Humans are full of idiosyncrasies, and whilst we share similarities, no two people are the same – therefore when it comes to diet and exercise it’s important that you are following the best program, one that meets your specific needs, and helps you to achieve your goals.

Lots of people will go online and search for the best fat loss workout, or follow a routine that they find in Mens Health Magazine. Now, were not saying these routines are not effective (lots of them are), however they may not be optimal for you and your goals.

The ideal training program depends on multiple factors, such as, training experience, mobility, limb length, current level of fitness, how many times per week you can train, work schedule, access to facilities, etc, etc.

The goal of this article is to help you gain more clarity on setting up a fitness program that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach the goals which you are striving for.

Set Specific & Realistic Goals 

Firstly, you’ve got to establish your goals. What do you want to achieve? is it weight loss, or to build muscle? Maybe it’s to complete a marathon. There are lots of goals which you can strive for. Initially, it’s important to be clear on what you want to achieve. The more specific you can be… the better.

It’s good to use the SMART acronym:

• Specific – knowing exactly what you want to achieve.
• Measurable – how you measure and track your progress.
• Attainable – making sure your goal is challenging, but also achievable.
• Realistic – is it possible to achieve the goal within the time frame set?
• Timely – the deadline to achieve your goal.

For example, here is how you could apply SMART to your health and fitness goals:

• Specific – I want to lose 4 stone, and improve body shape.
• Measurable – I will measure progress by taking BMI, pictures, and fitness testing
• Attainable – My goal is attainable if I go to the gym 4x per week.
• Realistic – If I work hard at the gym and eat well, I will lose weight.
• Timely – I will give myself 12 months to lose 4 stone (around 1lb per week for 52 weeks)

 Diet And Supplements 

Exercise and diet are extremely important and are are responsible for 80-90% of your results. It’s important to get them right, otherwise you’ll fail to get the results you are hoping for. Diet is extremely important, the food you put into your body will give you the energy you need to train hard, it will also help you recover in between workouts.

Diets will vary from person to person, for example if you’re trying to loose weight or build muscle, then protein is key as it helps you build lean muscle. If however your goal is something relating to endurance i.e. a marathon, bike ride, or triathlon – then you will need a higher amount of carbs. It’s very much case specific.

Whilst diet and exercise are extremely important, so too is supplementation. Your body needs an extra boost to help it perform optimally. There are lots of supplements on the market, some are amazing, others can be dangerous. Bradley Powers from https://bulkmentor.com/ dedicated his life to helping others choose the right supplements, after facing some health complications due to the wrong supplementation. There’s lots of advice on his website for those who are unsure of which supplements are the best ones to buy.

Hire A Personal Coach

There’s a lot of conflicting information online, and it can be hard to know who to trust, and what’s best for your current situation. For the intermediate, or advanced trainee, it’s fine, because they can navigate their way around the internet, they know what’s rubbish, and what works. That said, for the beginner, who’s knew to diet and training… it can be a minefield.

If you’re struggling to get results, and have hoped from program to program, but are failing to see any changes, then it’s worth hiring a personal trainer. A good coach will help you achieve the results you are aiming for in a fraction of the time it takes, compared to doing your journey alone. I know personal training can be expensive, so if you can’t afford a one to one personal trainer, then you could try semi private personal training – training with a friend, which helps split the cost. If that’s too expensive, then you could do an exercise class. There are lots of options, but the main thing is to get the advice from a qualified expert.

Choose The Right Gear, And Workout Buddy 

Wearing the right workout gear is super important. You need to feel confident in how you look, appearance is important for personal self esteem. It’s also important to make-sure that you feel comfortable – whatever comfortable means to you (you may like tight fitting clothing to show off your muscles, or feel more confident in looser clothing).

Alongside wearing the right gym clothing, it’s also important to have the right gym gear. For example if you lift weights, you may want to buy some weight lifting gloves to protect your hands and improve your grip. You could also buy a weight belt, which helps support your lower back on exercises like squats and deadlifts. If your sport is running, then you need to make-sure that you have suitable running shoes, ones that protect the feet and ankles.

Finally, Working out with a friend or someone who shares the same fitness goals as yourself is more likely to increase your motivation. It’s awesome having a workout partner, because they can help to push you further and do more reps. Working out with a training partner keeps you accountable, and it can be a good laugh too, where you train hard, but then socialize in between sets.

Plan Your Workout Time

At work you have allocated times to do tasks, for example on Mondays you may have a meeting with your boss at 11am – it’s part of your weekly routine, and you don’t miss the appointment, otherwise you could get in trouble. Exercise is the same, you have to plan ahead and get organised. Go through your weekly diary, and then plan in exercise time, and days when you go shopping for healthy, nutritious foods.

You want to get into the habit of exercising, so that it becomes part of your weekly routine. If you dedicate an hour every day to working out for at least 21 days in a row, you will find that exercising becomes a habit rather than something you have to force yourself to do.

Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day

Getting results can take time, don’t rush the process, and have faith that if you keep doing the right things… then you will get the results you are striving for. With the right plan of action, and consistency, you will achieve your goals.