Cut the bullshit and get results! Five things you need to know.

It’s simple, but we complicate everything.

1- Food

It’s not about starving, get nutrients with a low glycemic index, but please go and see an endocrinologist, do not copy stupid diets.

When you stop eating, or when you eat less than you need, your body thinks that it’s time to start reserving energy, this means you’ll start saving fat, your basal metabolic rate goes down to extend your energy reserves, it’s just a matter of survival. This is mainly why you get no results, at the end you’ll preserve the fat and consume muscle.

This is a very complex topic, and cannot be dealt with in just a few lines, that’s why I give it 70% importance, because here lies success, for me, what you eat is 70% of the effort towards your goals, training is the rest, but it’s not just what you eat, it’s the cadence.

For example, start dividing the same amount of food in more portions instead of just three per day, try and turn it into five or six, one portion every three hours, and take out some of the unhealthy ingredients and put some healthy options instead.

2- Training

Your body is a perfect machine, when you need to lift a chair your body will do it in the most efficient way, using a muscle combinations to ease the work. You have to learn how to reprogram your muscular coordination in order to get the most from your sesions, being able to work out the right muscle.

Avoid rare exercises, in absurd positions, a correct muscle isolation is key. Seek help from training professionals, the right posture is very important, because if you do not pay attention to it you won’t be able to concentrate on the muscle you’re trying to work out, or you might get injured.

The cadence, assortment and variations are very important, your body is so smart that’ll adapt to any kind of training quickly, and will stop evolving.

3- Intensity

What’s the point of doing as many reps as you can if you don’t even feel it where it’s supposed to? It’s not about training until you break up, it’s about finding the right intensity and adapting to your rhythm. Routines must be exhausting, but controlled, you must put weight that allows you to finish them. Forget about those guys in the bodybuilding magazines with gigantic weights, is nonsense, a biceps can lift the weight that a biceps can lift.

You must get in and get out of the gym, that is, you go to the gym to train, not to walk around the weights, and it’s not a walking or talking sesion, you got to be focused and keep a high intensity. Training intensity is related to each person and each particular physical condition, do not copy what others do, if you can afford it, hire a personal trainer, or seek for good knowledge sources. I recommend you do some stress test before starting any sport activity, consult a physician.

4- Goals

Little by little, several small steps cover a big distance, you cannot cover a big distance with just one hop. You must be realistic, the people who achieve their goals are the ones who not only know that they are capable, but also those who know their weaknesses even better than their capacities. To go big you need to achieve small.

Trace long-term goals, be realistic, you must enter the world of sport to enjoy the road, that should be your main goal, is the road what needs to be enjoyed, not the destination, everything you find on the way, excepting an injury is more than welcomed.

Most people do not work to have good results, they want quick results without doing the work. “People is moved by challenge, and challenge motivates when you have a purpose to go somewhere you know you can arrive” Define what you want, either if it’s just want look good, or you wish to compete.

5- Measuring

Yes, “forget about the weight”, weighing yourself every day, or right after each meal is ridiculous, will you lose weight faster if you do so?

-If you want to run faster, measure the time.

-If you are going to enter a weight category in a competition, measure in kilograms.

- If you are aiming to look better physically, measure in centimeters.

But if you really want to check the results, look in the mirror.

When you buy clothes, have you bought clothes giving your weight or your size? Think about it! Using the right metrics is key.

Francisco Cobos

🐢 “Poc a Poc” (Little by Little)