You have completed 2 weeks of the challenge! It is now time for you to celebrate! You've done something most people do not do–you've already stuck this new program out for 2 entire weeks. It is time for you to think about the good things you have changed and celebrate those. Today is not a day for thinking about the negatives. We all have places we fall down and that is fine. Today is about remembering the positives and patting ,ourselves on the back for those.

Think back two weeks. What has changed? Are you exercising now? Are you making smarter choices? Are you aware of the choices you should be making? Have you learned anything new about approaching health and wellness? Have you learned anything new about yourself?

CELEBRATE THOSE THINGS!

Life is too short to keep focused on the things you didn't accomplish so far. Remember that when you started this challenge you set some goals. You set up a plan for accomplishing those goals. You started making changes to make those goals a reality. That's why you should be celebrating the changes you DID make. Enjoy them! Tomorrow we are right back to work!

Want to see all the messages in this May 2016 Challenge Series? I have them organized for you right here.

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We are fast approaching the end of week 2 and I wanted to let you in on a little secret. It is not something earth shattering or mind blowing, but it is something most people trying to lose weight don't realize. What is the secret?

You don't have to be perfect!

When you are changing your eating habits, aim for 80% compliance. This will give you close to 1 meal a day where you don't need to be compliant. Can you perhaps see why the reality of losing weight is that it isn't as hard as everyone makes it seem?

Exercising 4 days a week is more than enough to get the weight off. If you aim for 7 and you manage 4 you have accomplished a very important goal. This is why I always tell people the same thing.

Stop making it harder than it is!

Stop killing yourself with exercises you cannot handle. It is OK to lift less weight than your friend. Everyone is at a different spot. Don't make it harder than it is. Stop worrying about the bread you ate at lunch, it is not going to derail your weight loss efforts.

Keeping things simple makes it easier to stick with. Baby steps get you to your goal just like giant leaps do. It is easier to string together a consistent group of baby steps than it is to string together a consistent bunch of giant leaps. Think that one over.

Want to see all the messages in this May 2016 Challenge Series? I have them organized for you right here.

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We are almost at the end of two weeks for the challenge.  By now you should have established a habit of working out regularly and eating clean foods regularly. At this point we need to kick things into higher gear. It is time to work harder than you have ever worked before. Today you are going to assess your weight and cardio training and make some intensity adjustments.

Upping the Intensity of Your Weight Training

Up to this point you should be training with weights about 3 times a week, completing 1 to 2 sets per exercise. Today we will make some changes so that the intensity of your weight training sessions goes up. Try one or more of the following to increase your weight training intensity.

• More sets. Doing more sets increases the total volume of your workout. A higher volume means a higher intensity.
• More repetitions. Doing more repetitions increases the total volume of your workout. Like increasing sets, this means a more intense workout.
• Reduce the rest period. By cutting the rest time in between sets you naturally get a higher intensity workout.
• Take a set to complete failure. With each exercise, take the final set to complete failure. This means the point at which you can no longer complete a repetition with good form.

The above items will help to increase the intensity of your weight training workout.

Upping the Intensity of Your Cardio Training

At this point you should be doing cardio 4 days per week. We are going to increase the intensity of that cardio. We want to make sure your body is not adapting to the cardio program you have been on. To increase the intensity of your cardio workouts try one or more of the following.

• Add HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Add one additional HIIT session to your week. It takes the place of one of your steady state sessions.
• Attempt to go further. If you usually walk 1 mile in 15 minutes, attempt to go a little bit further in the same amount of time.
• Extend your HIIT sessions. If you are doing 20 minute HIIT sessions, increase the time to 25 or even 30 minutes.
• Add Tabata sessions. We discussed Tabata early on in this challenge. Add a Tabata session after one of your weight training sessions to up the cardio intensity.

Extra intensity in both cardio training and weight training is going to cause a boost in your overall results. Enjoy the new intensity levels!

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In order to accomplish your goals you need to track your progress. There are multiple ways to track your fitness progress. Today I want to talk about those tracking methods and discuss why some are good while others are bad.

Are You on the Right Path?

People jump onto a fitness program with a lot of excitement. They are ready for change and want to accomplish that change with every fiber of their being. They set goals and go to work trying to accomplish them. How will they know they are on the right path if they don't track their own progress?

