Getting Gritty When it Comes to Fitness!
“Success travels in the company of very hard work. There is no trick, no easy way.”
~John Wooden
Recently I wrote a blog post (True Grit: Increasing Yours So That You’ll Succeed in Life) on “grit” and how it relates to success. In essence, grit is that unrelenting and persistent determination to push through challenges and difficulties in order to reach one’s goals. The great majority of people tend to give up when success is just around the corner.
So it is the same when it comes to getting fit. If you’ve been sedentary most of your life and you all of a sudden jump back into it because you want to look, then you may just come crashing back down. Too many people tend to become disappointed when their progress is not going as fast as they want to. In my generation, some Baby Boomers will see another Baby Boomer who has 6-pack abs and think, I can do that too.
Then they’ll watch some freaking infomercial that may say, you can look amazing like this if you take this weight loss supplement or use my super-powered fitness device that will help you to lose weight and get those 6-pack abs in 1 month or less. Don’t believe those commercials folks! It ain’t gonna happen. There are no fast miracles in getting to a ripped body.
You want to know what really works?
GRIT!
You’ve got to put in the sustained effort with sheer determination. Nothing else will get it done except for the amount of work you do in fitness. It may take a year or more. You’ve got to go at it in order for success to happen.
Most people don’t want to hear it from me. They want that quick fix. No, it will take good nutrition and exercise. Along the way you’ve got to make adjustments as to what works and what doesn’t work for you. Hence, that’s another part of equation. Self-discovery! Using a journal, you will need to document your workouts, what you eat, your emotional/mental response and the amount of sleep you get.
Every single thing that you do counts. Do you think I got to 8% body fat overnight? No freaking way! I worked at it for years. And I have to still work at, this despite me being a lifelong fitness guy. You’ve got to get gritty to keep it up. Many of my friends from the past didn’t and they are a shell of their former selves physically. They even look and move like old guys.
So, let me challenge you. When you decide to take action and then do, do it for the long haul. Make it a lifelong effort, not a short-term goal. Getting fit and staying fit is not a sprint, but a marathon. JUST DO IT! AND KEEP DOING IT!
Cheers,
Bob Choat
“Transformational Master Black Belt” America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness
bobchoat.com | optimallifeseminars.com