By Chris Martinez
October. 2011-
What is it about getting results that takes us out of the present? The whole notion of not being attached to results is a very difficult point to achieve and it’s very difficult to not be attached to results because when you’re working hard on something, you want a certain outcome. I think when you’re so focused on where you want to go, that you miss out on the present, and when you’re not fully present, you aren’t going to have as good as an outcome as if you were in the moment. We are so focused on getting quick results in everything and at times we don’t embrace the hard work, sacrifices, mistakes, and journey that we go through to get those end results. In this article I will mainly focus on embracing the journey to getting results when it comes to changing your physique. Trust me though, the way I will be talking about this will have a correlation to other things in life that we want results in and it’ll be up to you to determine what to take away from this article and apply it to your situation.
Construct a training routine and diet to something that you will enjoy. I’m a huge believer that when it comes to training, dieting, and ultimately changing your physique, you need to enjoy what you’re doing to get the most out of it. You can have the best routine in the world but if you don’t like it, you won’t want to work hard at it. You need to learn how to construct your training around what you love to do and this will make you work harder at it. Even though you might get better gains doing mid to high reps instead of lifting heavy like 4-6 reps, doing what you enjoy is what is ultimately going to get you better results because you’ll want to work harder at it and it’s going to get you fired up to do it every time.
Same rules apply to dieting. I’m a huge believer in being able to eat non-traditional foods in moderation along with traditional foods and the best way I’ve found for myself and clients to do this is through counting your macronutrients. If you sit there and force yourself daily to eat foods you don’t enjoy, then how are you ever going to be successful in transitioning it into a lifestyle? When it comes to training and dieting, you shouldn’t be dreading it, you should be fired up every day to do what you need to do to get closer to your end result. If you’re training, do it because you love it and your passion it about it. If you don’t love it and you’re only worrying about how to get a better body, then you need to learn how to love it and this will make you work harder and appreciate it so much more.
Stop making decisions for the wrong reasons. I feel a lot of people choose to go a certain route for the wrong reasons, whether that is using drugs (steroids), eating garbage because friends do, or whatever. Don’t get caught up in doing what other people are doing, carve your own path when it comes to changing your physique. There are a lot of people that inspire me and motivate me when it comes to working on my physique, but I don’t want to look like them or follow them. I want to carve my own path, build my own physique, and create my own legacy.
Be true to what you believe in, regardless of what other people think or say. You can’t sit there and follow people just to please them because you will never ever please everyone. It doesn’t matter if you succeed, fail, or fall in between. You’re always going to have someone disagree with your message, path, or whatever it is your doing. When it comes to making a decision about changing your physique, a good rule of thumb that I always follow is if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Nothing good comes without hard work.
Embrace the challenge of having to overcome struggles when trying to change your physique. Instead of sitting there complaining about having a lagging body part, try embracing the challenge of having to overcome these deficiencies in your body parts. I can’t tell you how many people have came up to me at gyms and complained about not having big arms, not having a big butt, needing a bigger chest, broader shoulders, or thicker legs. I tell those people, the only way to fix it is to get to the root of the problem, start strategically planning on how you are going to improve that body part, and actually taking action. Complaining and whining won’t fix your lagging body parts. Hard work, dedication, proper training/nutrition plan, time, and consistency are the keys. There are no short cuts or magic bullets!
Then there’s the excuse and complaints of not having good genetics. The excuses where people say, “there’s no way I can look like that, he was born with good genetics” or “there’s no way I can have a firm butt like that girl, she was born with that.” Though some of this might be true, it’s a bullshit excuse not to work hard and improve those areas that you want improved. You guys want to know what all ‘genetically gifted’ people have in common. I guarantee they didn’t spend more than 10 minutes of their entire life worrying about what their genetics were like. Just think about it for a second here. It’s not just because they had great genetics. It’s because they worked their ass off day in and day out. I always laugh when people try to use the genetics excuse. Those are the people who never get anywhere because they give up on themselves to the fact that they don’t have the ‘genetics’ when in reality they are the same people who would never dedicate themselves to a decade of hard work either. One thing I’ve figured out about genetics is they tend to improve the longer and harder you work and the less you complain about them!
Hard work over time will pay off, you just have to believe. People always say to eat this much protein, eat this many carbs, this much fat, and to train a certain way, and evidently people can do so many wrong things, but what it really comes down to is consistency! You can mess up in so many areas, but if your consistent, stick with it for a long period of time, believe, and work your ass off, you can achieve great results.
So many people get into changing their physiques and they get 3, 6, or 12 months into it and they get so frustrated because they aren’t getting quick results and these people are looking at the top of the mountain. They have their ideal physique or long term goals in mind and they just keep looking at the top of that mountain and they realize how far down they are from the top and they get so frustrated and give up most of the time. You have to learn how to enjoy that journey! There are times where you will slip and fall off that mountain, take wrong turns and routes, but it’s about not giving up, and eventually reaching the top. I was the same way, I would get frustrated when I tried new routines or diets and didn’t get quick results. It took me a long time to realize that if I made small goals, they would be easier to attain, and this would help my confidence level, and keep me motivated. This led me to believe that little by little I’d be chipping away at reaching that top of the mountain. I said to myself, “My goal is still far away, but if I do this today, and if I do that tomorrow, and I do that the next day, and I keep putting one foot in front of another, I will eventually get there.” This made me appreciate the journey so much more. Just think about it, was Rome built overnight?
Another way of looking at it is and I quote Dr. Layne Norton on this, “think of it as if you’re chopping down a huge tree, there will be swings that you take that will be insignificant, but you still need all of those swings to get the tree down. Don’t get discouraged if you mess up or don’t get quick results, focus on what you need to do today to get to what you want 10 years from now. Results take time! Weeks, months, years, even decades! It’s the day in and day out work, 365 days a year, not skipping a workout, not skipping a meal, etc. Consistency is the key!”
You only get one life to push yourself daily and see what you are truly capable of. You have one life to see what kind of a physique you can build through hard work. It’s truly sad when people just let their bodies go to waste and not see what kind of body composition changes they are capable of. Why settle for mediocrity and be just like an average Joe? So many people just go through the motions in life and in the gym and in reality nobody lives forever or tomorrow is never guaranteed, so why not be remembered or leave a legacy, or reach your full physique potential. I’d have to say I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to go to the gym daily, injury, and disease free, and truly treat my workouts like they are my last workouts ever. You never know what tomorrow is going to bring you, might as well embrace the present, bring it every day, and work your ass off!
As I was saying earlier about the whole notion of not being attached to results is a very difficult point to achieve and it’s very difficult to not be attached to results because when you’re working hard on something, you want a certain outcome. Although, this is very true, you still have to learn how to embrace the present so you’re fully immersed in what you’re doing. You also need to get the whole ‘getting quick results’ out of your head because it’s only going to hold you back from reaching your full potential and results when it comes to changing your physique. Getting results is a marathon! Not a sprint. One of the biggest things I’ve learned during my journey is to always be open minded to trying new things. People get so set in their ways in training and if you’re that way, maybe you try something out for 4-8 weeks and it doesn’t work. That’s only 4-8 weeks out of your entire lifetime of training and that’s nothing. But if it works, it’s almost like you found that pot full of gold at the end of the rainbow. So, always be open minded, always question things, always be a student, always educate yourself, be consistent, work your ass off, believe in yourself, give it time, and never ever give up! You have one life to be great, it’s in your hands; don’t let it go to waste. Peace!
“Live a Dynamic Lifestyle”