As mentioned yesterday, motivating others is going to happen because of the changes you have been making. Now is the time to write your story. People are going to ask you how you did it, what motivated you, etc. You need to have your story ready. It needs to be like an elevator pitch–short and sweet and to the point. Everyone needs to have a story behind their journey.

What is your story? For me the story is still being written, but the idea behind it sticks.

After having back surgery I gained a lot of weight. I found a group accountability system and discovered that I  have a passion for helping others find the right path to being fit. I have failed more than succeeded, but through all of that failure I have acquired a vast amount of knowledge. The reason for my failures was not my knowledge, but how I allowed life to get in the way. My biggest motivator now is my children. I want to be healthy. I want them to be proud of me. The way my body was, they couldn't possibly be as proud of me as they should be. I now have a goal to step on the bodybuilding stage on Memorial Day 2017. I plan to be in the absolute most amazing shape of my life. I am also planning to turn this into my life's work–steering others to the reputable few who can help them reach their fitness goals.

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Today we focus on helping others. At this point you have reassessed your goals and have a renewed fever for accomplishing them. The best way to do that is to help other people. Use your own successes as motivation for other people. It will help you more than you know.

Be honest with yourself and others. Make sure that you are telling the truth about your journey because that will help other people more than anything. While some people get impressed by how easy your journey appears, they are more likely to be captivated by your story when it includes peaks as well as valleys. Don't hold back. People want to know that what they are experiencing can be overcome. Imagine you are trying to get into shape and you are struggling. What helps you more–knowing the person you respect also struggled or thinking they breezed to the finish line?

Your story is there for you to share with others. In doing so you will help them reach their goals. That is why I am here. I am held accountable each and every day by the knowledge you are watching. That makes me feel good.

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Everyone experiences complacency from time to time. We get moving on goals and whether we are doing well or not, we get complacent and stop focusing correctly. Don't let that derail you.

Stay on top of the goals you set. Keep track of how you are doing. If asked you should know exactly where you stand. If complacency hits, take care of it by refocusing on your goals. Don't let complacency take you off your planned actions.

If you miss a day at the gym, brush it off. Make sure you get back there the next day. Go back to breaking things down into smaller segments. It will make all the difference in the world. Smaller goals are easier to achieve and achieving goals will spur you on more than you can imagine. The motivation that comes from completing several small goals is amazing.

Be realistic with yourself. Sometimes complacency happens because you've set goals that you cannot achieve. That is why we discussed reassessing goals a few days ago. If you have not read that lesson please go back now  and review it. Take an honest inventory of your situation. Don't be a victim, but don't be dishonest with yourself either. Reassess things and then stay on top of them and you are on your way!

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You have been executing a plan for 2 weeks now. You are likely doing the same workouts on the same days. Now is the time to change things up so that your body doesn't adapt. Normally I don't recommend changing things up until 4 weeks, but because of the challenge you are going to change things up today!

How To Change

If your weight workout has you doing:

Lat Pulldown (back exercise)
DB Chest Press (chest exercise)
Lying Leg Curls (hamstrings)

Starting today it will be:

Bent Over Rows (back exercise)
Incline BB Bench Press (chest exercise)
Seated Leg Curls (hamstrings)

You change things by inserting different exercises in place of the exercises you were already doing. You change things by switching up how you get your cardio. If you've been using mostly the treadmill it is time to change to another piece of equipment.

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Reassessment is a necessary evil in all things that involve goals. When we first set goals we tend to over extend ourselves. The only way to know this is to create the plan, execute the plan, review the results and revise the plan as necessary.

You already created the plan and began executing the plan. Today we review and revise as necessary.

In order to do this, you need to accurately review your results so far. When I say “accurately” I mean with a critical eye. You can't let your emotions take over here. You have to be brutally honest with yourself. Excuses need to be set aside. Any issues you've had need to be thought through and you need to revise your plan to consider those potential issues in the future.  Your overall goal should be to get a minimum of 80% compliance to all of your goals. So where do you start?

I want you to go through the following questions and then make the adjustments necessary.

Are you eating clean 80% of the time?

Are you eating enough?

Are you planning your meals ahead of time?

Are you exercising at least 3 times a week with weights?

Are you getting at least 4 cardio sessions in a week?

Are you making excuses for yourself–whether real or imagined?

Now take those answers and get to work fixing your plan.

Not eating clean 80% of the time? Set a goal to eliminate one of the cheat meals you've been having. Thus, if you completely slipped and have not been eating clean at all, start out by eating one clean meal today.

Not eating enough food? Up your calories by 5% each day until you hit the number you should be at and then stick to that.

Not planning your meals? This is the biggest mistake you will make and your only possible correction is to do the planning.

Not exercising at least 3 times a week with weights? Add 1 day of weight training this week and another next week, and so on, until you hit this goal. Do the same with cardio.

Making excuses for yourself? Unless you are physically incapable of exercising all excuses are just that–excuses. If you really give it some thought you will realize that the excises are not valid. Simply don't allow your excuses to keep you from your goals.

Revise your plan and get back to working hard!

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