Posts Tagged ‘fitness’

If you are reading this post, then you are searching for the secret on how to lose fat, gain muscle, and get in shape the easy way. So here it is:

There isn’t one!

There is no workout cheat or magic pill. Getting in shape takes hard work, and if you are looking for the easy way, then you aren’t really thinking that seriously about it. How often do you hear a gold medalist or professional athlete say that they didn’t work hard to win the medal. That they just had a “special” program. No, they got there through hard work and sacrifice. The only time they say it’s easy is when they are getting paid to sell something.

The truth is that getting in shape isn’t easy. It takes hard work and a strong mentality. It takes a “I’m gonna do this no matter what” mentality, not a “well, as long as it’s only 10 minutes a day “.  You will most likely need to change your exercise and eating habits,  and possibly your sleeping schedule, and other habits as well. These are all very difficult things to change, and if you need to be willing to sacrifice a daily piece of cake or chocolate.

Does this mean that you need to workout an hour a day everyday? No, but you have to be willing to. I can put an intensive workout into 15-20 minutes, but if I am not willing to do more, I am probably not going to stick with it. However, when it comes to 5 minute workouts, that really isn’t much. At least not when it comes to getting your whole body in shape.

The bottom line is that it has to be important to you. If it is, then going through the pain and struggle isn’t only worth it, it’s rewarding.

Today marks the end of the second week, meaning I am half way through the challenge. I have exercised for 10 days and about a total of 7.5 hours. My body feels much stronger and getting into my routine is getting easier each day. Though 10 days or 7.5 hours of exercise is a pretty short time to work out, I can feel the difference. However, it hasn’t been until the last couple of days that I could see any difference.

I have noticed that certain areas are starting to feel a little tighter and some of the fat in my midsection has started to disappear. Looking at the pictures I don’t notice too much of difference. Its partly because of the light. The picture I took today is much brighter and harder to see definition. I can tell that my lower abs are protruding a little more and that my side tend to curve just slightly more. If I look closely, I can see that my muscles seem to be getting a larger (especially the abs), but they are still mostly hidden under fat.

Next week I will focus on losing some of the fat weight. This should happen naturally as I am now burning more calories. I will try and speed up the process by adding some running and calisthenics to my workout routine.

One particular exercise I will do more next week is jumping squats. It works a lot of the body and is killer on the legs. Try a few and you will see exactly what I mean. It also gets the heart rate up very quickly. I did a set of 30 of these today and my legs were shaking coming back up the stairs. Give it a try.

In case you missed any of this weeks posts, you can find them here:

• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 8
• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 9
• Getting Fit in 30 Days: Day 10 & 11 Secret to Sit-ups