I received quite a bit of feedback from last week’s column, so I have decided to do a part 2 of sorts.
But before we delve into today’s column, I would like to thank readers like Grace, Nicholas, Diane, Travis and Kester, who reached out to me via email and messages. On that note, anyone can feel free to contact me for nutritional advice and personal training enquiries.
This column is for whoever is looking to add more lean mass and achieve a ‘toned’ physique.
Daily process goals
Daily process goals are tiny, bite-sized, manageable goals that will help supplement the bigger picture. Revamping one’s nutrition or dietary habits is often the first hump to tackle with any fitness goal and can be a daunting task. In fact, it is so daunting that people are quick to abandon ship and get frustrated if they don’t look like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson or me within three months.
I work with a lot of guys who are looking to add size and one of the things I tell them to do is to think of two to three process goals they can achieve daily that will help them hit their larger goal. Some examples of daily process goals might be:
1. Not skipping breakfast
2. Making one to two protein shakes per day
3. Eating some carbs
I then tell them to print out a calendar and post it where they will see it every day. From there, I have them write down their process goals so that each day they follow through they can place a checkmark or cross them off on the calendar. The idea is to achieve 90% compliance each week.
There’s something magical that happens when people are able to see legitimate proof that they’re nailing their goals. It helps to keep them accountable and on task. And, after a while, the law of consistency will take over. Granted, they still won’t look like ‘The Rock’ or me (lol), but it stands to reason they simply won’t look the same either.
A workout log
I had a client express frustration that he wasn’t seeing the strength gains he had hoped for. I looked at his programme and noticed it was blank. The exercises were listed of course, along with the number of sets and reps requested, but that was it. No creases in the paper, chicken scratch, or even stick figures to remind him what a pull-through was. It was as if I had handed him his programme an hour ago.
I asked him: “So, how much weight did you use for your squats last week?”
There was complete silence.
“There’s your problem,” I said.
He was more or less guessing and going off memory each week. Sounds familiar? Here is a simple fix: Write your stuff down. Track it. Stop playing the guessing game. I know we live in a tech savvy world now and there’s an app for everything, but I still find using a regular old notebook and pen as my preferred way to log workouts.
Along with tracking sets/reps I’ll also write down general observations of how I feel on any given day. All of it provides pertinent information which allows me to gauge progress and make necessary tweaks to programmes moving forward.
Sleep
Time and time again, the one thing I adjust the most with my clients, especially when they’re not seeing progress in the gym, is their sleep habits. The answer is usually not cryotherapy or whatever modality you can think of.
Sleep is the one thing that will singlehandedly have the most profound effect on your ability to get shredded, deadlift the national record or any other fitness/performance endeavour you can think of.
