As we work hard and push ourselves to reach the goals we have laid out, there is one common motivator that really keeps us going, the need to look better. I have tried to make other motivators my #1 but it still always comes back to several different questions and statements I tell myself;

• Do you want to look like this your whole life?
• Can I fit into that old shirt that makes me look good?
• I wonder if they notice me?
• I can get any girl if I looked like that.
• I can look like that dude.
• I want that guy to envy me.
• I want my significant other to look at me a little different.

On and on I can go and if at least one of these does not ring true, consider me crazy. Even a forty year old man still wants to be envied for the way he looks by women and men. We all want to be looked at a little longer by opposite sex, we all want someone to be like “damn he’s a big dude” or “wow she has some great arms”. It is flattering and we all could use a little more of that in our lives.

All that said, being selfish is a big motivator. Embrace it, use it as a backup to whatever else motivates you. Sometimes I have to remind myself by asking myself this question;

How bad would it suck to die today?

Take a minute and think about what you would leave behind. Think about everything, it may be morbid but for me dying would SUCK bad.

Here are some things I am going to put on the;

• I am strong
• I will be here for my family
• I will be 275 lbs by November
• I love cardio
• I will eat well
• What is all this worth?

Here are just a few thoughts, they may seem cheesy but who cares?  I have a great feeling this will help support the lifestyle I am trying to adopt.

From the Top Down

My goals are in a pyramid type form. My overall goal sits at the top and  is my biggest goal. I set this goal as my one year goal. So at the top of the pyramid is my goal I want achieved for that year.  Under that goal I have my two six month goals. The first six months and the second six months. Under those are broken into three month sectors and under those are the one month goals. With those come the week by week break down and lastly the daily breakdown.

Some might say that is a lot of work and I don’t want to write those down. I agree, I don’t write them down either. I know what and where I want to be in a year, that is my ultimate goal. Not to mention, I the mirror is the constant reminder of all my goals.

Furthermore, my one year goal is attainable in 6 months, if I worked hard day in and day out it can achieved. The fact is however, I know attaining my one year goal in 6 months will be a highly difficult feat.  Likewise I do not want to set myself up to fail. Therefore, I look at a good six month goal and make it my one year goal.

Set Yourself Up to Succeed

Goal are limits upon what you can achieve. However having these goals can be a great motivation to move forward with the next accomplishment.  On the other hand, settling for those successes on an initial goal can be detrimental and can lead to letting down or easing up on further goals. Make long term goals big and wishful. These goals should be tough but if you are able to break those goals down, things become a little easier and therefore can generate a plane to achieve them.

Day to Day Struggles

I battle with myself daily on what goals I want to achieve for that day. The night before I set my alarm for 5:15am, I snooze until 5:30am and then true to zombie form I find myself at the gym for cardio. What’s more is that while I make it to the gym, I struggle the whole time getting to the gym. 24 Hour Fitness is 1.5 miles from my house, I make two turns to get to there and for some reason I battle myself daily.

Furthermore, when I get back I am energized, ready for the day. I eat a great breakfast, take the supplements I need to take, prepare my meals and I am off.

Goal #1 achieved- get my ass up and to the gym.
Goal #2 achieved- prepare my meals.
Goal #3 achieved- eat a good first meal.

All that said, my next battle comes into play. Eating all those meals I made for myself. I cannot tell you the amount of food I have made that has been wasted because I forget to eat or just do not want to eat. My goal is to eat 5 small meals during the work day. 50% of the time I make this happen.

Goal #4 failed- eat all 5 meals.

Although I failed my 4th goal I will make a side goal and that is to eat at least three good meals while I am at work. This is where the whole setting myself up to succeed comes into play.

Goal #4 (modified) achieved- eat 3 good meals.

Day to day goals are difficult, keep your overall goal in mind and do not get over consumed with daily goals, keep the long term goals blatant.

Weeks at a Time

With the long term goals always on the mind and the day to day struggles plugging along, then come the weeks. The weeks are tough and can really be a stalling point for some. A lot of times I make my goals for the weeks and some weeks I attain them and other weeks I fall well short. It is important to be deliberate with your weekly goals however be flexible.

A lot of time I make uneducated goals for weeks. For example, “Lose 5 pounds”, “Bent over row 275 lbs. 12 times”, etc. These goals are all great but more fit for a two week or three week goal. I say that because some days at the gym I do not feel tip top and some days I feel like the Hulk. When it comes to my weight, water weight is killer to some. Although I have learned when to weigh myself and what to think about that afterward there are still times where seeing that number on the scale can really hit me hard.

