Have you ever noticed how much smoother life seems to run when you have a plan? Have you ever noticed that things seem to get done faster and much more effectively when you know what you need to do and when you need to do it?
There is a reason for that. When you have a master plan, you are setting yourself up for success. Successful people always have a plan, they always have an outline of their goals and how they want to achieve them. Every successful person from Bill Gates to Oprah started with a plan, they started with goals and they worked out the steps they needed to achieve those goals. Then they followed that plan to their success.
Bodybuilding is no different. If you don't have a plan, you don't have a path for success. Think of the most successful bodybuilder that you have ever heard of, they didn't just wake up one day looking like that. Instead, they worked out at the gym, they developed a strategy, and they changed their eating habits.
But most of all, they didn't just think about what they needed to do that day, they thought about what they needed to do that week, they thought about what they needed to do over the next few years to grow and change.
• They thought about how and when they should add more weight to their workouts
• They thought about how long their workouts should be and they planned for the date when they would increase their workout time
• They thought about the foods they were eating, and they made a logical plan to start eliminating the bad foods from their diets and increasing the good foods
• They thought about which foods to add to their diets to meet certain goals and they strategically plan each meal to meet these goals
Successful bodybuilders think in the long term. They understand that real change takes time. Think about it, if you power through the next month and change everything in your life at one time, you will eventually hit a wall. Your body will simply not be able to handle all of that change at once.
But if you start with small changes, if you give your body and your mind a chance to adjust to a new lifestyle, and if you slowly push yourself further and further towards your goals, you will find that you are able to see those real and lasting changes that you are looking for.
Where To Start
Right now, sit down and think about where you are physically, and mentally. Then think about where you want to be both physically and mentally. What exercises are you doing now? Are you getting enough cardio? Are you pushing your body enough? Make a plan to start small. Maybe you could make the commitment to start walking every night for the next week. Then the week after that you can start walking and doing some light stretching. Then after a month you can increase your workouts a little bit and start to push yourself.
Why a month? Because after a month of light workouts, your body will be used to the fact that it has to workout, and there is less of a chance of you burning out when you slowly increase your workouts.
Next, look at your diet. Are you eating protein, fruits, and vegetables at every meal? Are you drinking enough water? Are you eating processed foods or sugars?
Remember, don't judge yourself, just start where you are and accept yourself right where you are.
Now you will start slowly, for the next week, plan your breakfasts. Make sure that you make the first meal of your day super healthy, exchanging the sugar and processed foods for healthy foods. Two weeks after that, start planning your lunches the same way, ditching the unhealthy stuff in favor of the healthy things and adding a lot of protein. Two weeks after that, move onto planning your dinners the same way.
Make your plan, set your goals, and remember to take your time, only then will you see the lasting results that you are looking for.