Achieve New Year Fitness

Lawrence Hosannah is a drug-free bodybuilder and fitness consultant who has been helping people from all walks of life to get in awesome shape for over 15 years. Lawrence is the author of the book "12 weeks to Beach Body Abs" the ultimate guide to achieving a lean, tight and muscular waistline. Lawrence is also an artist and illustrated and designed his entire book.

Photo: Lawrence Hosannah, drug-free bodybuilder, fitness consultant and author
 
Achieve Awesome Fitness this New Year

How do you go about achieving your fitness, strength and physique goals? Do you set big goals on one day, get really excited, and then become distracted and discouraged after a few days?  Do you set specific goals and systematically move towards them without getting side tracked? Do you write down your goals, break them down in to manageable tasks then focus on each task until it is completed? What do you do with discouragement? Do you adapt to changing circumstances still keeping your eye on the prize? Do you give yourself time to achieve your goals, or do you expect them to be accomplished now?
   
How you go about setting your goals? If you make a plan, how persistent you are, and how you adapt to challenges will determine if you achieve your goals or not. In my own life, I have achieved some goals, and others I struggle with. There is a saying that “Success leaves clues”, I definitely agree with that. The best way to determine the path to something that you want to achieve is to watch the actions and pick the minds of the successful. By observing the actions of others who have been successful in a specific area of life we can speed up our learning, and achieve are goals in quicker time than if we started on our own.
   
How to actually go about achieving fitness, strength and physique goals once you have determined what exactly you want to achieve; the choice of your method will either increase or decrease your ability to succeed. In my own building of strength and physique I will say that the following steps have helped me reach my goals.
  
1) Set a goal that challenges and excites you
If your goal is too easy to accomplish it will not excite you, which means that desire and motivation will tend to be low, and as a result you will stick with your fitness plan. If you want to achieve awesome fitness then set big goals, goals that challenge you all the way. The excitement of aiming high will make the journey more energizing. Choose goals that will cause you to not only grow physically but mentally and spiritually as well.

2)  Be clear about what you want to accomplish
If you don’t have a clear goal you won’t know where to aim, and you will get lost when you set off on your journey. Set a clear and precise goal about what you want to achieve, be as specific as possible. How much fitter do you want to be? Do you want to be able to run a mile in 10 minutes or less? Do you want to add 10lbs of new muscle this year? Do you want to bench press your body weight 10 times? Do you want to fit into a certain size dress or pair of pants? Determining exactly what you want will charge up your energy, open you mind up to possible ways to achieve your goal, and allow you to design a clear plan to achieve your goal.

3) Research the possibilities
Once you know what you want then research tired and proven methods to get you to your goal. If you don’t know what exercises to do, how much to eat, how often to workout, then read books on nutrition and exercise, ask someone who has successfully achieved what you want to achieve, browse online. Information is everywhere. Understand that there is a lot of nonsense out there and you will have to swim through it to get to the stuff that works. But truth has a way of being self evident.

4) Set a clear plan to reach your goal
Once you have made your decision then immediately set a plan to get you there. If you want to burn 20lbs of body fat in 6 weeks then set a weekly exercise, nutrition and rest plan to get you there. This program does not have to be perfect; in fact you will probably have to adjust it  as you go especially if this is the first time you are using this plan. This program should be manageable, progressive, and challenging. Break your main goal into small weekly manageable goals, and focus on achieving them.

5) Begin your plan once it is written
Don’t wait for the perfect time, start right now. Procrastination is the killer of great goals; don’t allow it to kill your dreams. Start right now means doing something in your plan that moves you towards your goal, this could be something as simple as going shopping for the foods on your nutrition list. It could mean joining a gym today. If you start right now you will almost guarantee reaching your goals.
 
6) Adjust your plan when challenges pop up
Challenges will pop up, it goes with the territory, don’t cut and run, adapt and you will keep moving towards your goal. If you cannot get to gym because you have to work late then make up the next day by exercising more intensely, If you have to eat and don’t have the ideal meal available make the healthiest choice available and eat less food. If your favorite piece of cardio equipment is unavailable, adapt and use something else or go outside and speed walk. The point is to adjust and adapt to changing circumstances, there is always an option available.

7) Use your mind to encourage good habits
Use techniques such as mentally visualizing your goals, rewarding yourself when you reach your weekly goals, using positive self talk, etc. When you face a mirror you are looking at your best friend and worst enemy, using positive mental techniques and rewards will strengthen you as your best friend thus energizing your efforts, leading to actualization of goals.

Lawrence Hosannah is a drug-free bodybuilder and fitness consultant who has been helping people from all walks of life to get in awesome shape for over 15 years. Lawrence is the author of the book “12 weeks to Beach Body Abs” the ultimate guide to achieving  a lean, tight and muscular waistline. Lawrence is also an artist and illustrated and designed his entire book.

To purchase Lawrence’s book “12 Weeks to Beach Body Abs” visit Lawrence’s website at  www.hosannahdiesel.com

To see Lawrence’s artwork visit  www.myseone.com 

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