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Home :: Motivation
The seven habits of people who screw up their exercise and diet
programs...
I don't know Vincent Flanders.
Never met him. Never spoke to him. I've never even bought his book.
But after visiting his Web site, he's given me an idea for something
I think you'll find extremely valuable.
Let me explain what I mean.
Vincent Flanders runs a site called Web
Pages That Suck. The aim of the site is to learn good Web design
by looking at bad Web design. Just the other day, I was browsing
Vincent's site (just to make sure that my site wasn't featured as
The Daily Sucker). And that's when I had my idea.
You see, I believe you can learn a lot from people who have done
what you want to do. After all, success leaves clues. However, I
think there are also times when you can learn just as much from
people who get things wrong! It's a fact that intelligent folks
learn from their own mistakes. Wise folks learn from the mistakes
of others.
We'll call it:
The 7 Habits Of People Who Screw Up Their Exercise & Diet Programs:
How to get things right by learning what other people get wrong.
Habit 1: They can't answer The Question
You've heard the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp, right? The
one where Aladdin rubs a dusty lamp, and a genie appears to grant
him three wishes?
What would you ask for if you had three wishes? A fast car? A new
house? A better body?
Of course, you'd have to tell the genie EXACTLY what you wanted,
right down to the finest detail. After all, he's a genie and not
a mind reader. If you wanted a new house, I'd be willing to bet
you'd be able to describe -- in vivid detail -- exactly what you
wanted your house to look like, right down to the last brick.
If it was a better body you wanted, the genie would need to know
PRECISELY what kind of body you wanted.
Perhaps you'd tell him that you want to lose 20lbs, and get rid
of the love handles. Maybe you'd ask for a set of arms that would
have left Arnold green with envy. Maybe all you're after is a little
less fat here, or a little more muscle there.
Unfortunately, The People Who Screw Up Their Exercise And Diet
Programs wouldn't be able to ask the genie for what they wanted.
Why?
Because they don't know what it is they want in the first place!
Sure, they might have some kind of vague idea. Unfortunately,
that's not enough. But don't take my word for it. Here's what Winnie-the-Pooh
has to say in his Little Book Of Wisdom:
"It's best to know what you're looking for before you look
for it"
Good advice, I'm sure you'll agree. As a matter of fact, I've developed
a simple "test" that lets me know INSTANTLY if someone
would be able to ask the genie for what they wanted if he appeared
right in front of them.
I call it The Question. And it's one that The People Who Screw
Up Their Exercise And Diet Programs can't answer.
Here it is.
"Where are you now in relation to your goal?"
That's it.
I know -- it sounds pretty simple. And it is. Yet 9 out of every
10 people I ask it to CAN'T give me a straight answer.
Right now, can you answer The Question? If you had to tell a genie
exactly the way you wanted to look, could you?
If not, then you've got some thinking to do. What kind of body
would you ask for? Be specific. Be clear. Make sure you know what
you're looking for before you look for it.
Your genie is waiting.
Habit 2: They know nothing about gardening
I don't know about you, but I'm hopeless at gardening.
Still, even though I know as much about gardening as Richard Simmons
knows about the finer points of the overhead squat, I do know this.
If I planted a rose, and it didn't grow, I'd probably move it to
another part of the garden. Maybe it needed more light. More water.
Or a different type of soil.
Unfortunately, The People Who Screw Up Their Exercise And Diet
Programs would take an entirely different approach. They'd shout
at the rose that it "should have done better". They'll criticize
the rose for being "weak" and "not as good as the other roses".
Maybe they'll even kick it a few times for good measure.
How do I know?
Because they do it to THEMSELVES all the time. Whenever they miss
a workout or blow their diet, the first thing they do is beat themselves
up about it.
They'll say things like ...
... "I've blown it already, I might as well binge".
... "I'll start over again tomorrow, so I'd better eat it all
now and get it out of the house".
... "I'll definitely start my new training program on Monday,
so this is my last chance to act like a couch potato for the rest
of the week".
Trust me -- if one of your goals is to live a healthy, happy and
prosperous life, then beating yourself every time you hit a bump
in the road is not going to help. It'll just make things worse.
Instead, I strongly recommend you take a tip from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
When Arnold first came to the United States, he ended up losing
his very first contest. In his book, Education of a Bodybuilder,
Schwarzenegger describes how he cried himself to sleep that night.
He was all alone in a foreign country, and, to top it all off, he
felt like a loser.
By the very next morning, Arnold had made a decision. He was going
to use the experience to his advantage. One of the lessons that
defeat had already taught him was that a bigger body is not necessarily
a better body. Over the next few years, Arnold shifted his focus
from size to quality. It was a decision that paid off, as Arnold
went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times.
Arnold didn't beat himself up mentally because he lost. Nor did
he waste time and energy thinking about what he did wrong. Instead,
he simply learned what he could from the experience, and moved on.
Maybe Arnold knew a thing or two about gardening as well.
Habit 3: They love making New Years resolutions
I don't know about you, but I never bother with New Years resolutions.