My advice for weekly breakdown goals;

• Be flexible, meaning sometimes our weekly goals turn to bi-weekly, however do not let yourself down on the second week.
• Make more mental goals-i.e. I am going to be hyped to go to the gym, I am strong etc. Reaffirmations
• Line up your week i.e. Monday I will eat so many carbs and protein, workout at this time and so forth.

Take a Break

With all these goals comes a let down period. At one point everything will seem as if it cannot go according to the plan. Whether your just lacking some motivation or just tired of the track. Take a couple days, think about nothing relax. I guarantee that after a couple days of nothing you will be yearning for the other lifestyle.

A quick warning if you are first starting out, check out this blog post.

That said keep your goals at different levels all making sure they lead to your ultimate goal. When breaking things down make them clear. This can be a great for making your goal happen. Last but not least be flexible.

One of the things most of us deal with is our inner motivation and willpower. The other most common excuse we come across is, our life.  I am finding my life gets in the way more and more often lately. I am finding my inner willpower is veering off the road more and more consistently as well.  With all of the resources out there on how to be leaner, more fit, skinnier, more muscular, and so on, it is safe to say we know how to eat, workout etc. There are numerous resources that tell us how to lift weights to be lean or more muscular, there are numerous books on diet and nutrition, but how many on how to motivate you to do all of these things? How many of those books claim to be simple but take 300 pages to explain one simple topic?

With all the self help books and other material similar, one would think those would help a great deal and for those who actually read them they can be helpful. That said, I have read many of them and would recommend many of them as well but not many people want to sit and read those kinds of books during their free time.  Moreover, all of the books I have read have the same message, most theorize and conclude similar points, just expressed in different ways.  I have put many of the suggestions into action however the same things happen every time, things fade away.

Sticking to goals and certain habits become very difficult, not so much to establish but to maintain.  Often times we become so motivated to start and the first week we are going strong and the next week we start to make excuses to let down because we worked out so hard last week and so on and so forth.

Sit back and ask yourself how many times have I tried to change my lifestyle and within a week and even by then end of the first day for many, the change stopped. Ask yourself what excuses you came up with. Ask yourself what is keeping me from making the change I want?

I will bet you I can answer every one of those questions for you and be very accurate, because I probably use and used the same ones.

Furthermore, in the future I hope to be a resource to help guide you to a more habitual lifestyle of health and wellness. My goal is to garner and establish simple tips to help make your life what you want it to be.  Through simple suggestions of change, additions and subtraction, we can gather the lifestyle you want and need for life. Through my own struggles and tribulations of trial and error I hope I can help motivate you.

I did not expect a big number for several reasons but definitely though I could have got at least 10 pounds;
1. I carb cycled for 3 days last week and ate around 500 grams of carbs for two days and around 400 the third day.
2. I ate late and not well several days last week. I was so hungry last week, all the time, mind you I had to eat like seven times a day to pack in that many carbs I thought I would hate food, but kept needing more.
3. Protein intake was not good. I did not consume nearly enough protein most days. I was too focused on my carb intake and neglected my protein.
4. Had a tough time on the weekend keeping my eyes on the prize. With the Yankees and Sox playing I had a heck of a time staying away from things that got me in this predicament in the first place.

All that said after the workout I dropped 5 pounds of water and felt a little better. However I know I am going to have to have a little willpower this week to make the goal attainable. This is a big week I have to get at least 10 pounds off by Sunday night. If I can get to about 300 pounds by next week I will have a great chance and making my goal and therefore surpassing it.

Supplements these past couple weeks

Whey protein has been the main protein source, as I do not like to make my protein all from one source, I was too lazy to go buy and make other sources.

Mitotropin, omega-3, borage capsules, Accelerator 3, Optimal Support Packets, Aminovol (I step this down to one dose and only 5 tablets. (These were making me extremely tired and not sure why)

Nutrition for the next week

This week I will go with high carbs on my leg day which will be Tuesday and other days will maintain a low carb high protein meals. I do not focus on calories so much as good protein and complex carbs.

I always make sure to consume at least 1-2 gallons of water per day and will mix in some no calorie beverages as well. Peanut butter is my weakness and I have gotten in the habit of eating natural peanut butter and eat several different kinds. For dessert I plan to make the “Sludge” which is awesome.

I plan to eat a lot of salad on other day, you can pick a big bag at Wal-Mart for cheap and my goal is to make sure this is gone by the end of the week. Low fat dressing will be added.

Training

I do plan to super all my upper body workouts this week. I will train my chest and back twice this week. I will do them on Wednesday and Friday. I will finish my shoulders and put more emphasis on my arms on Saturday.

