Most of us have heard the saying “Find that big enough WHY and you will figure out HOW”. For those of you a bit unclear about what this means is when you set a goal, this goal has to burn every single day to ensure success.
Let me tell you a story about two parents who’s son had an awful disease in which physicians had no cure. That massive WHY was they wanted to get their child cured! They set off on a mission to save their child. Despite resistance from medical professionals, scientist, and support groups. The parents persisted by going all over the world to speak to doctors, researching medical libraries, and reviewing animal experiments until…………HOW HAPPENED! The cure is known as Lorenzo’s oil, which is named after their son.
In my 11 years in this industry, most clients WHY for investing in Impact is to lose FAT! I can pridefully say that I have done an amazing job in making this happen for the majority of my clients. Honestly, there has NEVER been an experience when I couldn’t figure out WHY my clients couldn’t lose FAT. However, the resistance is quite simple! Change is difficult for most people and when it comes to behaviors, they have to constantly be modified to ensure continuous success.
Take food for example, most of us know that you have to expend more calories than you take in to lose weight. Which is correct as long as you are following the key principles when creating that deficit. However, this deficit can only last so long(4 months max) before you have to start eating more to ensure you keep progressing. So then you go into a phase of energy balance where calories in is equal to calories out. You continue to follow the principles of eating, exercise with strength training, and increase your metabolic rate. Then if you are staying consistent(90% on 10% off) for most of the process, you would then go into a surplus of calories. This phase would be about optimizing muscle to continue to maintain a healthy metabolic rate, hormonal level, and performance gets better. Now, this is just a general overview of how to optimize not just losing weight. I’m talking about losing stubborn fat, building muscle(or toning in some peoples vocabulary), and performing at a high level.
This all leads me to the premise of this article! Although we have done an amazing job at Impact with getting clients to lose fat. There comes a point when most people continue to want more. Even after losing 20lbs, 50lbs, 75lbs, and beyond. They look in the mirror and keep stressing about their stomach, love handles, thighs, and more. Let me tell you, my experience has allowed me to understand to the 10 degree that we will never look in the mirror butt naked and say WOW! I’m finally HERE! Now I can live a better life. Even the photos we see in Men’s health and Women’s fitness of tight abs and a super lean body are short lived. We don’t understand that these individuals are the ones that during the holiday season’s, they are bringing their chicken/veggies to the party. Then drinking water instead of alcohol. If that massive WHY is to achieve a fitness models body. ACT AS IF! This whole health and fitness thing is a continuous journey of getting 1% better every day.
So my objective as a coach is to continue to develop a massive WHY you want to exercise! Or eat better, or drink more water, or sleep more! Here at Impact we get our clients to FOCUS on the process. Just like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are champions because of their processes. We develop Impact champions, due to our processes. It all comes down to HUMAN MOVEMENT PERFORMANCE! By taking a joint by joint approach(http://www.otpbooks.com/expanding-on-the-joint-by-joint-approach-by-gray-cook-part-1-of-3), we screen our clients out to ensure that we don’t add weight to dysfunction and we bring back authentic movement patterns. The outcome is nothing less than EXTRAordinary. Runners run faster, Golfers drive the ball further, basketball players jump higher, and ultimately the best version of you shines. Oh yeah, the risk for injury decreases tremendously. Not only with athletics, but with life. Sound like something you would be interested in?
Now, going back to developing that massive WHY you exercise? Why you eat right? Why you drink water? When your body doesn’t compensate as much during your day to days task, YOU feel better. YOU have more ENERGY! YOU become STRONGER. YOU sleep better! Finally, YOU control your cortisol(stress) levels better. The outcome is a better state of mind, making better food/life choices, and LOSING FAT!
Don’t let anybody tell you that you can out train a less than optimum food program! I have also learned after 11 plus years that I cannot completely transform peoples less than optimum lifestyles. So when we get clients to lose fat, then we get them fired up to perform better with fitness testing, competing in spartan races, running marathons, and straight up not hurting as we mature throughout our lives. Getting your health in check may not fire you up like it fires me up. But when I can get clients to squat, lunge, dead lift, push, pull, and rotate efficiently. That’s when the best version of YOU SHINES!
Peter McMahon is an ACE, NASM, FMS certified fitness coach at IMPACT Metrowest. His unique approach is called Functional Integrated Training, which integrates different components such as Flexibility, Power, Speed, Balance, and Strength Training. While machine training alone has a place in the world of fitness, it only provides exercise in an isolated, single plane of motion, with little emphasis on functional improvement or injury prevention.
http:http://www.dev.impactmetrowest.com/
Peter@impactmetrowest.com
Tel: (508) 766 0318
