How can you beat the odds? Outlined below are 8 things that you can do to ensure your success when beginning an exercise program. I have studied the habits of the people who have succeeded with their weight loss goals and noticed they performed many of the same activities. All of them didn’t do everything on this list but did most of them. That’s the beauty of diet and exercise. It’s not what you do all of the time, it’s what you do most of the time. Here’s the list:

1. Begin with the end in mind- Stephen Covey popularized this saying with his landmark bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Beginning with the end in mind means knowing where you want to go in life and progressively taking steps towards that goal. Having a clearly defined vision of where you want to go is the key to any success. Nobody wakes up and accomplishes anything significant by accident. If you want to get in shape, figure out where you want be then focus on what you have to do to get there. Begin to draw up a blueprint of what you will have to do, what you will have to sacrifice, and why it is significant to you. He who has a strong enough why can bare any how. Also, figure out what is standing in between you and your goal. Knowing what obstacles or challenges you will have to overcome can help you adjust your plans accordingly.

2. Be Committed – After you have set your goal, be 100% committed to reaching it. I don’t care what life throws in your way keep your eyes on the prize. Be prepared to go over, under, around, or through any obstacle. When obstacles get in the way, change your route to reach your goal but not your resolve to reach your goal.

3. Keep a journal - You can’t manage what you can’t measure. How do you know if you’re doing the right things? Contrary to popular belief, the best way to tell doesn’t have to do with scales or measurements. Of course the results are a measure of the strength of the effort, but you must make sure you are on the right path. The best way to to know if you are on the right track is to focus on your activity. When you keep a journal for exercise/ nutrition you hold yourself accountable. That way you can always look back to see what you did to get in shape or what you didn’t do to get in shape. It’s easy to lose track of what you ate or how many times you workout during the week unless you write it down. I recommend you write in your journal daily. If you don’t think it is something you can do long term, try it for 30 days. I guarantee that you will find you’re more productive in those 30 days keeping track of what you do.

4. Prioritize your workouts – This ties in with being committed. At the beginning of each week, schedule your workouts. During those times, let everyone (including family) know that you are off limits. Anyone who cares about you should not complain about your unavailability for one hour a day four times per week. If they do, drop them! No, seriously though, I was once told that love is wanting the greatest good for someone else. Your family will be understanding and supportive of you in your fitness quest.

5. Find a workout partner – Finding a workout partner can be very beneficial to you. There is someone else to hold you accountable for showing up to the gym. Some days you may not want to go but will show up because you don’t want to let someone else down. They can help spot you on difficult exercises and give a much needed push when you are ready to quit. Personally, I am always in my best shape and at my strongest when I have a workout partner. There is one point to keep in mind about workout partners. You are at the gym to exercise not socialize! Spend a few minutes talking about your day, family, work, etc. before you start working out or save it for the cool down. You should keep small talk to a minimum between sets especially since you will be alternating equipment. While your partner works you rest and when you work your partner rests.

6. Train with the proper intensity level – This has to be the biggest mistake most people make when they are at the gym. They either workout with weights that are too much to handle or to little to make a difference. The former is typically committed by the males in the gym. We pride ourselves on our strength and athleticism but check your ego at the door of the weight room. Lifting too much weight than you are ready for will probably not benefit you. You will probably start to recruit other muscles to help lift the weight which can turn an isolation exercise into a full body workout. You will work up a sweat but won’t see any results. Even worse, you can possibly set yourself up for injury. I’ll tell you like my old high school coach told me; “Focus on weight and you’ll impress some guys in the gym, focus on technique and you’ll impress the girls on the beach”. That was enough for me, I’ve been refining my technique ever since! The best thing about lifting with proper form is that you will eventually become stronger than someone who just throws up weights recklessly. After a while, their progress will halt due to injury, muscle imbalances, and/or lack of stabilizer strength.

The latter mistake is done by everyone. Lifting a weight for 15 reps when you could have done 25 is a waste. Not only is that weight to light to trigger any significant adaption besides endurance, you didn’t fully challenge the muscle. Muscle growth occurs as a response to a stimulus, an overload. Many women lift very light weights because of a fear of bulking up like a man. In 99.2% of the women out there, this is not a valid concern. Women lack the amounts of testosterone needed to pack on as much muscle as the fellas. Even still most of the guys who they picture are professional bodybuilders who are using many “substances” to get that size. In my years, I have yet to meet an overdeveloped natural bodybuilder. Also, it is more than just training and rep ranges. You have to factor in your diet as well. Don’t eat like a horse if you don’t want to look like a pig.

