Have you ever considered what makes you tick? Do you have any clue what motivates you? Do you ever give this any thought?

Over the past year I have considered this question many times. I have come to the conclusion that I am extremely results oriented. I like setting goals and then working on achieving them. It makes life better for me in every single area.

It was due to this discovery that I went to my now personal trainer, Chris Albert, and discussed my nutrition with him. That lead to a discussion about training. Chris watched me train and asked me a lot of questions. We decided to work together on both nutrition and exercise.

As we have worked together Chris has continually revisited both training and nutrition based upon the results I am getting. He, like me, is results driven. He is very direct about his critique of my physique. He is the person I am using to prepare me for my show on April 14, 2012, so I am glad that he can be direct with me. Anything else will lead to problems later down the line.

As I get more involved in training with Chris I see very clearly that results are easier when you understand who you are and what motivates you. That information can then be used to guide your program. However, there are some things that have to be set aside.

If you don't like certain foods you won't be suited for bodybuilding. You have to set aside taste and just eat food for fuel. With that mentality you will go very far in your efforts. You will open the door to many foods that you might have otherwise avoided.

If you have not yet considered what makes you tick, stop and figure that out before you move ahead with your training. You may find that you are already on the right path, but you may also find that you need to make some serious changes. Give it a shot!

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Personal achievement has been on my mind lately. I believe it has to do with the audio seminar I'm listening to from Skip Lacour entitled “The Mindset of a Champion“. Each session is very long and it is difficult to carve out the time, but I am managing to progress through the program. It really got me thinking about things.

I have been progressing nicely, but I don't always feel the sense of urgency that I should feel. If I lose 1% body fat per week I accept it and if I lose more I am just extremely happy. However, the audio seminar has me realizing that to maximize personal achievement I need to approach everything differently. Skip has taught me that a champion makes decisions without worrying about the end result. What does that mean?

Skip gives the following example. A guy likes training and is busily working out and decides “I should enter a local show when I have more muscle.” After some time he gets to where he wants to be and enters the local show. He comes in third. He thinks “I know I could win that show, I need to train harder.” He sets out to train harder and the next year he wins that local show. He then thinks “I want to enter a national show.” He works hard and enters a national show. He comes in 5th. He thinks “I know if I train harder I could win that show next year.” This goes on and on. The ultimate end is that the guy winds up on a magazine cover. Skip points out that a champion would have just said “I am going to wind up on a magazine cover one day.” The champion just goes for it.

My own personal achievement needs demand that I change my approach. If I want to be thought of as a champion I have to act like a champion. Thus, I have set a goal. I am going to compete in the April 14, 2012 NPC Amateur Grand Prix – Los Angeles. I have set the goal and will now go about accomplishing it. I have set a goal like this before, but like with much of my training goals, this time I know it will be achieved.

Now you, my readers, can help me out by giving me encouragement and support that I know will come. This is a huge step for me. I have never been as serious as I am at this very moment.  It is time to do some work. Personal achievement is a short time away for me!

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Lately I have had some interesting experiences with manipulating my metabolism. The things I have gone through have taught me that there are many factors that will change up your metabolism. Some of these things are obvious, but many of them are far from obvious.

Obvious Things Having an Effect on Metaboblism

There are some fairly obvious changes that cause a change in your metabolism. Below is just a small list of those things:

• Eating 5 or 6 small meals a day. By eating a bunch of small meals you keep your body working on digesting the food all day long. This, in turn, revs up your metabolism.
• HIIT Cardio Sessions. Standard cardio where you run for long periods of time will burn alot of calories while doing the work, but will do little to nothing after you stop. Replace that with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio sessions and it is an entirely different story. Your body continues to burn calories long after the training has stopped.
• Standard Weight Training. Lifting weights builds muscle and muscle revs up your metabolism. The larger the engine the more calories you will burn at rest.

Not So Obvious Things Having an Effect on Metabolism

In addition to the list of obvious things, there are some not so obvious things that will have an effect on your metabolism. The following is  a list of these items:

• Supersetting. Supersetting will rev up your metabolism by pushing your body beyond its normal limits. You will work much harder and that will kick your metabolism up a notch.
• Training in an Oxygen Deprived State. When training hard enough that you are gasping for air, one reaction that would seem unlikely, but isn't, is that your metabolism will speed up. You will stay in that sped up state for a long time as well.
• Timing of Your Training Sessions. By training earlier in the day you will receive a longer lasting benefit from the training. Your metabolism will rage all day long.

Conclusion

Pay attention to your body's signals. This is the key to manipulation of your metabolism. Without feedback you won't know what to do next. The feedback your body gives you is going to tell you what is working and what is not working. That will be the key to your successful metabolic manipulation.

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