As I see it, if something is important enough for you to want it,
why wait until the New Year before you start working towards it?
Moreover, everyone I know who makes some kind of resolution always
ends up breaking it after two weeks.
Unfortunately, The People Who Screw Up Their Exercise And Diet
Programs love making New Years resolutions, and promptly tell everyone
that "this year will be different".
But it never is.
Rather, I suggest that you keep your resolutions and goals to yourself.
After all, haven't you had the experience of telling someone about
one of your goals, only for them to give you a bunch of reasons
why you can't do it?
Make sure that you're very careful about who you share your goals
with. Speaking to the wrong person at the wrong time can sap your
enthusiasm and drain your confidence.
Instead, if you do plan to set a resolution or two, share them
only with people you know will give you the support, advice, and
encouragement you need.
Habit 4: They never ask for help
What would you do if you were lost in a city you'd never visited
before?
Most people would stop and ask for directions. Not so for The People
Who Screw Up Their Exercise & Diet Programs, who would take a much
less productive approach.
They'd double their speed, deciding that the best course of action
is simply to "try harder". The same holds true when their exercise
program hits a sticking point and progress grinds to a halt. They're
often reluctant to ask for help. The reasoning goes something like
this...
"... because I'm intelligent and capable, it's only a matter
of time before I figure out a way to break through this sticking
point."
Sometimes, "working longer" or "trying harder" just doesn't work.
This line of thinking can add to the problem, because these people
think they should be able to figure it all out for themselves. They
feel like asking for help means admitting failure.
The people I know who have achieved what they set out to -- be
it losing 50lb of fat or bench pressing 300lb -- are always asking
for help or advice. They suffer from a condition I call reverse
paranoia, and assume that everyone wants to help them out.
The best people to ask for advice are people who have done what
you want to do. Of course, everyone uses a slightly different approach,
and you won't always get the same answer. But success leaves clues.
Ask enough people, and you'll find that a common pattern begins
to emerge.
If you've hit a sticking point, and you just can't seem to make
progress no matter how hard you try, then make sure to ask someone
for help. Trust me -- there are plenty of people out there who are
more than happy to give you the benefit of their experience.
Habit 5: They're big fans of anything that wins the Turner Prize
You might not have heard of the Turner Prize.
If not, here's a brief explanation (I'll tell you why it's important
in just a moment).
The Turner Prize at Tate Britain is widely recognized as "one
of the most important and prestigious awards for the visual arts
in Europe".
The 2001 award, presented by pop idol Madonna, went to minimalist
artist Martin Creed for his work entitled The Lights Going On
and Off. Had Creed created something to rival the work of Van
Gogh, Da Vinci, or Michaelangelo?
No.
Creed collected £20,000 (about $35,000) for an empty gallery
with a pair of lights. The lights flash on and off every five seconds.
This wasn't an easy win for Creed. He did face some stiff competition,
most notably, in the form of the video projection Ray in Bed
-- a home video featuring an alcoholic man reluctantly waking up
as his wife brings him a cup of tea.
Now, you might call me old-fashioned. But I'm not quite sure where
the artistic value lies in an empty room with a pair of lights flashing
on and off, or a video projection of a man in bed drinking a cup
of tea.
However, The People Who Screw Up Their Exercise And Diet Programs
love this kind of thing.
How do I know?
Because they're suckers for anything that's billed as NEW, BREAKTHROUGH,
or REVOLUTIONARY!
Let's take the Get Slim Slippers as an example.
Apparently, the Get Slim Slippers are "one of the most
innovative and finest health inventions of the 21st century".
Simply wear the Get Slim Slippers for 15 minutes each day and the
weight will literally drop off.
According to one enthusiastic user,
" ... wearing them only 15 minutes a day has toned me
from the inside out, causing me to shed inches as well as weight".
As well as curbing your appetite, wearing the slippers, "stimulates
the endorphin flow through the body which is excellent for greater
health". And all this for just $49.00!
To you and me, this might seem like another way to separate a fool
from their money. Unfortunately, if you told The People Who Screw
Up Their Exercise And Diet Programs about the Get Slim Slippers,
they'd be desperate to get their hands on a pair, thinking they've
finally found the key to weight loss success.
Yet REAL breakthroughs are very rare.
Truth is, many of the recent studies in the field of exercise and
nutrition science are only confirming what many bodybuilders of
the past have known for years. Guys like Reg Park, John Grimek,
and Steve Reeves knew exactly what it took to get in shape, AND
stay that way.
They didn't have access to high-tech exercise machines or engineered
food supplements. And it's difficult to imagine Reg Park walking
around the gym in a pair of pink Get Slim Slippers.
In fact, you could probably sum up their "secrets" in
a simple three-step formula:
1. Train hard
2. Eat right
3. Repeat daily (even when you don't feel like it)
Of course, if I was an artist, this kind of "old-fashioned"
approach probably wouldn't win the Turner Prize. But despite the
mass of conflicting health and fitness information we're bombarded
with every day, I guarantee it's one of the few pieces of advice
that will never change.