Scale Weight as a Measurement

The most obvious measurement when trying to lose weight is scale weight. It definitely gives interesting feedback, but the feedback it provides is only interesting to me when combined with other measurements.

Scale weight is affected by so many different variables that have nothing to do with weight loss success or failure. If you are carb cycling and you weigh yourself after a high carb day you will find your scale weight has risen. For women on their time of the month they will also see their scale weight has risen.

To me scale weight alone is the least trustworthy measurement and I will explain in the body fat portion of this discussion below.

Body Fat Percentage as a Measurement

Our bodies are made up of lean body mass (muscles, bones, tissue and water) and fat. I tend to focus the most on my body fat measurement. Why?

To me, body recomposition is a better goal than weight loss. You can lose 100 pounds and still not be healthy. Dropping body fat will make you healthier and that is why I focus on it more than the scale weight.

I do believe that using scale weight in conjunction with fat percentage is a great way to go. You measure your body fat with calipers (for easy to use calipers see the Accumeasure calipers on Amazon), hydrostatically or using bioimpedance. The method you use isn't important. What is important is to measure it the same way every time and to track the direction of your numbers–up or down.

As an example of why I think you need to track your body fat, imagine Joe is 28 years old, weighs 200 lbs and has 30% body fat. Joe begins to change his lifestyle. He has started with 140 lbs of lean body mass and 60 lbs of fat. Over a period of 6 months Joe steps on the scale and he now weighs 200 lbs. Should Joe be upset? Joe next measures his body fat and finds that he is at 10%. Joe hasn't lost any scale weight but had dropped 20% body fat. He now has 180 lbs of lean body mass and 20 lbs of fat. Joe has managed to eliminate 40 lbs of fat! Joe is much healthier even though the scale weight is exactly the same.

Circumference Measurements

Another way to track progress is that take circumference measurements of things like your arms, legs and midsection. These numbers give great feedback about how you are doing.

Track Everything Plan

The plan I want you to follow is the Track Everything plan. Every week at the same time on the same day weigh yourself, take your body fat measurement and take your circumference measurements. Track them in something like a spreadsheet so you can observe the trend.

Make Adjustments

As you're tracking your results you will use them to make adjustments to your plan. You will be able to react more quickly. You will be able to adjust so as to keep your progress going in the right direction.

Want to see all the messages in this May 2016 Challenge Series? I have them organized for you right here.

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Everyone thinks they are focused. You think you are right? You ignore texts while at the gym. You concentrate on yoir exercises. While resting you think about the rest of your day…wait! I thought you said you were focused?

To me being focused means not thinking about anything else but your workout. Everything else is blocked out. This time is supposed to be all about you. Too few people take time for themselves during the day. These are the reasons you should be focused while at the gym.

Focus on the Muscle

Too many people go through the motions without really thinking about the muscle they are working. If this is you break that habit now! You need that mind to muscle connection to really work hard. Some muscles this comes easier than others, but you want to feel the muscle contracting as you move the weights. You want to feel the muscle working. This take great focus.

Focus on the Next Set

In between sets people tend to let their minds wander. This is the time to mentally envision the next set you will complete. See yourself lifting the weight. Imagine how many repetitions you will complete and how it will feel. Don't allow your mind to wander to other things.

Focus on Your Form During Each Set

Each exercise must be performed correctly, take time to focus on your form. Make sure your body is positioned correctly. If your form breaks correct it. If you can't do any other reps with correct form end the set. Form is king when it comes to making gains. There is no point in doing really sloppy bicep curls if you expect your arms to grow.

Focus to Reduce Stress

By not letting your mind wander you make your gym time your own. Here is a big hint — life will be there after  you spend time at the gym. The bills, problems, etc. of life will be there. Make the gym time your time and your stress is going to go down. It isn't important to worry about what is for dinner that night or that the electric bill is due. Just focus on your workout. Focus on getting the most out of your workout that you can and you will reduce your stress for sure.

Focus Your Way to Fitness

By following this advice and focusing like a laser you are going to see major increases in your fitness level. You will see results and so will your friends and family. Learn to fall in love with the process by truly experiencing it. Never train if you aren't going to focus, but don't use that as an excuse to not train.

Want to see all the messages in this May 2016 Challenge Series? I have them organized for you right here.

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