Month: December 2014

This is the time of year that many people will make goals or New Years Resolutions for the New Year. I know that I do this every year.

We also hear that most people fail in these resolutions. There may be a lot of reasons why people fail in their resolutions, the primary though are that they are not actually important to them but more importantly they are too vague and are not SMART goals, goals created properly.

So this year I want you to create really good SMART goals, may as well give yourself a

If you do not have clear goals to keep up your motivation at this point, you can easily lose your way.

Creating SMART Goals

So take some time right now to write down your goals.

Like any goals that you might set in work or life, your goals in bodybuilding, in fitness, or diet should be S.M.A.R.T. – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Based.

Let’s look at what each of these smart goals parts means in terms of bodybuilding workouts.

SMART Goal – Specific

SMART Goals

A specific smart goals is one that clearly says what you want to accomplish, along with how, when and where you will do it.

‘Get a great body’ is not a specific goal.

‘Go to the gym 4 days a week after work and train to build muscle mass’ is a more specific goal.

Even better, say exactly which muscles you will work on which days, and note down your routine. The routine for your bodybuilding workouts will change as you make progress but the overall goal of going to the gym 4 days a week to build muscle mass will remain the same.

SMART Goal –  Measurable

When you are working toward smart goals, it is very important to have some way to measure your progress.

If your goal is losing weight then you need to make it number specific. Try maybe lose 20 pounds or something. Then you can break this down to two pounds a month which would be also measurable each month. If you can easily track that in a diary or spreadsheet then you know it is measureable. But with a goal like ‘get a great body’, there is nothing to measure. So if you want to set goals in terms of the physical result, do it in terms of inches gained or that you can lift.

SMART Goal – Attainable

It is important to know when you have reached your smart goals. That way you can plan a reward or celebration, have a sense of achievement and start thinking about your goal or achievement.

If you have a goal or resolution to change jobs then you would have to have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do that other job or a plan to get those skills otherwise it is not attainable.

If you have a fitness goal lets say to increase your bench press single weight and have a plan you can work with that makes sense then it would be attainable.

Remember to make a goal attainable all you need is to be able to believe in the steps that will take you there.

SMART Goal –  Relevant

Your smart goals needs to be something that are very important to you. Sometimes people will come up with goals that are important to those around them or “status goals” that are not important to anyone.

What would get you really jazzed up? Do you care about losing weight? Do you care about starting a new business? Do you care about writing a cook book.

To me this is one of the most critical points of getting your SMART goals to work. Your goal has to be exciting to you today as well as 6 months from now. A goal without passion is just an unattainable wish.

SMART Goal – Time Based

Whatever type of smart goals you set, it is good to give it a time frame. Remember that a New Years Resolution does not have to take a day or a year. Lose 10 pounds in 2 months? Read 3 books a month for the first 3 months of the year?

Be specific about how much time you have to achieve your goal, and you will be set for success in any goal. Clarity of time is important so that you can build steps to get you to achieve these goals.

Example of My Patio Goal

One of my goals this year will be to rebuild the patio. I know that this is not a SMART goal at all so this is how I am changing it up. Notice that this is not all about me but also the family and in the cold of Calgary it will not even be started physically for a few months yet.

Here are the SMART parts of this goal

Specific – We want to rebuild our deck and patio this year

Measurable – The deck will be final with new wood and paint, the patio will be cemented, all by the end of July (enjoy it for August and September)

Attainable – We will be setting a budget, I do not have the skills to do all of the work so we will be making a project plan that fits our budget and schedule, as well as any skills that I need and will be taking time in May and July to work on this

Relevant – Our backyard is an eyesore and my wife and I as well as the kids would enjoy that area far more if it would be better built. Also we are tired of people walking by and wincing when they see our deck from the alley

Time Based – As stated before this is a project that will be Finished by the end of July but will be started in March or so when we can really have a good idea of what we need and budget what we can do with our backyard

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So your doctor has told you that you are too overweight to live long, unless you take time to do some exercises. You panic on hearing the very name of exercises, let alone doing them. In fact, you are not alone. Lots of people feel that exercises have to be long, hard and boring; such people fail even before trying anything.

Of the few who actually take the time to workout, most waste time and energy in the wrong types of workouts because they don’t have the right knowledge and goals; as such, these people also fail to lose . However if you take the time to read this entire article, I can guarantee that you would never fail to lose weight.

Having a Plan Matters

Imagine driving across a highway with no clear cut goals of where to go. What would you do? You would drive and drive aimlessly, until you or your car becomes too tired to move an inch. In the process, you have merely wasted your time (and gas as well), since you didn’t take the time to set a clear-cut goal of your journey as well as take a map of the destination along with you.