Habit 6: They learned nothing from Adrian Mole
There's a good chance you've never heard of Adrian Mole.
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and Three-Quarters was
a book based on the secret diary of a fictional British lad called
Adrian Mole.
In his diary, Adrian tells of how he copes with life as a frustrated
intellectual and poet. He has to contend with the rocky marriage
of his parents, the insensitivity of his school mates, and a teenage
crush on a girl called Pandora who sits next to him in geography
lessons.
Unlike Adrian Mole, The People Who Screw Up Their Exercise And
Diet Programs NEVER keep a diary. The truth is, studies show that
keeping a training diary (scientists call it self-monitoring) is
one of the best ways to increase the odds that you'll turn exercise
into a lifetime habit.
So, what sort of information do you need to keep in your training
diary? If you're lifting weights, I'd suggest recording the name
of the exercise, along with the total number of sets, repetitions,
and rest time.
For example, here's how your training diary might look if you were
training your chest.
So, the first exercise for your chest was the bench press. You
completed four sets with 275lb. In the first set, you managed six
repetitions. During the final set, you completed four repetitions.
Between each set, you took approximately three minutes of rest.
Get the picture?
Not only does a training diary help you identify routines that
work well for you, it also gives you something to shoot for the
next time you train. For example, if your training diary shows that
you benched 275lb for six reps, your next goal is to reach seven.
The Japanese call this KAIZEN. The word means gradual and orderly,
continuous improvement. Exercise physiologists know it as progressive
overload. No matter what you call it, the principle is the same:
For your body to improve, you need to demand more of it than you
did last time.
Of course, your progress won't continue forever. Eventually, you'll
hit a plateau. Again, this is where your training diary becomes
invaluable. Once you see that your progress has stalled for a few
weeks, you can mix things up a little. There are numerous changes
you can make to your workout. For example, you can alter the:
1. Number of repetitions per set
2. Rest periods between training sessions
3. Resistance used
4. Rest period between sets or exercises
5. Number of sets per exercise
6. Exercise order
7. Exercises performed
8. Speed of the exercise
But please, don't keep your training diary on some old piece of
scrap paper you found under the seat of your car. Some kind of hardbound
journal or notebook would be more suitable. After all, you're conducting
an in-depth, single-subject, scientific case study on one of the
most important people on the planet -- YOU!
And if Adrian Mole can do it, you've got no excuse!
Habit 7: They haven't seen The Others
Starring Nicole Kidman, The Others is a supernatural chiller
centered on a Victorian mansion on the island of Jersey as World
War II draws to a close.
Unlike many horror films, The Others doesn't rely on blood
and guts to scare you. Nor does it contain a bunch of computer-generated
special effects. Instead, it draws on the power of your imagination
to create some real "hide behind the sofa" moments.
What am I getting at here?
Simply this:
The Others is such a scary movie because it taps into a resource
that most people fail to use to its full potential -- the mind.
Here's what I mean.
I want you to notice your physical reaction as you imagine running
your finger nails slowly down a blackboard.
Now, if I told you to use will power to create the same kind of
tingling sensation, my guess is that you couldn't do it. Truth is,
your imagination can create real, physical changes in your body.
In fact, several studies show that simply IMAGINING yourself exercising
creates a measurable increase in muscle strength.
Even Arnold Schwarzenegger used visualization to build his incredible
arms, imagining his biceps as big as mountain peaks when he did
any curling exercises.
Arnold himself explains:
"When I trained my biceps, I didn't see them as flesh and
blood but as mountain peaks. In doing curls, I imagined my biceps
swelling and filling the entire gym. This visualization was essential
if I was to gain the amount of mass and size necessary to win the
Mr. Olympia title.
If I had thought there were physical limits to the potential size
of my arms, I'm sure they would never have gotten as big and muscular
as they ultimately did. It's the mind thing again."
Yet The People Who Screw Up Their Exercise and Diet Program think
that will power alone is enough to help them get in shape.
Constantly "willing" yourself to do something rarely
works. Sure, it might be enough to keep you going for a few weeks.
Maybe even a few months. But most people only have a limited amount
of will power. Sooner or later, it just runs out.
Instead, I recommend you use your imagination. The secret is to
create a mental image of the way you want to look that's so compelling
you don't need to rely on will power.
When I use the word *image*, I'm not just talking about a mental
picture. I'm talking about a mental movie that engages all of your
senses.
For example, let's say that you want to get in shape for a holiday
this summer.
Create a mental movie of yourself on the beach. What can you hear?
What can you smell? What do you see? How do you feel inside? Make
the movie rich in color. Give it movement. It needs to be as real
and vivid as you can make it.
Once you've made your own mental movie, you'll need to watch it
for a few minutes each day (just before you fall asleep each night
is ideal).
Remember, consistency is the key to making this work. Each time
you make the time to watch this movie, you're literally carving
this image into your brain.
And the more often you impress something on your mind, the
greater the chances are that it'll eventually express itself
in your life.
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