Join the forum discussion on this article, or comment below. - (1) Posts
Remember when we asked you to Take Your Worst Picture Ever? Well it’s time to take it out. If you haven’t taken it yet, or are new to World Fitness Network, we’ve got reminders at the end of this post…
What Do You See?
That old picture of yourself – is that what you still look like? Have you made any progress? Have you made enough progress? I’m not here to lecture you – I’m here to help you lecture yourself.
If you think you’ve made good progress, skip to the Take a New Picture section and then compare.
If you haven’t made progress, do these things right now:
- write down every excuse you can come up with; don’t hold back!
- now rank those excuses by their “power”; the stronger their power over you, the closer to the top of the list they go
- for each of your top 5 excuses (more if you have the gumption), write down at least one action you are going to take to eliminate it as an excuse moving forward
- take your top 5 excuses and share them with someone who cares about you; ask them for their advice on how they think you can eliminate those; don’t share the previous step with them – you want original ideas
- take the combined list of approximately 10 ideas to combat your 5 major excuses, and tape the list to your bathroom mirror
- every day (especially on your workout days) recite that list out loud; if you get embarrassed reading it out loud, good! you’ve got to break through some barriers if you want to eliminate those excuses
- now act!
And time to take a new picture:
Haven’t Taken Your Picture Yet? Or Need To Take A New Picture?
Did you fail your self-evaluation? Or are you just now planning to get in shape, but haven’t quite started yet?
Or even if you’ve made progress, you now need a new benchmark – a new picture.
Go into your room and take all your clothes off. That’s right, strip down to nothing but your briefs, your Spiderman Underoos, your boxers, your lingerie, whatever you are wearing underneath. (more…)
Just starting out with weightlifting? Want to get bigger muscles this winter?
Get my full-body lifting routine here: FullBodyAttack!
Continue reading about It’s Time to Look At Your Worst Picture Ever, And Take A New One
I think I know the source of happiness. Took me over 40 years, but it’s this:
Progress.
Progress in career. In family relationships. In fitness. In understanding. In friendship. In health.
Even if the progress is slow (like it is for our turtle friend pictured here). In some cases, slow progress is even better. In some cases, progress that’s too slow feels like treading water.
And stagnation is unhappiness.
That’s why people give up on their fat loss plans, especially on fad diets. They lose a bunch of weight (including muscle mass, unfortunately) but then they can’t make further progress. And so what do they do? They give up. And then get even fatter than they were to start with.
Stagnation why most people don’t stick to their weight training program. They see some gains in the first few weeks, but then the progress doesn’t continue at the same rate. It slows. Or, if they aren’t dedicated, it may even back slide. So instead of digging in, rededicating themselves, and working through plateaus, they give up. And become flabby. Next thing you know, they are 65 yrs old and can’t lift a gallon of milk above their heads.
That’s why many marriages end: stagnation. Boredom. (Sure, there are other reasons, but even the “other” reasons are often linked to stagnation.)
Some people find comfort in the status quo. But I believe that’s a false comfort, born out of fear. They fear that things could get worse if they try to improve/progress. Or they fear they may fail. They believe it’s safer to just live with things as they are (status quo).
But is it really safer?
Obviously, living with the status quo of poor health and pitiful physical conditioning is anything but safe.
And in your career, do you think you can coast for very long in any business? Eventually, you need to advance your skills, push through with more effort to complete a big project, or do something to advance yourself.
Even in relationships, where the “comfort of status quo” is most prevalent, it’s still a fear of failure that makes things stagnate. If you take that step to re-engage your spouse/friend/parent/child and improve your relationship a bit, you may get rebuffed.
But the rewards for growing and progressing far outweigh the downsides and risks of stagnation.
You’re either growing or dying. There is no in-between.
It might be baby steps or it might be giant leaps. But if you aren’t progressing, you’re stagnating.
So what are you going to do today to break yourself out of the status quo?
How are you going to make sure you progress tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that?
When are you going to create your own happiness by dedicating yourself to steady progress in every aspect of your life?
I love the term “resistance progression”.
I mean, really, think about it. Without any resistance, there would be no progression. Whether it’s in the weight room or in our own lives, facing resistance is how we make progress.
And at the very core of this term lies a simple message: if we continue to do things the way we have always done them before, we’ll always continue to see the same results we’ve seen before. New results come with new actions.
Without deviation, progress is not possible
-Frank Zappa
In order to continue our weight lifting progress, we must find ways to increase the resistance placed on our muscles. As promised, here are 10 ways to achieve resistance progression: (more…)
Continue reading about 10 Ways to Achieve Resistance Progression
Are you planning to get in shape, but haven’t quite started yet?
If so, I have an assignment for you. Go into your room and take all your clothes off. That’s right, strip down to nothing but your briefs, your boxers, your lingerie, whatever you are wearing underneath.
Go and do it right now! This is your last chance to officially say goodbye to the old you, and you will want a picture as a keepsake. Call it a going away present… You will thank me for this later.
Go ahead and let it all hang out. Take one last look in the mirror at the old you. Soon this person will be gone, and a newer, better version will take its place. The old you is now obsolete. (more…)
Continue reading about It’s Time to Take Your Worst Picture Ever
Loading ...