Keys To Success

By: Corbin Williams, NPTI
Personal Trainer

 

Have you ever tried to lose a few pounds or build a little muscle and then lost focus or motivation only to have the pounds you lost come back plus more?  Working with a personal trainer can help motivate and guide you.  But there are a few things you NEED to do as well. The following are keys to success that I encourage my clients to live by.  If you follow these, you too can benefit and find success in reaching your goal.

#1 Discipline:  Without discipline you have nothing.  This is the hardest thing to develop. It is the life style change that is crucial to your overall success.  Our daily choices make who we are. When you are craving that snack you know you should not eat, wait 5 minutes and make a healthier choice.   Instead of going home and propping your feet up at the computer or on the couch for hours, go to the park for a jog or walk or go for a bike ride, but just get out and get active.  Remember it is all about mind control.  YOU are in control of your actions; now help your body by choosing the right ones to direct you towards your goal and not away from it. Discipline, discipline, discipline, I can’t stress this enough.

#2 Consistency:  Set up your workout schedule like you would a work meeting.  Be on time and show up every time.  This will increase your chances of reaching your goal.

#3 Motivation:  You need to focus on what your goal is.  Why do you want to succeed?  Use that to drive you.  It’s not what you do but how you do it.  Go into your session ready to give your best effort and then a little more.  Get into your mind and “see” yourself completing the task at hand.

#4 “Off Days”:  Working out with a trainer may leave you with days you are on your own.  When people work with me they generally are with me at least 2 days a week or more.  This leaves you 4 days for you to stay motivated and active on your own.  Remember the first Key to success?  DISCIPLINE!! That’s where this comes into play.  Get up, Get out, Get active.  Don’t quit until you have given your best effort for each day.  It’ll only get you that much closer to your goal and THAT is where you want to be headed.

#5 Nutrition:  Nutrition accounts for about 50% of your training program.  You can’t out train a bad diet.  “You are what you eat” is a saying that is so true.  If you eat a lot of bad food you will feel and look bad.  Your body is a machine and needs the proper fuel to operate.  Give it the right quality and quantity and you will begin to feel amazing.  Water is part of healthy living as well.  You should get ½ your body weight in ounces a day.  Water is needed for life.  Everything in moderation is ok, but be careful what you choose.  There are always better choices.

#6 Sleep:  Here is something to think about.  Why is sleep so important?  Without it, your body won’t rebuild and heal your muscles and bone strength.  During your workout, the goal is to break down your muscles.  That is what the “burn” feeling is.  After the workout, have a small bite to eat, something such as an apple, orange or slice of watermelon. Then get plenty of sleep (7+ solid hours). Remember, discipline and consistency.  No excuses!!  Go to bed earlier.        

As you can see, these steps are vital for what we call a life style change, not just a workout.  Without changing your life style of bad eating habits and low activity levels, do you think you can really reach your goal?  Give it your best effort.  If you really want to look better, move better, be stronger and feel amazing then make these 6 steps a part of your life and make a difference today that will last a life time.

Corbin Williams, NPTI
Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach.
Certified nutrition coach
Graduated from the National Personal Training Institute
Owner and operator of GetReal Training, LLC

Get to Know your Trainer

My name is Corbin Williams.  I am a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach.  I graduated from the National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) where I was top of my class.  I am the owner and operator of GetReal Training, LLC and I am also a part time instructor at N.P.T.I. Philadelphia.   I believe that fitness and health is easily obtained by keeping it simple.   Getting away from the basics can become confusing and complicated when trying to lose weight and improve overall health.  This could result in getting injured or quitting before reaching your goal.  You want to reach your goal and obtain a healthier lifestyle but do so SAFELY. 

You might ask, "How do I go about doing that when I don't know anything about fitness and health?"  Finding the right personal trainer for you is crucial and will in the long run pay off.  Most people are able to become a personal trainer.  It’s not difficult.  There are many different ways one can achieve that title.  One way is to find a place that offers athe certification, pay a fee, get the study materials, take a few hours to take a test, and get “certified”.  Or some may go away for a weekend and get some hands on training and then take the test to get certified.    So, now, he/she has that certification, now what?  Do they know how to perform an exercise correctly and how to correct bad form?  Do THEY even know the correct form, or do they know how to modify the exercise for someone who is unable to perform it correctly or has an injury?   So, the take away message here is to make sure when choosing a personal trainer, ask what their experience is?  Where did they go to school?  How many hours of hands-on training did they have during their school?  What was their experience before they decided to go into personal training? So why do I tell you this?  Not to make you think “I just won’t use a trainer”.  But to give you the information you need to protect yourself.  It is the job of the trainer to FIRST  to make sure you are safe throughout your workout. Then they should consider your needs and goals to develop a custom program for you.  Then And as always, make the workouts fun and effective while keeping you motivated and achieving results. 

A personal trainer can be one of the most effective ways to reach a weight loss goal, as well as strength, endurance, conditioning, balance and stability.   The reason for this is they keep you motivated to keep going even when you feel like giving up.  If you are showing progress and getting results, what more motivation do you need than seeing those great results?  But what happens when you hit a plateau and think, "it's not working anymore" or "I don't feel like doing this anymore"? That's when you need someone there to push and encourage you; someone to "shake things up a bit". 

The body is an amazing machinepiece of work.  Most people give up or quit because of mental blocks.  Your mind is a very powerful thing and when harnessed, it can push you beyond what you ever imagined you could do.  On the flip side, it can trick you into thinking "it's not worth it, I'm too tired to continue…I'm not losing any weight…I'm not getting stronger"…etc.  A quote to think about, “Success comes in CANS, Failure comes in CAN’Ts.”  When you put your mind to reaching your goal you will reach your goal.  YES, it’s that easy.  Keep your goal in view.  If you can’t see the goal you will give up.  If it is too far out it seems hopeless.  Small goals that are easily obtainable are the key to a successful training program.  If you want to lose 25 lbs, instead of focusing on the whole bit, try to shoot for 5lbs, reach that then go for 5 more and so on.  Your trainer should be able to figure out how to do this and how long it will take you to reach your ultimate goal.

To sum it all up, you want to find a trainer who has had formal training. You want someone who will ensure your safety.   They should have a clear understanding of the exercises they are giving you.  Most of all, find someone who will get real results.  So get out there and find that trainer who will help you reach your goal and keep you on the track to a better healthier life.