7. Periodization – Periodization is the division of a training program into smaller, progressive stages. It sounds like an oxymoron but changing your routine up every few months prevents you from falling into a routine. Your body will keep adapting as long as you keep providing fresh stimulus. Have you seen people who go to the gym religiously and run an hour on the treadmill but can’t lose the pounds? It’s because their body has adapted to the workout. To keep seeing results and to stay motivated, change things up every 8-10 weeks at the max. Focus on endurance one month, strength the next, and so on.

8. Look forward to your workout – This is the final piece of advice. Don’t dread going to the gym like it is some type of chore. It is an active investment in your health and well being. Think about it like this, for every hour you spend in the gym, you are adding an extra day to your lifespan. Look at it in monetary terms, for every dollar you put in the bank you get twenty four back. That’s an awesome return you won’t find anywhere else. Factor in the magic of compound interest a.k.a working out continuously over the years and it gets even better. Start investing in your health today!

If this post has helped you in anyway, please feel free to make a donation to our “Lose Weight, Save A Child” fitness challenge. We are raising money to help those who need it the most. Thank you.

Green
Green vegetables contain chlorophyll, beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, folate, calcium, fiber, lutein, vitamin C, calcium and phytochemicals. Some of the phytochemicals may also help keep bad bacteria out of the stomach and aids in digestion. The nutrients found in these vegetables lower blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol levels, support vision retinal health, fight harmful free-radicals, and reduce the risk of cancer.

Artichokes
Asparagus
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Celery
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Green Peppers
Kale
Okra
Peas
Spinach
Zucchini

White
White fruits and vegetables contain nutrients such as beta-glucans and lignans that provide powerful immune boosting activity. Pears and Onions contain phytochemicals that can reduce the risk of cancer and may help with allergies.

Bananas
Cauliflower
Garlic
Ginger
Mushroom
Onion
Potatoes
Turnips

Orange/ Yellow
Orange and Yellow fruits and vegetables are well known for having lots of beta-carotene and vitamin C. They also contain lycopene, zeaxanthin, flavonoids, and potassium. These nutrients lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. They also reduce the risk of prostate cancer, age-related macula degeneration and promote collagen formation. Beta carotene is also converted into Vitamin A within your body. Vitamin A is important for your immune system, vision and skin. Cantaloupes and oranges are high in the mineral potassium. Potassium helps your heart to pump correctly and helps your muscles to contract. Yellow citrus fruits contain phytochemicals which can act as antioxidants. Some can actually prevent cancer-causing substances from entering your body.

Apricot
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Grapefruit
Lemon
Mango
Nectarines
Oranges
Papayas
Peaches
Pineapples
Pumpkin
Rutabagas
Sweet corn
Sweet potatoes
Tangerines

Red
Contain nutrients and phytochemicals such as lycopene, quercetin, and, ellagic acid. The nutrients in red fruits and vegetables lowers blood pressure, LDL cholesterol levels, and reduces the risk of prostate cancer, They also help support joint tissue in arthritis cases.

Beets
Blood oranges
Cherries
Cranberries
Guava
Papaya
Pink/Red grapefruit
Pomegranates
Radicchio
Radishes
Raspberries
Red apples
Red bell peppers
Red chili peppers
Red grapes
Red onions
Red pears
Red peppers
Red potatoes
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Watermelon

Purple/ Blue
Purple and Blue fruits and vegetables include blueberries, grapes, purple cabbage, eggplant, blackberries, and plums. They are rich in a phytochemicals and nutrients such as vitamin C, fiber, quercetin, zeaxanthin, lutein, resveratrol, and flavonoids that help to improve memory. The phytochemicals act as antioxidants to keep your heart healthy and protect against cancer.

Black currants
Blackberries
Blueberries
Dried plums
Eggplant
Elderberries
Grapes
Plums
Pomegranates
Prunes
Purple Potatoes
Purple asparagus
Purple cabbage
Purple carrots
Purple figs
Purple grapes
Raisins

If this post has helped you in anyway, please feel free to make a donation to our “Lose Weight, Save A Child” fitness challenge. We are raising money to help those who need it the most. Thank you.

Your workouts should be a blend of cardio and resistance training. If you have an hour for the gym, 30-40 minutes should be used weight training and do cardio for the remaining 20-30 minutes. Begin your workout with a 5-10 minute cardiovascular warm up to get blood flowing to the muscles and to raise your body temperature. This will help reduce the chance of injury. Unless you have a muscle imbalance, save your stretching for after the workout. There is plenty of research showing that stretching before lifting weights reduces the strength of the muscle and its overall performance.