My sets will be 3-4 with 10-15 repetitions. All super setted. I have been getting a great deal stronger and gaining strength all the while.  Likewise I do not feel I am getting too bulky just more and more solid especially in my lower(legs) and upper portions.

The key to staying on track is staying motivated. My motivations have altered from time to time and may change day to day in some cases. This past two weeks my motivation has been nothing but a struggle. There are so many things to do and that said, I am finding myself at a point where those things are more important than a good and healthy lifestyle and not to mention my goals.

With the Road to 30 already en route I need to overcome this struggle and quick. I have lost 5 pounds over the last week and this next week, I feel, will be this biggest loss. That said it needs to be a big week. As the pounds start to drop it will be increasing difficult to reach that 30 mark if I have not lost at least a total of 15 pounds by the end of this next week.

Moreover, what I am trying to accomplish is hard. There really cannot be a day off to just do whatever I would like to do. That single day could be a massive setback. Furthermore, I need to stay the route ahead and my motivation is the key to keeping me on the right path.

My motivation over the past week has been nothing. Usually on those days I can get to the gym and see someone and use them as motivation. Whether it be a guy I admire, a guy I despise or a hot chick, those are consistent motivators prior to this last week.  This week I need to change it up, I need to figure it out. I have a kid coming into this world in the next month or so, if that is not motivation enough I do not what is.

Got any motivational tips?

Eating

In order to accomplish the goal I will have to incorporate several different tactics and not to mention work hard. My lifestyle will consist of a similar style as I used in My First Four Months. I will carb cycle a little differently and fill my meals with good quality protein.

Resistance Training

My weight training will be high repetitions 15-25 depending on the exercise and sets will be 4-6.  My last two sets will reach failure and my rest time will not exceed more than a one minute.

Cardio

My cardio will come every other day on week one, six days week two and cycle those on and off for the next six weeks. Cardio stints will come first thing in the moring 40 minutes on four day weeks and 30 minute on six day weeks.  Furthermore I will keep my heartrates working at intervals from 115 bpm to upwards of 150 bpm.

Supplements

My supplements have not changed a great deal, however I have added Mannatech products to my regime, including Optimal Health Packets, GI-Pro, and Cardio Balance.  Along with that I still take fish oil, borage caps and added NxLabs AminoVol which is primarily branched chained amino acids. I am going to mix in the Mitotropin again, as I believe this is one of the most powerful non-ephedra containing products on the market. Lastly I will have whey protein. I got a good deal from the Supplementwarehouse.com for 10 pounds of Scivation Whey.  

All that said with a baby girl on the way, my wife being a great supporter, along with family and friends, I know I can pull this off. I have six weeks to make this happen.  I will make my measurements weekly and weigh myself only at the three week mark and the six week mark. I will take pictures and measurements at the same times of day and post them accordingly. Road to 30 is officially underway, this big man at 315 will be a touch smaller in just six week.

The hardest part about making goals in the beginning is attaining them.  As we persevere through that very difficult stage we find ourselves reaching goals and knocking them out one by one.  However as I now enter the sixth month of my lifestyle transformation, I find my goals becoming faded and vague.

At the start of this lifestyle, my goal were very detailed. i.e.

• I will take my multivitamin
• I will six egg whites for breakfast
• I will drink 16oz. of water with all my meals
• I eat six times today
• I will make all my meals tonight

These were and still are a lot of my daily goals.  As I began to make those goals apart of my everyday routine, I began making my goal slightly less detailed but still very particular.

• I will consume 550 grams of carbohydrates today or 100 grams for my first 5 meals and 50 grams in my last meal.
• I will consume 430 grams of protein. I will stick to whey after my workout, casein, chicken and eggs will consume the rest of my proteins.
• I will do 100 repetitions of ab exercises.

By this point I knew what foods to eat and would weigh pretty much everything to make sure I was getting an accurate count. Likewise, my exercises were particular and had a pretty solid routine.  As time went on, my goals were being attained one after another, so I would look at some of my long-term goals.

Long-term Goals

Varying goals from a month out, to two months out, to a year and so forth can definitely work both ways. I am more of an advocate for short term goals simply because of the urgency behind it. The long term goal can be defeated quite easily with the sword of time.  I think it can be very beneficial setting a goal for a year, however I think that years goal can be broken down even further. My suggestion, the old “Pyramid” put your main goal at the top, break that down by each month and week. By following this plan you are drawing yourself a map to success.

When Goals Go Stray

It is no secret, writing or making a mental note of those goals it a great map, however sticking to those goals can be a difficult feat. So here are some common roadblocks I face:

1. Time
2. I reached a goal now I can cheat or kick back
3. I didn’t want to be left out (Parties, fun occasions, etc.)

The biggest one and the most difficult to admit…..I am Lazy!

