All too often people see fitness transformations and think, “I could never do that” or “The only way to accomplish that look is to go on some crazy diet or workout 5 hours a day”. These people then lose hope and are never able to achieve their fitness goals. However, these beliefs are simply not true. As an NASM Certified Personal Fitness trainer, my goal is to be able to help each one of you accomplish your fitness goals in sustainable manner. My belief is it is more important to slowly implement sustainable lifestyle changes that will lead to long term success rather than just have you go on some crazy fat loss diet or exercise program that may lead to short term success but can not be sustained in the long run. Fitness and healthy lifestyle changes are not a sprint but rather a marathon. Below are my five keys to fitness success. If implemented correctly they will allow each of you to find lasting success in your fitness goals. None of my workout programs will provide you with magical results…in fact you may not even see any results if you’re not following the five principles listed below. But if you follow the programs I have created to a “T” and implement these five keys to fitness success then I think you will be shocked and pleasantly surprise with amount of progress you will make. Thank you for choosing to become apart of the JB Fitness Family! I look forward to hearing your success stories and seeing your transformation photos! As always feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I am always glad to answer any questions you may have as it is my goal to see each one of you succeed not only in the gym but in everyday life!
5 Keys to Fitness Success
- Hard work -this is giving it your all each and every time you are in the gym. You push through the pain and get those extra reps. It doesn’t mean every workout will go great cause you are going to have off days but at least you are in there putting in work. You are following the program to the best of your ability and seeking to perform each exercise with correct form in order to stay healthy and prevent injury.
- Dedication –This is learning and researching how to perform exercises better and more efficiently. You are researching ways to do exercises to shock your muscles in new ways. Finally, your helping others along their journey and finding others who are ahead of you to learn from and push you. Fitness is not a competition, but rather it is a brotherhood of people working together to help each other succeed in their goals. I guarantee that if you take time out of your workout to help someone else with an exercise or help them put weights on the bar you will not only get a new friend, but you will also have more motivation to work hard because fitness will no longer be just about you. If you need help learning how to do a certain exercise go to my YouTube Channel where I have a lot of videos showing you how to perform exercises with proper form. Follow the link below:
- Consistency –This is not skipping workouts or sets. There’s going to be days you don’t feel like going in to the gym or doing your workout but you do it anyway. If your workout plan is 3 days a week you make sure to hit those 3 workouts with proper form each and every week no excuses. Lack of consistency is the reason most people never see progress in the gym…week after week, month after month, and year after year of consistency is what leads to success in the gym and in life! Transformations don’t happen overnight it may take months or even years of consistently working hard to see that change you want to have. But that is what makes the changes you do make so sweet! If it was easy everyone would do it!
- Diet – This is the most important aspect of fitness and having a healthy lifestyle as long as your training is in place. Many American are eating way too many calories throughout the day without even realizing it. Weight loss is pretty simple. It is all about calories in calories out. If you take in (eat or drink) more calories than you burn throughout the day you will gain weight and if you burn more calories than you take in, then you will lose weight. Pretty simple right? So, if you take in 3,500 more calories than you can burn you will gain one pound, but if you burn 3,500 more calories than you take in then you lose one pound. At JB Fitness our team believes in being able to eat whatever you want in moderation as long as you hit your calories. We are not a fan of fad diets that cannot be maintained throughout the rest of your life. When it comes to weight-loss we want you to create a lifestyle change not just a diet change. A lot of times people will lose a bunch of weight by following these fad diets, but as soon as they stop following that special diet and go back to eating normally again, they gain all their weight back. That is why at JB fitness we say you can eat normally as long as you hit your calorie intake for the day. Ideally, we would also like to see you hit your macros as well. The goal is to have about 20-30% Protein, 20-30% fats, and 40-60% of your calories come from carbs. This means, however, that you do need to be wise on your food choices. In order to hit your calories for the day and not be hungry you are going to have to make healthy choices. You will need to eat foods that are filling and low calorie. But if you have calories left over at the end of the day you can still enjoy your favorite treats. Many of my clients will eat desserts such as ice cream and cookies and are still losing weight as long as they are sticking to their calories for the day. We also promote slower weight loss of about one pound or less each week as this is less stressful on your body’s metabolism and it allows your stomach to shrink a bit so that when your eating less calories you don’t feel as hungry as you would have if you were doing a more aggressive weight loss program. This makes it easier to stick to the plan so that you can ultimately achieve your goal. Finally, it is extremely important to drink enough water each day. Often times when you feel hungry it is actually your body telling you it is dehydrated and needs water. This dehydration then leads to over eating because instead of drinking more water which will then make you feel full you just eat more. The average man should drink a minimum of 13 cups of water and the average woman should drink a minimum of 9 cups each day. Then for every 25 pounds you are above your ideal weight, you should then drink an extra 8 ounces of water each day. By drinking more water, you will not only suppress your hunger but also have more energy throughout the day. We recommend using “MyFitnessPal” app on your smartphone to keep track of your food and water intake.
- Sleep -All too often people follow the first 4 keys to success but then think they can skip key 5 and be okay. This is a bad idea as sleep is a crucial part of fitness. When you sleep your body has time to repair itself which will help prevent injuries and allow your muscles to repair after a workout and grow bigger. It has been shown that people who sleep less than 7 hours a day are more likely to be overweight as the lack of sleep impacts the balance of hormones in the body that affects your appetite. It is your hormones ghrelin and leptin which regulate appetite that get disrupted by the lack of sleep which can then lead to weight gain. Also, if you lack energy you will be less likely to be physically active and have intense workouts throughout the day which will help you burn more calories, which in turn helps you keep your weight down. Aside from all that, a positive mentality is fundamental in fitness. If you are sleep deprived it has been shown to impact many of the chemicals in your body, including serotonin. People who have serotonin deficiencies are more likely to suffer from depression, which leads to a negative outlook on life. This depression and negative view on life will then affect every aspect of life including fitness and can prevent you from accomplishing your goals. Here at JB Fitness we recommend getting a minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep each night for maximum functionality inside and outside of the gym.
All in all if you follow the programs I have created to a “T” and implement these five keys to fitness success then I think you will be shocked and pleasantly surprise with amount of progress you will make! You can do it! I look forward to hearing about all your success and we the JB Fitness team will be here to help you along the way!
This article was written by:
Josiah Brannon
NASM Certified Personal Fitness Trainer
Josiah Brannon is an National Academy of Sports Medicine
(NASM) Certified Personal Trainer with experience in helping clients improve their Sports Performance, Everyday Functional Fitness, and Bodybuilding. He is not only passionate about Fitness, but he promotes living life to the fullest mentally, physically, and spiritually. To hire Josiah Brannon as a Personal Fitness Trainer click here!