I get endless amounts of questions from people asking me what type of workout works best and how much needs to be done to achieve the ultimate body.   Lets face it, most gym members participate in unproductive exercise programmes that they endlessly seem to do year after year without achieving results hoping they are going to wake-up one day with the body of their dreams.   They put their heart and soul into the same programme without ever changing it one iota.   The absence of learning or trying different training principles or even copying what the latest celebrity is doing (or puts their name to) will never work in the long run.

The most common myth that never dies is that lengthy cardio training will shift unwanted body fat.   I have years of experience of witnessing the lack of results people achieve doing such programmes.   I also have dozens of opinions through research and personal experience to back it up.   Such people often turn to me for advice after wasting years doing similar programmes.   If you go into any gym in the world you are guaranteed to see members beating themselves up on the cardio equipment, now go back a year later and you will see the same members on the same machines doing the same programme with the same body shape and still looking tired and stressed (that's if they haven't already quit through a lack of results).   There isn't any relationship between training duration and achieving results.   Training intensity will determine the success of an exercise programme along with nutrition and lifestyle factors.   People don't understand that exercise is a stress to the body and doing more exercise than the body can cope with breaks the body down together with health.   The body needs to be in a stress free state to build muscle or lose body fat effectively.   Stressors to watch out for are: Physical, Chemical, Electromagnetic, Psychic, Nutritional and Thermal.   I will delve into these different stressors in future articles but the bottom line is that there is an inverse relationship between the amounts and types of exercise an individual can tolerate against their stress levels.   Looking at the big picture of an individual is essential to assessing their capabilities.  

So what are the right steps to achieve results?   As I was saying earlier many people embark on a personal fitness related goal and end up failing miserably. The reasons range from self will- power to personal reasons through to inadequate programmes and the wrong diet and lifestyle.  

So what is the secret then? Before starting any form of regular exercise it is important to know what you want from it and the desired result but most importantly what you are willing to do for it.   People fail to set goals and adjust their eating habits and lifestyles accordingly.   Following is a tip I got from a NLP course I did recently.   Below is a good example of what you should ask yourself so you can plan your course of action to keep you on track especially if you have been training for years and have become complacent.

The advantage of resistance training over traditional cardio training out weighs the benefits by far.   Done properly, resistance training will create a cardiovascular response; killing two birds with one stone and saving heaps of time.   One of the numerous benefits includes the functional benefit, which has a carry over effect to daily living, and most sports but importantly it will shape the body making it more aesthetically pleasing at the same time as building lean muscle tissue and strength.   That's good news for both men and women; an increase in lean muscle means a faster metabolism and a lower body fat percentage.   Unlike traditional cardio exercise which doesn't have enough resistance to create an increase in lean muscle.   Another thing worth mentioning is resistance training will elevate the metabolism burning more calories for longer after a workout compared to traditional cardio exercise.     

•  What is my goal?

•  Where am I now?

•  How much effort will it take to reach?

•  Why is it important to me?

•  Do I have all the best information to help me?

•  What does it require to achieve my goal?

•  Do I need outside help?

•  What am I willing to change in my life to achieve this goal?

•  "Break the goal down into little goals"

•  What barrier do I think could stop me?

•  Do I have dedication?

•  What can I do to breakthrough this barrier?

•  How will I feel once I have reached my goal?

•  How will I feel if I don't reach my goal?

•  What is stopping me?

•  What shall I do first?