Pierini Fitness baker's dozen what has worked for me

I recently commented to a question posted on an internet fitness discussion forum.  The question was, “What has actually worked for you?”  Obviously, this was a question in the context of fitness.

The person asking the question shared that the Ketogenic diet, high repetition pushups, and Creatine supplementation is what worked for him.
  

Interesting was his following comment that he wondered why it is when we find something that seems to work that we ever abandon it.  I couldn’t quite tell if this suggested he had abandoned what had worked for him, lost his results and was now contemplating getting back on the plan.
  

Always willing to jump in on the action and contribute to a legitimate fitness question, I thought about it for a while and then shared what has worked for me.  The following is what I shared, edited somewhat and in a slightly different order from my posted comment:

#1

Eat less as a lifestyle, yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the rest of my life.  Don’t quit once I’ve achieved my weight loss or body appearance goal.

#2

Jump on the scale each morning and weigh.  Keep detailed training journals.

#3

Use a tape measure to measure my girth periodically.  Take pictures to keep my bathroom mirror and perception honest.

#4

Take videos of me in fitness action to evaluate my form and detect my fitness lameness so I can work of eradicating it.

#5

Change and manage my thoughts, feelings and behaviors so that food is fuel for my body and not my crank cocaine drug of choice.

#6

Follow an intuitive fitness training approach rather than one that’s structured, depending on what my body is telling me.  Always obey my body.

#7

Do not dodge intensity during my workouts.

#8

Chase athleticism rather than bodybuilding.

#9

Have seasonal fitness goals that are SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timetable to achieve.  Periodically test these goals to see how I’m doing.

#10

Have desire, discipline, patience and perseverance when chasing, achieving and maintaining all my fitness, health and wellness goals.

#11

Don't let anyone sabotage my goals, especially ME!

#12

Realize that if I achieve my goals, it won’t make me a better person. If I’m a jerk and turd before, I’ll be one after, even if sporting a bad ass body and having upper-percentile fitness for an amateur athlete.

#13

Know my age.

This is my Pierini Fitness baker’s dozen what has worked for me.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.

Fitness Point A to Point B

Earlier this week I attended a continuing education seminar about personal financial planning.  There was something I learned from this seminar that I’d like to share in the context of planning one’s health and wellness and, more specifically fitness and strength.

The seminar had a very simple explanation of financial planning, describing it simply as consisting of the following:

ü  It’s all about going from Point A (now) to Point B (where you ultimately want to be).

ü  This process never changes – going from Point A to Point B.

ü  We don’t want to be tempted by and react to what we hear from the media. 

ü  We don’t want to make changes for the heck of it.

ü  A long-term strategy wins the race every time.  It’s a process by which wealth is built over time.  It’s not intended to be a get rich quick scheme.

Our health and wellness planning – more specifically our fitness and strength – is really no different. 

ü  It’s all about going from Point A (now – our current fitness and/or strength) to point B (the fitness and/or strength level where we ultimately want to be).

ü  This process never changes – going to Point A to Point B.

ü  We don’t want to be tempted by what we hear from the media and this includes the fitness gurus we haphazardly stumble across while surfing the internet.

ü  We don’t want to make changes for the heck of it.  This assumes we have crafted a well thought out and designed training plan that is point A to point B-based as discussed in (1) above.

ü  A fitness training strategy that is long-term wins the race every time.  It’s a process (fitness training) by which improved fitness (however we measure it) is achieved over time.  It’s not intended to be a get fit or get strong quick scheme.

With less than one month left this 2015 calendar year, many of us are setting new goals and resolutions for the upcoming year.  Some of these will be fitness and/or strength-related. 

Now’s a good time to give some thought to our New Year resolutions. 

We’ll begin by assessing where we are at the moment and where we’d like to be at various points in the next year.

And then, hopefully, we’ll design a great training plan and back it up with hard work for a pleasant fitness journey taking us from our fitness Point A to Point B.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum