Happy New Year, fellow Actionauts!

Even though I’ve posted a blog since 2011 started, this one’s really important for you to know (not that the other one isn’t, but when one has to prioritize, I’m STRONGLY suggesting this makes the top of your must-reads!)

So, to the point, I have promised you the TOP 3 mistakes people make and why they ultimately do not achieve their goals and here they are:

REASON #1
NEED vs WISH: IT’S NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO YOU!
You wish to lose stubborn belly fat, you wish to get bigger, you wish to ________________ (insert wish here). That’s hardly a goal, the stakes associated with it are low. You NEED to make it a super high priority goal, something that will cost you greatly if you don’t achieve it. A morbidly obese diabetic will die if they don’t start eating properly and exercising. A student won’t get into Law School without the LSAT. You won’t get a loan without good credit. You won’t achieve your fitness goal, whatever it is, if you don’t do what it takes consistently. When dealt a death sentence, ill people try anything, any treatment available, even some they would frown upon when healthy. Some atheists even found religion. I’m harsh to make a point! If it’s not a “must do”, your compliance will be 0%, and so will be your success rate.

REASON #2
HOBBY vs HARD WORK: DON’T CONFUSE TRAINING WITH RECREATION
Playing baseball, golf, doing yoga sure can be fun and is great for you: enjoy the sun, the outdoors, move better, feel better. But you can’t measure it. There is no direct cause-effect, meaning if you do A, it needs to lead to B. Doing yoga will not make you lose weight, no bull! It’s the change of lifestyle and desire to be healthier which, associated with the mindset and a likely improved eating lifestyle reducing excess which will lead to weight loss.
You need a PLAN, a proven path to success. Resistance training can and has been measure. Do A and it will lead to B 100% of the time (unless you get hurt, fall of the wagon etc…)

REASON #3
MINIMUM NECESSARY vs OVERTRAINING
There is a difference between “you should at least do X” and “you only need to do X”. Sometimes, to achieve a goal, you only need to do this much work, and give yourself this much time to recover, and do it this many times. Other times, people think that if they do MORE of X, they’ll achieve their goals faster. Truth is, doing MORE exercise can lead to overtraining, failure (muscular and mental) and what you should be doing is the minimum necessary to yield results, and use the spare time to correct or ensure other variables in your program are observed. Translation: knowing that you can’t out-exercise a bad diet, training more will not lead to a better body; instead pay closer attention to your nutritional intake, your rest periods (in-session and in-between sessions) and make sure the program matches your goals (don’t train like a marathoner if you want to build mass, don’t train like a fighter if you don’t fight).