So, we are almost done with the first month of 2023 (boy, that went by quickly), and all you people who started to work towards a new goal are more than three weeks into the process. Congratulations! You’ve made it past the first hurdle. By this point, you should have made your new fitness routine a habit. Generally speaking, if you can maintain an action for at least three weeks, it is much more likely to become a habit. From here on out, it’s all about consistency. Accomplishing fitness goals, whether it be to lose weight, get stronger or prepare for a competition, rely on being able to consistently work towards them. If you haven’t figured it out yet, accomplishing your goals won’t happen overnight. It’s likely going to take a really long time, but that’s okay.
There are a lot of people who are going to try to sell something that will “get you jacked and lean really fast.” They’re going to make some sales pitch with some testimonials about how fast “customers” reached their goals using whatever bullshit they’re selling. The truth is, substantial change takes a long time of work. If you want to get really strong, you’re going to have to train hard for a matter of years. If you want to drastically lose weight, you’re going to have to slowly diet down if you want those results to last. Taking shortcuts won’t get you anywhere except for getting injured or making no real progress towards your goal.
It’s really important to have a plan and to stick to it. Sometimes people will hop on a plan, not make progress fast enough, hop on another plan, experience the same and continue to hop around and endlessly spin their wheels. It’s important to find a proven plan, and stick to it. The idea is to make progress over a long period of time. Constantly making changes will only prolong progress, and leave you feeling frustrated. Maybe you only make minor progress after eight weeks, but what will all that effort produce after a full fifty two weeks in the year? I know a year might sound like a long time, but time tends to move pretty quickly. Imagine how far you’ll go if you can stick with something for a full year.
I think it’s also important to note something that might contradict what I said above. It’s okay if you stumble a little bit. You are human with a job, a family, responsibilities and stresses. If you miss a workout here or there, it won’t be the end of the world. If you go over your caloric intake for the day, you won’t gain all the weight back. Unless you’re someone who needs to take training or dieting to an extreme level for competitive reasons, you aren’t going to lose all your progress because of one bad day. The idea is just to string together as many good days as possible, and try to limit the number of bad days. Big lifestyle changes come with some hiccups, and that’s okay. Those hiccups do not define you as a person, and you shouldn’t let them destroy the progress you have made because you’ve become discouraged. It’s very easy to find someone on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok and listen to them go on and on about how they never take a day off, they never skip a workout and they got that dog in them everyday. You should use it as motivational material, but please don’t take it literally. Every pro athlete and high level professional have bad days or days when they need to take a break. It’s important to understand that the changes you make have to last. Longevity is extremely important when trying to reach fitness goals. What’s the point of it all if it’s just going to be squandered away because of some nonsense notion that you have to redline everything all the time. There’s a time to push your abilities past their limits, and there’s a time to take a rest. That’s not laziness, and that’s not weakness. However, don’t think because you worked hard for one day that gives you the ability to kick your feet up for the next week and indulge yourself. Be honest about the effort you’re giving, and do what you can to push yourself as far as you can go before you need a break. At the end of the day, it all boils down to you and decisions you make.
Also, don’t forget that the Atlas Strength Shop is hosting Louisiana’s Strongest Man/Woman on April 1, 2023. Visit ironpodium.com and register while spots remain!
If you are within driving distance of Baton Rouge and need a place to train for your next strongman competition, powerlifting meet or weightlifting meet, check out the Atlas Strength shop for all of your training needs. Send an email to cameron@atlasstrengthshop.com for your next visit. You can also check out our apparel line and programming options on our website. Be sure to like our Facebook page, here, and follow us on Instagram, here. Do you need a high quality energy supplement that won’t leave you with that crashing feeling? Check out veteran owned strikeforceenergy.com and use promo code ATLASSTRENGTH at checkout to get 20% off of your order. If you’re like me, and you like to bite down while lifting, you need to protect your teeth. Check out Impact Mouthguards and their custom molded mouth guards. Use promo code ATLASSTRENGTHSHOP at checkout to get 10% off of your order. But wait? What if you have a glorious Beard? Check out FerociousBeard.com and use Promo Code “ATLASSTRENGTH” to save 15% on all o your beard care!!
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