolutions for good! For one, they are usually too vague and have no time-line laid out for success. For example, normally a person may make a vague, non-specific new year resolution such as "I want to lose weight" or "I want to improve my bench press" or "I will finally get in better shape".

Instead of these vague resolutions with no time line, decide on a lazer-targeted GOAL with a specific time period and write it down. Make sure it is realistic, but still will be a great accomplishment. Then write down the steps you are going to take to achieve that targeted goal. Come up with a specific plan for success.

For example, here are better examples of targeted goals that people might make:

"I will lose 12 lbs in the next 2 months"
"I will add 30 lbs to my deadlift in the next 6 weeks"
"I will increase my pullups from 6 to 12 in the next 6 weeks"
"I will lose 1-inch from my waist in the next month"
"I will learn to perform a butt-to-ground one-legged squat in the next 2 weeks"

Notice how all of these examples are very precise goals with a specific time-line for success. Also, since you have written the specific goal down and written down the plan you will take to accomplish the goal, you are much more likely to be successful. Keep the written goal and plan somewhere that you will see it on a daily basis. This is very motivating and sets most people up for success, because nobody wants to fail at a goal that they've formalized in writing. It's like a little personal challenge that you are determined not to fail.

Here are a couple examples of how I used these goal setting techniques to achieve various fitness goals for myself in recent years:

Example #1: About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to deadlift 405 lbs (4 wheels on each side of the bar). At the time, I was about 25 lbs shy of that goal, so I set a goal and a detailed plan to be able to increase from 380 to 405 in 5 weeks (as that's what I thought was a realistic time frame). I don't want to go into the full details, but basically I used a staggered progression instead of a linear progression for a 3x per week routine...and voila! I had successfully worked up to the 405 goal that I set for myself!

Example #2: This one was a semi-failure, kind of...read on. About 3 months ago, I had decided to throw handstand pushups back into my routine. I hadn't done them in a long time and could only get about 5 reps at first. I decided that 12 consecutive reps was my goal and laid out a plan to increase to a dozen by 4 weeks. By the beginning of the 4th week, my plan was working wonders and I was up to 11 reps per set. Now here's how I ended up failing to reach the goal. I tried to go for the 12 too early and ended up straining a muscle in my upper back. In hindsight, I should have listened to my body and realized that I needed another week, but I went for it too early and got hurt. So the plan was working, but I had a little snag that stopped me just 1 rep short of my goal. Oh well, I'll definitely get it next time!

Hopefully this article has given you ideas on how to make precise targeted goals as opposed to vague resolutions. Now go ahead and decide what you want and go for it! Make it realistic, but still a challenging achievement that will excite you. If your goal has anything to do with losing body fat around the midsection and developing a more defined body, a fully comprehensive plan is already laid out in the Truth about Six Pack Abs Program .

Geary's Lean-Body Pocketless Pita Pizza Recipe:

This is a delicious and healthy meal I like that's great for lunches or dinners and can be made pretty quickly.

1 whole grain pocketless pita

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup diced red pepper

1/4 cup diced fresh mushrooms

3 oz. diced cooked chicken breast

italian herbs to taste

Throw all the ingredients on top of the pocketless pita, place on a baking sheet, and bake at 450ºF for about 12 min. Wash down with some antioxidant-rich iced green, white, or oolong tea and you're set with a delicious healthy meal that will satisfy you for hours.

Approx. macronutrient content per personal pie:
35 g. protein; 50 g. carbs; 9 g. fiber; 11 g. fat; 400 cals

Some More Thoughts on Resolutions from a Press Release

This was a press release that my fellow fitness professional, Virgil Aponte, from Brooklyn sent out recently. I thought he had some really good points, so I figured I'd share it with you. Here it goes:

New Years Fitness Resolutions Will Set You Up For Failure!
by Virgil Aponte, Givstrength.com

Like clock work every January, millions will make a decision to lead a healthier lifestyle by starting an exercise regimen. They'll join a gym, workout at home or outside and start to try and eat the right foods. The truth is that this resolution will actually lead to failure because it's not a good time to set things up, says Virgil Aponte, a fitness expert based out of Brooklyn, New York.

