Is Your Fitness Program Effective? Here Are Seven Secrets to Getting Maximum Results in Minimum Time

If you’ve tried more than a few fitness programs in the past and continue to fail time and time again, you’re not alone. The truth is, most people who start an exercise or diet program fail. However, this failure is not your fault. You’ve simply been lied to, misled, and ripped off by the weight-loss industry.

If you’re frustrated, confused, and seeking results, I’m about to let you in on the real secrets to getting maximum results in minimum time. These secrets will eliminate any possibility of failure and help you achieve your fitness goals quicker than you ever thought possible. These secrets will skyrocket your energy, stoke your metabolism, and help you sculpt a lean physique fast!

1. Visualize Your Goals

Begin by creating your new body in your mind first. It’s impossible to achieve your goals when you have no idea what they mean to you. Start by imagining the exact goals you want to accomplish with as much detail and specificity as possible. This is by far the most critical component to your success. Take this vision and document it on paper. You’ll be 90{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} more likely to succeed if you write your goals down. Or, stated another way, you’ll have only a 10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} shot at success if you neglect to write down your goals.

2. Get Help From a Coach

One of the key qualities of achievers is that they enlist the help individuals who have already achieved what they seek to accomplish. To achieve significant, long-term results, the guidance of a fitness expert will put you on the path to success and prevent you from getting distracted from your goals. Here are three reasons why you need a coach:

Mentorship. Do you have somebody in your life that actually knows how to eat and train right — and is healthy enough, vibrant enough, and fit enough to demonstrate it? Seriously, do you have someone that can help you work through nutrition and fitness problems and troubleshoot obstacles, rather than just telling you to move more and eat less?

If you have a good role model in your social circle right now, someone who has already done what you want to do, and someone who can mentor you to success, make the absolute most of it. If, However, you don’t already have a mentor like that, find one immediately.

Support. Do you know that 95{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of the folks who lose weight through diet and exercise programs gain all the weight back and then some? The road to changing our lifestyle patterns is long, hard, and perilous. Alone, most people are destined to fail. With support, you’ll have the best chance to succeed.

So, who do you turn to for support? Who helps you figure it out? Who’s you’re lifestyle manager? Your nutritional occupational therapist? If you’re not in the kind of shape you want to be in — and you can’t think of a good answer to these questions — perhaps it’s time to start taking applications.

Accountability. This is probably one of the biggest reason folks fail to see significant health, fitness, and weight-loss results: they don’t have someone to hold them to the fire and help keep them honest with their efforts. The truth is, you need the education, support, and guidance every step of the way to see success.

So, do you have all three of these factors in place? Do you have someone to mentor you, a support group, and someone holding you accountable? These are the keys to ultimately achieving your goals. Get those three things in your life, and make use of them, and I assure you that the body you want is within your reach. But without them, no exercise program, no diet, no supplement will be enough.

3. Eat 5 or 6 Small Meals Per Day

One of the most vital factors to increasing your metabolism is increasing the frequency of your meals.

I know you’ve been told that you must cut your calories and exercise more, but that doesn’t work. Eating less and exercising more only makes you fatter.

However, if you eat the right foods in the right amounts, you’ll stoke your metabolism, burn tons of fat, and get fit faster than you ever thought possible. Simply eat breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, and dinner, and you’ll be on your way to revving up your metabolism and burning fat all day long.

4. Increase Your Lean Muscle

The amount of lean muscle you have on your physique directly affects the speed of your metabolism and the amount of fat you burn — the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism is.

There’s only one way to increase it, and that’s resistance training. Not only will you boost your metabolism by burning more calories, but you’ll elevate it by the exercise itself and the recovery process.

5. Perform Interval Training

Intervals simply refer to bouts of intense activity separated by rest periods. By using intervals, you’re able to exercise at a higher intensity without burning yourself out in minutes since you alternate between high-intensity and low-intensity efforts. Intervals improve your cardiovascular fitness and burn way more fat than slow, long-duration aerobics. Intervals skyrocket your metabolism and shock your body into fat-burning mode.

6. Eat a Post-workout Meal

After your resistance or interval training, it’s critical to put your body into a recovery state to maximize metabolism and fat loss. By consuming a blend of fast-acting protein and carbohydrates, you’ll ensure that you immediately rebuild muscle tissue and prevent unwanted muscle soreness. You’ll want to make sure you consume a meal of protein and carbohydrates within 15 minutes post-workout to capitalize on the benefits of increased recovery, fast results, and increased fat burning.

7. Boost Your Water Intake

Water is a vital component to life; it’s impossible to survive without good, clean water. If you don’t consume enough water, your body will age more quickly, appear fatter, and be more susceptible to colds, soreness, and energy fluctuations. At the minimum, you should consume one-half your body weight (pounds) in ounces of water daily. To get even more benefits, you should consume your entire your body weight in ounces of water daily.

Remember, these seven fitness secrets work only if you follow them consistently. This formula will help you achieve maximum success from your fitness program. Start by incorporating one secret, and once you’ve mastered it, move on to the next until you’ve mastered them all. v

Coach Holly Leonard, owner of BeFit Health and Wellness Solutions, is a body transformation specialist who has helped more than 300 Pioneer Valley men and women reclaim their health, fitness, and vitality through proper fitness and nutrition. For more expert fitness advice and information about her coaching programs, visit www.befittraining.com.