At times i’ve fallen out of love with training – quite frankly it’s felt like hoovering the house, something that needs to be done – a chore!

I’ve also had a love hate relationship with food. At times eating like a caveman – living off Alaskan salmon and fresh vegetables. At other times i’ve stuffed my face with junk like Augustus Gloop! Left with a short term buzz, a tummy role or two and an enormous amount of guilt. Both sucked to be honest!

Right now i’m the happiest i’ve been with my training and nutrition, I love it. I know what I want, I know what I am prepared to sacrifice and what I am not (pizza! burgers!), I’m enjoying my routine in the gym and I feel happy.

I’ve learned a lot over the course of my personal training career (6,000 sessions!). I’ve had thousands of conversations with people and have some words of wisdom i’d like to share with you to make-sure you don’t fall into the same trap as me…

Honesty Alert!!!

If you think having a perfect or largely improved body will make you happy you are greatly mistaken.

The grass isn’t always greener…

In the past there have been times when I’ve sold myself on the idea that being ‘super shredded’ or ‘hench’ would be the key to happiness.

Guess what? When I reached those mile stones I still felt unfulfilled, like something was still missing.

The reality was I was covering up the deeper stuff…

• lack of confidence
• not feeling good enough
• doing it for others
• trying to gain recognition

Warped ‘Fitness Model’ Reality…

A couple of years ago I persuaded myself that becoming a fitness model was the dream.

I mean who wouldn’t want a ripped physique, money, sponsorship, and to be ‘super attractive’ to the opposite sex?

I followed every fitness model I could find on Instagram and FB. I’d click on their pages and all I would see is smiles, shredded physiques, beautiful women, fancy cars, and what looked like a perfect life!

How wrong was I…

I’ve been fortunate to see that the reality can often be quite different…

• Influx of steroid abuse (not just Bodybuilders but fitness models claiming to be natural)
• Sponsorship – a free tub of protein every few months and a few t-shirts thrown in depending on how many ‘followers’ you have. Not quite the luxurious ‘play boy’ lifestyle I envisaged!
• Re-cycled pictures – being -6% body fat all year round is nigh-on impossible. Generally people will only post pictures they like of themselves, pumped up and depleted – 30 takes later and 3 different lightings and now were good to share to the world!
• Fitness models – work 9-5pm like most other people. Very few get paid enough to make a living from winning competitions and many will pay photographers to take photo’s of them – not the other way around.

Of course not everybody does the above but the point i’m trying to make is that there are a lot of people chasing ‘the dream’ like I did a few years ago. There’s nothing wrong with that but be mindful, and delve deeper – there’s much more than what appears on the surface.

Pro’s & Con’s to being Fit, Shredded and Healthy…

See everything in life has a pro and con to it…

The pro’s of being fit and lean

• Look good
• More confidence (possibly?)
• Feel good (again debatable depending on numerous factors: self esteem, body fat levels, etc)

There are also cons…

• Takes hardwork
• Costs money (gym, personal trainer, food, supplements, etc)
• Takes time
• Requires sacrifice

Words of Wisdom…

When setting out on any fitness & health endeavour…

1) ‘KNOW THE EXACT OUTCOME YOU WANT’

2) ‘FIND OUT EXACTLY WHATS REQUIRED TO REACH YOUR GOAL’

Then asses whether you still want to go ahead.

If you want to be a bodybuilder or a guy on the beach with a ‘shredded torso’ you are going to have to sacrifice more than a guy who wants to loose a few lbs.

If your a lady that wants to run a marathon your going to have to put in more work than a lady who wants to run a mile.

The more extreme the outcome the more work It’s going to take, the longer the time frame and the more you need sacrifice. We all want aesthetically pleasing bodies but not all of us are prepared to do the work.

That’s ok, just make sure you manage your expectations and ‘be honest’ with yourself…

What you are you willing to sacrifice?

What are you not willing to sacrifice?

Based on the above are you going to achieve the result? If not it’s time to re-asses…

One thing I see all to often are people who start their journey – they expect a certain result in their head (unrealistic in the time frame) then when they don’t reach their goal they give up. This isn’t their fault they’ve simply underestimated the time and work involved.

See the BIGGER picture and enter your endeavour with a CLEAR picture of what you want, what’s required & the likely time frame of your end result.

Don’t get me wrong…

Being healthier, more toned and fitter can have many benefits but make sure you don’t neglect what’s at the core.

Know your ‘why’… the real reason for your undertaking.

Gain clarity on who you are, and seek to find what’s really the underlying motivation for change.

Try and appreciate what you have now….

You can read, write, think, walk, talk, see the sun, feel the rain, take a warm shower, get food from the fridge, sleep in a warm bed, drive to work, hug a loved one, the list is endless…

Happiness is in your life right now, at times we just need to be reminded.

“Be thankful for what you have and work hard for what you don’t”