A good training split to follow is: Upper-Lower-Rest-Upper-Lower-Rest-Rest, rinse and repeat. On days labeled “Upper” you will focus on upper body exercises exclusively. Stick with compound movements that target the large muscle groups (chest and back). Do about 3-4 exercises each for chest and back, 2 exercises for shoulders/traps, and 2-3 for biceps and triceps. Abdominal and core training can be done with upper body or lower body but should not be done everyday. Many people will say that you can train abs everyday. You can, but how effective will it be? Your muscles don’t grow in the gym. The gym provides the stimulus for growth but it is your rest time outside the gym and good nutritional habits that will build lean tissue.

Lower body days will focus on your legs. Incorporate some balance and reactive (plyometric) training. Don’t forget to do single-leg exercises regularly to prevent muscle imbalances. It is estimated that some people who do bilateral exercises exclusively can have an imbalance with one leg up to 10% stronger than the other. This can lead to an awkward looking size difference or injury. Try to do around 8-12 total exercises during leg day. Play with the rep ranges frequently but try to stay in the 8-15 range for legs. From my personal experience, I have noticed that they respond better to slightly higher reps. That could be do to their constant use and supporting our body-weight on a daily basis.

To have your fitness questions answered, go to our contact page and type “Ask the Alchemist” in the subject line. Ask us any question you have regarding fitness and nutrition. Each week 2 questions will be selected and a response will be posted.

If this post has helped you in anyway, please feel free to make a donation to our “Lose Weight, Save A Child” fitness challenge. We are raising money to help those who need it the most. Thank you.

1. See it before you seize it. Jason Terry got a tattoo of the NBA trophy right before the season started. He believed so much in his team that without playing one game of the new year, he permanently marked his body with the object of his desire. Many great thinkers and people throughout history have universally credited one thing with their success. That “thing” is belief. You have to believe in yourself and have faith that you will reach your goals. Henry Ford said “whether you think you can or can’t you are right”. I think he did pretty well for himself. Another historical great said, “As ye so believe, as will be done unto you”. I think He did pretty well for Himself too!

The sky is the limit for all of us. In life there are no guarantees but you can’t let it stop you. Just jump out there and be committed to the goal. Even better, tell others about it so that you’ll have extra pressure to stay on track. It is a positive way to use social pressure. You’ll get tired of saying “I haven’t gotten around to it” when people ask how your project is going.

2. There will always be “crabs in the bucket”. I turned on the TV after the finals and thought I was watching the reaction to the news of the SEALS getting Bin Laden or coworkers hitting the lottery. Instead it was people in Cleveland celebrating Lebron losing. It is sad to see so many people delighting in someone who has not done major evil losing. I’m not saying he is a saint, but as far as I know he seems to be a decent individual. It is fine to be happy that the other team one but I never like to see anyone lose.

Let me illustrate. I am a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and even though the Steelers are our rivals, I wish no ill will or losing upon anyone. However, I do hope all 16 teams they play against throughout the season win, and win big. Go Ravens!! It is the same result (Steelers losing) but a different mindset. One is positive and the other not so positive.

Every major person in history has had to deal with haters and naysayers. The key is don’t take it personal. An aforementioned historical great said “they know not what they do” (King James version…not Lebron’s). Some people really have nothing better to do than to talk about others. Lebron recently said: “All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today.”
“They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that. They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal, but they have to get back to the real world at some point.”

He received quite a bit of backlash for those comments but they are true. You just have to go about your business and continue to strive for your goals. The haters will still have their problems. What did they gain by him losing (unless they won big in Vegas)? Absolutely nothing. Gratification at watch someone fail doesn’t pay the bills.

Eleanor Roosevelt put it best – Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. No one should ever be responsible for fulfilling someone else’s dreams at the expense of their own. I know the Cavalier fans wanted him to stay and help when a title, but he didn’t. It is time to move on. The city will never win with that mentality. Focusing on what you’ve lost will prevent you from seeing what you can gain.

3. The journey gets harder the nearer you are to the goal. The Finals provided some of the most thrilling basketball games of the season. The defense was crazy! So did the NFL playoffs. Coincidence? No, anytime you have a big goal to accomplish like becoming a world champion, there will be difficult obstacles to overcome. Of course you can try to avoid the big obstacles and live a life of mediocrity but you’ll soon see that the easy path is often the most difficult path.