There are NO Shortcuts

Success with Healthy Living, as with most things, comes down to mastering the basics. While most people waste time debating the endless stream of supplements, "new" workout programs and diet plans, all you really have to do is focus on simple concepts and you'll see results. The most important thing is to...

• Commit for life. Most people "work out" with a short-term goal in mind. Live a healthy lifestyle and you will feel a different way. Stop acting like living a Healthy Living is a household chore. Your health is a big deal and it's time you start acing like it. You can commit to being active every week, it doesn't neccesarily involves going to the gym. Being active can be "normal" for you. Not a sacrifice. Not an obligation. Normal. What's funny is that when you commit to being consistent over the long term, you end up seeing remarkable results in the short term.
• Set a schedule for your practice.  Most people never practice consistently because they are always wondering when they are going to practice next. Stop treating exercise as something to do when it's convenient and start setting a schedule for yourself to follow. This is what makes the difference between healthy living and wannabes. Organize your life and responsibilities around practicing and stop avoiding responsibility for your own health.
• Focus on the best exercises. Great results come from great focus, not great variety. Don't waste time in the gym because by bouncing around without any real goal, doing a little bit of this machine and a little bit of that machine. Thankfully, there is a simple rule that will always guide you toward the best exercises: the more an exercise makes you move, the bigger the benefits it will deliver.

The realization of healthy living is that there are no shortcuts!  You need to get stronger and build momentum early to allow you to survive in the later.  Sure, it certainly takes a lot longer to go through, but you’ll be far better prepared for battle and have a greater chance of success down the road. if you really want to lose weight, do it the slow way. Slow and steady wins the race! Moderation! And if you can't find moderation, it's time to find out why.

• If you’re building strength – Don’t be a hero and lift more than you should without learning the proper techniques. First spend a few weeks doing an exercise with a light weight to make sure to do them properly, then start adding weight (for example 5 pounds a week).
• If you’re losing weight – Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts, despite what you hear on TV and see in advertisements.  No magic pills you can take, no special machine to give you abs, no ‘secret diet’ that gets better results than others.  It’s hard work and that equals healthy eating and exercise.
• If you want to run a marathon - Don’t just go sign up for one.  Try running a 5k first and see if you survive, then a 10k, then a half-marathon, and THEN conquer that full marathon.

Build up and Breakthrough

When you go to the gym, try to keep things as simple and efficient as possible. It's great to push yourself, but the biggest mistake that you can make is not creating a foundation of strength. Don't to jump in and max out with a weight that is "hard or a class that is tough." It's great to challenge yourself but do it at a pace that conducive to your current physical state.  Your practices should be easy in the beginning and then increase intensity. If you want to see different results, you have to do something different. If you want to see progress each week, then you have to progress each week. This is actually very simple to do. Add five pounds each week. Add an extra set this week. Do the same exercise, but rest for 15 seconds less between sets. These are all ways of changing the stimulus and forcing your body to slowly and methodically get better. Make slow progress each week!

Record your practice

What gets measured, gets managed! How can you tell it you are getting stronger or losing  weight if you can recall how many reps you did or miles you ran? Tracking your progress is simple: Use Simetre.com, create your practice sessions and record it. Recording your training is especially important because it brings all of these points together.

1. You can look back and see how you're making long-term progress.
2. You can see on which dates you trained and how often you were on schedule.
3. You can verify that you did the best exercises each practice.
4. You can see how you are slowly building up volume and developing a foundation of strength.
5. And you can prove that you're making slow methodical progress each week.

Reward Yourself With Things That Can Reward You Back

We love the concept of awards and achievements. We're not talking about eating a dozen cookies

 because “hey, I went to the gym!” either.  It's about good rewards that actually help you push harder and live healthier. Add some real life prizes and achievements to your life, but make sure they’re prizes that take you closer to your goals, not farther away:

• Once you lose 50 pounds, reward yourself with new workout clothes; you’ll feel better about yourself and actually WANT to go to the gym.
• Once you complete 10 inverted rows for the first time, go buy yourself a pull up bar and work towards 10 more.
• Once you’ve completed your first 5k race, treat yourself to a new pair of shoes that will allow you to run faster next time.

Momentum is a powerful thing.

Enjoy each victory, celebrate your success, and use that momentum a step