I lack the effort and often time will assume convenience in place of the effort. Maybe I got a little extra money at the end of the month, therefore I will go spend it on a good meal (More often than not I go to fast food joint…..really great meal…sigh).  When I stick to the plan, the results that come about can be motivating and invigorating, on the other side when I do not stick to the plan I feel wasted and begin to doubt myself.

Keeping on Track

When I veer off the track and find myself going downhill fast, I just stop and get back on track.  I know that for the past two days my lifestyle has not been what I want it to be. The biggest thing I learned about from that is get right back on. Even if the whole day you didn’t train, eat well, do anything well.  The only thing to do is restart. If you go on a binge for a week, sure that may seem like a long time but your body has not fully given up and nor should you.

Start back slow. Do not overwhelm yourself and risk falling back into the rut. Take your time and reevaluate your goals and hop right back on. Do not start on Monday (After this weekend is over….blah blah blah) everyone does that, start now. Not next week, or when you get back, start now.

 The worst thing I will find myself doing is losing focus of what I first started with and just going back to old ways because I do feel like I am looking better and feeling better at that.

I have gone to the convenience route as of late.  I have all the resources at home and all though I am on the road quite a bit I still have never made excuses and still will not. I ate well 4 days out of the seven last week. The other days however were poor. I skipped meals, ate poor, over ate and sometimes just didn’t eat for half a day or more.

I can really tell it is starting to catch up to me, as I am beginning to feel very sluggish. The mornings are getting more snooze buttons that normal and the whole morning I’m tired. On Monday I got back to eating the way I am used to and that mad a big difference during the day. I was energized and ready to go. On the other hand, today I woke up late, ate a big bowl of sugary cereal, did not prepare my meals and am ultimately set up for a day of failure.

I will do my best to eat well for the next week.  This weekend will pose the biggest issue as I have to be away from home for three days in a town not well known for its amenities.

In the meantime, all I can do at this point is workout harder and hope to overcome my weakness.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to eat and eat with a purpose.

I workout at couple different places and see familiar faces routinely at the gyms.  In the morning I usually see the same people and the same groups there. For the past 3 months I have taken notice of a few different guys. One of the guys I see motivates me, I don’t know him, he is built well, strong and works out hard. Another guy motivates me in a different way. He wears a tank top, walks with AIR lats, not very big, cut or anything noticeable. He walks about, like he is IT, does not nod or say hi, just struts around with nothing to show. On the flip side the former is built great, says or nods hello to everyone, build like  a bodybuilder and has a quiet yet radiating confidence about him.

The bodybuilder guy has made clear changes since I have been watching him.  He is getting quite a bit more lean and his exercises have increased in repetitions. The other guy has been lifting the same amount of weight for the same amount of repetitions since I have paid any attention to him. 

The two guys who motivate me do for very different reasons. The big built fella walks in and has a presence and goes to work.  I know he is strong, I know he works hard on his body and it shows.  The other guy has made slight if any changes.  Every time I see him he is doing dumb bell bench press or walking around and works hard for a few reps.

When guys first start out going to the gym they have it in their mind they have to be strong and lift a lot of weight. Most of the guys I know are looking to get those big weights up even if it is a forced rep. Most guys stay away from the 12-20 rep range because they are not able to push around a lot of weight. They will go four to six reps with as much weight as they can get and take a large rest time.  This is great for gathering strength and I too will use this method to change it up a little or when I plateau, however making big strides in your lifestyle is not what this low rep set is made for.

For the most part men want to be in good shape, have a good amount of muscle, but lean and mean. Weights is a great place to start.  Some guys will start and try to start running or some high intensity cardio. This is a great way to fail quickly. Personally I hate to run, so I play racquetball, quick bursts here and there and it is a total body workout. When I wake up I hit the weights, although I vary my training regimen every two or three week, I try to stay in the 10-15 rep range with at least four sets. In the past I wanted the big weight and even today I will hit that mode for a few weeks but no more than three weeks.

My goal is to make sure I sweat and get my muscles endured. It is so much more impressive when I see someone put 270lb  bench 12 times rather than 315lb once.  Your muscles love to be broken down and through proper nutrition and recovery, themuscles will react ten fold.  Your goal should be to go into the gym and break your muscles down and for the next couple days your should feel a little sore. Remember your first workout with weight when you were super sore, you gave your body a shock and now your muscles have to rebuild and be ready for the workout. (Its like a building being blown up and rebuilt every time except a little better every single time.)

All that said, lose the ego. Take your time, the hardest part of this whole thing is patience. Once you become patient and realize this is not just a piece or time period of your life, you will gain yourself a lifestyle.