Throw New Years Fitness Resolutions in with other fitness fads like pills, bogus fitness gadgets or other gimmicks, says Aponte. Why wait to January 1st to start leading a healthy lifestyle. Why not just start with your next meal or next chance to exercise.

Worst yet is that a New Years Fitness Resolution actually sets you up for failure and here's why:

People make it out to be a big production and because of this, set up January 1st or 2nd as the big day to start. Right away this becomes a problem. Why should you have to wait until January 1st or 2nd? And instead of preparing for the start of the program, they use this start day as a reward to eat, drink, party, not exercise, and do what ever they want before the big day. People should reward themselves after they are on a program and not before the program even starts. Many are guilty of saying "I'll eat all of this food I'm not supposed to because I'm going to start my big program on January 1st", says Aponte.

The worst day to start your program is January 1st or 2nd because many are coming off drinking alcohol, eating everything under the sun, and not sleeping enough. Because of this I see people even missing their first day because the body is shot from partying, says Aponte.

The phenomenon of negative momentum also plays a role in people failing to follow through on their resolutions, says Aponte. How can people expect to eat junk, drink alcohol, and get no sleep one day, and all of a sudden start a fitness program the next day? Negative actions breed more negative actions just as simple as positive actions breed positive actions. It's more likely that someone who gets a good night sleep, eats right, and drinks enough water will get up the next day and do more positive things for themselves.

Another problem which leads to the long term failure is that people wind up feeling guilty about not sticking to the program which was destined to fail in the first place. People even begin to question themselves like: What's the point of even trying now because I can't even stick to my New Years Fitness Resolution?

The real truth is that this is really not the time to set resolutions because you should party, be with your family, and enjoy the moment, says Aponte.

His suggestion is to wait a few weeks to start a sensible health and fitness plan. It's best to start a program when things are calmer and not crazy as it the case with the holidays. A few weeks are not going to make or break you, says Aponte.

So the message is clear: Enjoy the holidays because that is what they are here for. In late January, plan a sensible exercise, health and nutrition plan and stick to it year round. Here are some suggestions that will help you get started.

Set attainable short terms goals: Instead of running the New York Marathon, how about just running 2 or 3 times a week for 20 minutes. Instead of losing 50 pounds, how about losing those first 5 pounds and going from there.

Put something in place before you start: For example, join a gym. Better yet, hire a trainer or sign up with a partner to support you.

Write down your goals and keep a journal: A good analogy is a shopping list. You won't forget things and you get a great feeling of accomplishment when you complete things and can scratch them off the list. This is an excellent tool for building positive momentum.

Find activities that you like: Nothing is worse than dreading your workouts. Remember the best exercise is the one that you'll actually do. If you like walking then walk, and if you like lifting weights then lift weights.

Virgil Aponte is the owner of GivStrength Personal Training in Brooklyn, New York. He has successfully trained hundreds including professional athletes from the WNBA and Major League Baseball and is the creator of The Ultimate Stair Exercises & GetFit Anywhere DVD programs. Visit GivStrength.com for more information.

Well, I hope you enjoyed all of the information.

Have a great week! Don't wait another day to start on your TIME-SPECIFIC CONCISE GOAL. I'll talk to you soon.

Stay Strong,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Disclaimer: The programs and information expressed within truthaboutabs.com and this e-zine are not medical advice, but rather represent the author's opinions and are solely for informational and educational purposes. The author is not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any injury or health condition that may occur through following the programs and opinions expressed within truthaboutabs.com or this e-zine. Nutritional information is presented for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate for all individuals. Consult with your physician before starting any exercise program or altering your diet.

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