shortcuts

The Secret Nobody is Telling You

/ Mark A Nutting / Leave a comment

There’s something out there that nobody is telling you. It’s the secret to living a healthier, more active, more productive life. It can completely change your body, it can give you more energy, make you disease resistant, help your brain to function better, turn back the clock and keep you younger longer. Sounds great, right? Well, I’m going to share that secret with you and it won’t cost you a thing.

Untitled design (58)

Move more and eat a balanced diet!

I know you’re saying, “Wait? What? That’s not a secret.” Darn right, and there is no secret. Don’t you think that if there really was a secret formula, workout, miracle food, or cream, we would all know about it by now. It just does’t exist. Sure you can probably workout more effectively and eat healthier, but there is no miraculous product or potion being kept from you. 

Why is it that people keep looking for that magic pill or shortcut then? Well, we live in a world where we can get so much instantly (so, it becomes an expectation) and there are so many salespeople out there promising us that they have the secret formula that we think they can’t all be lying (without calling them liars, they are, at least, misleaders). Finally, people want desperately to believe there is a quicker, easier way and (sorry to say) there just isn’t.

Don’t be sucked into the hype of mystery and the dream of a shortcut. If you want to reach your goal sooner, start and commit to the journey sooner. This requires an attitude adjustment. 

You need to give yourself permission to:

  • not reach your goal overnight.
  • take baby steps so that you won’t be overwhelmed.
  • fail and fail again. Just recognize what went wrong, adjust and keep coming back.
  • stay the course and not get pulled away by “the grass is always greener” of new product or diet.

Don’t wait around for the next big thing. Get started now using the tried and true. It may not be exciting but, ultimately reaching your goal will be.

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills

Fitness Resolutions, Are You Ready to Fail?

/ Mark A Nutting / Leave a comment

Are you someone who makes New Year’s resolutions? How did your resolutions work out last year? The year before? Did you know that between 73-80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February. That’s a pretty astounding failure rate. We all believe we can change (which is good, because we can) and the new year tempts us with a fresh start, but when it comes down to it, we just can’t seem to make our goals a reality. Here’s a little bit of why you might be failing and some guidance on attaining those resolutions.

old man new year

  • Your resolutions aren’t specific. “I’m going to lose weight.” should be, “I’m going to lose 10lbs.” “I’m going to eat healthier.” needs to be, “I’m going to eat 5 serving of fruits and vegetables every day.” If you don’t make the goal specific, you won’t know what precisely to do to attain it.
  • Your resolutions aren’t timed appropriately. One of two things typically happens time-wise with your goals. Either you don’t set a time limit or you set an unrealistic one. If you don’t set a time limit (given that most of us are procrastinators) it’s just not going to happen. The other time issue is that you set your time limit too short. The time you set has to be realistic. No, losing 30lbs in two weeks is not going to happen. You’re not going to achieve that beach body in four weeks. You aren’t going to run that marathon in two months if you haven’t started training yet. Not only will not reaching the goal make you feel badly about yourself, but you may very well get injured in the process.
  • You’re out of the gate too fast. This goes along with not allowing yourself a realistic time to reach your goals. You push too hard, too fast, crash and burn mentally and/or physically. Allow yourself time to start slowly and plan a gradual increase in intensity or volume as your body and/or mind are ready.
  • You grasp at anything promising a shortcut. “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills. Success is never instant no matter what the ads say. Change takes time and sustainable change takes more time. If it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t true. (I have more platitudes, but I’ll spare you.) Stay away from the hype of quick solutions and commit to the journey.

If you want to achieve your New Year’s resolutions, don’t fall into the traps that make so many others fail. Get specific, time it right, avoid going out at an unsustainable rate, and stay away from gimmicks.

Good luck and happy new year.