The same applies to weight loss. If you don’t know what you want from your exercise regimen, how would you know when you achieve the results? Setting a clear-cut goal of what you aim to achieve from your workout routine would not only give you a clear path to the destination you wish to reach, but also motivate you whenever you feel frustrated or fatigued with your weight loss efforts.

Setting a goal is as important as setting a realistic and attainable goal. If your goal is to have a body like Jessica Alba or Jennifer Lopez, you are not going to succeed because your goal is just too vague.

If you have a goal of ‘losing all the extra within a month from now’, you won’t succeed either because it is not a very realistic goal. On the other hand, if you set a goal of ‘losing twenty pounds within the next six months’, you should definitely achieve it because your goal is not only clear but also realistic.

Once you have setup a clear-cut weight loss goal for yourself, you need to plan your workout routine as well. In order to keep yourself away from the ‘exercise-related boredom’, your workout regimen should consist of a variety of workouts.

You should not focus on doing only cardios or only intense workouts; rather, you should be doing BOTH of them. When your workout regimen consists of a variety of interesting and exciting exercises, you would be doing a different workout each day. With such a “loaded” workout routine, you are unlikely to become bored, ever.

Sometimes, in order to break away from the routine, you may want to engage in some forms of outdoor sports such as cricket, baseball, tennis, etc., depending on your preferences. You may also want to participate in swimming, dancing, yoga, etc. Just like the conventional workouts, these activities would also help you burn fat and lose .

Lastly, here are a few extra tips for you:

1. Always track your progress with your workout regimen to make sure that you are really going where you want to go. If you feel that your current workout routine is not working as expected, choose something else.

2. If necessary, hire a professional trainer. In fact, there would come a point when you would need professional help and guidance. Don’t be mean with your expenditure at this point of time. Keep in mind that your health is more precious than your entire wealth and riches. If your health goes haywire, would you be able to enjoy your wealth?

3. Start with short workouts. If you have never worked out in life, it is best to start with a 15-minute workout, then increase it to 30-minutes, then one hour, and so on. If you start off with long, boring workouts, you would become bored and fatigued at the outset and quit your workout routine.

Carbohydrate is the root cause behind your obesity, or so the supporters of low-carbohydrate diets would have you believe. Low-carb diets have always been more popular than the other dieting methods. After all, who hasn’t heard of the classic ones such as the Atkins Diet and South Beach Diet which continue to be popular even today?

Today however, you have more than one choice for low carb diets. There is the Zone diet, and then there is the Suzanne Summers Diet, each trying to beat down the other in terms of effectiveness. There are also several other minor low carb diet plans available.

If you are worried about cooking low-carb meals, drop your worries. Almost all low carb diet plans now come with in-built menus, recipes and other dietary tips designed to help the common man prepare delicious low carb meals with little effort or headache. Now the million dollar question: is the low-carb diet a right choice for you? Well, that is what you would learn about in this article.

Research low carb diets

Many people make the mistake of going on a low carb diet without doing adequate research and diligence. They are so much excited and blinded by all the hype surrounding these diet programs that they don’t even pause to think whether the diet is right for them or not.

Subsequently, frustrated with their chosen diet plan, they quit it altogether. You shouldn’t make such a mistake. Before going for the low carb diet, it is necessary to understand what types of foods you would be allowed to eat and which ones would be restricted or forbidden.

Ask yourself: do white bread, pasta, packaged fruit juice, etc., form part of your staple meal? Are you a fan of potatoes? If yes then low carb diet plans are not for you. If you have a special addiction for sugary foods then again you shouldn’t pick up a low carb diet as you are sure to be disappointed with your choice.

With a low carb diet, your carb intake would be severely restricted. Now, the types of restrictions vary from diet to diet. Some diets would put a complete ban on your carbohydrate intake, which means no chocolates, no sugar, no packaged fruit juices, no potatoes, no white breads, and no pasta for you. Then there are others which would let you eat only certain types of carbs.

Can I ever eat carbs again?

For example, the South Beach diet plan allows a gradual increase in the amount of carbohydrate intake in “phases”, while the Atkins diet puts a severe restriction on your carbs. With the Zone diet or Suzanne Summers Diet, you are required to eat only low-carb foods.

That said, don’t think that you cannot have delicious meals without carbs. I already mentioned that most of the available low-carb diet plans come with cooking recipes. Each of these recipes would help you make a delicious meal for yourself and your family, so much that you would almost forget about carbs. These recipes would satiate your taste buds while at the same time limiting your carbohydrate intake to a minimum.

Lastly, switching to a low carb meal plan is not an easy task especially if you have been thriving on sugary foods for years. Such a switch, if not impossible, is pretty difficult, and unless you are a self-disciplined individual with a strong mindset, such a switch may prove quite frustrating for you in the long run.

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