I began my fitness oriented lifestyle in 2005 with hopes and dreams of one day becoming big and muscular, like all of the models in the fitness magazines . I started out toothpick thin with little clue about how to go about achieving my ideal physique. Through continual learning, experience, and my own trials, failures, and tribulations, these are 10 of the biggest keys to being successful in your fitness endeavors:

  1. Motivation/Mindset – Why do some of my clients experience incredible, life changing success and others fail to get out of the gate right from day one? The answer lies in these 10 tips, but first and foremost, people need to have the right motivation and mindset. In order to be successful with anything, you have to have a burning desire to want to do it. You have to want it for yourself and for nobody else. Sure you may want to look good on the beach for your winter vacation, impress your dream hottie, or improve your health because someone close to you says you should, but ultimately you have to have the desire deep down and want it bad enough for YOU and not because somebody else thinks it would be a good idea.
  2. Positive Support – People need to take a serious look at the kind of individuals they surround themselves with and the situations that they put themselves in. Clean out all of the negative garbage in your life and surround yourself with positive and like-minded individuals. If your current group of friends enjoys binge drinking, smoking, constantly eating out, or other habits that will not take you towards fitness success, then you may need to rethink who you are surrounding yourself with. Include people in your life that want to see you succeed and will be there to support you all along the way.
  3. Goal Setting – It is proven that people who set specific measureable goals reach them quicker than people who have general, hazy views on where they want to be. Choose a certain time or date for when you want to be down to a certain weight or set a squat or strength goal that is measurable in numbers. You have to know exactly where you want to be in order to get there in the quickest, most efficient means possible.
  4. Accountability & Education – Tell people about your goals! The more people who know about what you want to achieve and how you are going to do it, the more you will be motivated and committed to achieving those goals. Tell your family and friends about your goals, use facebook and other social marketing tools to post progress pictures and keep yourself on track, and by all means get excited about it. If somebody gives you grief about it, turn the other cheek as these people wish they were in your position and wish they had the drive and desire to do what you are doing. Negative emotions and attitudes stem from jealousy and a poor self-worth. The second part of this point is to strive for continual education. If you understand why you are doing something, you will be much more likely to stick to it and focus on doing it properly. Trench Fitness plans are based around accountability and monitoring and tracking everything. The more you understand about the whole process, the easier it will be for you to stick to it with precision.
  5. Patience & Persistence – Quick fix diets and weight loss programs are usually just that….A quick fix! Sure you may lose 5-10 pounds in a week or two, but they are likely not a nutrition plan that is maintainable and able to be implemented as a lifestyle. Physique and lifestyle transformations do not happen overnight or over a week or two for that matter. It takes 2-3 weeks to begin to develop new habits, so at least give yourself a chance to succeed by sticking to the plan for that amount of time. Things will begin to get easier, but be patient and know that the program will work if you stick to it.
  6. Nutrition & Supplementation – You are what you eat! Our way of thinking about food needs to change in this modern society that we live in. We need to stop looking at food as a pleasure tool to be used in social situations and more as a tool and a fuel for keeping health conditions at bay and providing our bodies with ample energy to do the things that we love in life. As we age, metabolisms slow, bones and joints lose density and elasticity and muscle tissue starts to atrophy (decrease in size). We can easily delay this process by being conscious of what we put in our bodies and utilizing both weight training and cardiovascular training on a regular basis.
  7. Training – Train with purpose and intensity. If you are just showing up at the gym, tossing around a few weights and calling it a day, you probably  need a change in your training regiment. Use your time in the gym wisely and put your full effort into each set and rep. The same can be said for cardiovascular training. The goal is to obtain increases in muscular strength and size as well as your heart’s pumping capability. In order to do this, a stress must be placed on the muscles and heart that they are forced to adapt to. Also, make sure you use proper form. This will make the exercise more effective and prevent injury.
  8. Consistency & Precision – Yes you will have to weigh your foods on a Trench Fitness plan, and yes you will have to send in weekly summaries and journals!  How else can success be guaranteed if there is no means of tracking and accounting for your food intake and training? The evidence is incontrovertible. The clients who realize their potential, succeed in accomplishing goals, and develop a new, positive, and energetic lifestyle are the ones who are in constant contact with me and track everything to a tee. It may seem like a daunting task at first, but like anything else it is only a matter of developing new habits that eventually become second nature.
  9. Lifestyle – View Trench Fitness programs as a new lifestyle for yourself rather than a simple 12 or 24 week diet and exercise plan. These plans are designed to be integrated into your life as something that you can continue to practice for the rest of your life. Yes, we all want quick results, but unfortunately the truth of the matter is that in order to have consistent maintainable body fat loss, it must be done slowly over a longer period of time. There will be up’s and down’s and days when you feel like nothing is working,  but know that in the end you will achieve your goals and you will get to a place where everything becomes easier.
  10. Pass it on to others – Take what you have learned on a Trench Fitness plan and use it to motivate and teach others. Use your new found energy, positivity and results you have achieved and help someone else who is at the point that you started from. Be a positive role model for a healthy, active, and productive lifestyle. You will be amazed at how good you will feel, and how happy you will be!