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The Question: We [have plotted and planned] our New Year's resolutions. Some of us will start off strong and fall off the wagon, and some of us will be consistent throughout the year. However, it is very important to have a strong start in the direction of a transformation. What is the best way to start & maintain a New Year's transformation? Be specific: motivation, diet, training, etc... What mistakes do people often make when starting a New Year's transformation? How can those mistakes be kept to a minimum? Bonus Question: Are you satisfied with the transformation you made in 2007? Would you have done anything differently? Show off your knowledge to the world! The Winners:
2nd place - 50 in store credit. 3rd place - 25 in store credit. To use your credit, e-mail Will @ will@bodybuilding.com for more info.
We [have plotted and planned] our New Year's resolutions. Some of us will start off strong and fall off the wagon, and some of us will be consistent throughout the year. However, it is very important to have a strong start in the direction of a transformation.
New Year's always brings resolutions of weight loss and muscle gain for almost everyone. The problem is that these resolutions remain strong for the duration of January and sometimes well into February, but we seem to always get sidetracked in some way. [Now we are well into April... ] Whether it's those delicious little chocolate Easter eggs or those Valentine's Day Chocolates which eventually lead to not going to the gym so often, it seems to happen every year. The good news is that this year can be different; this year can bring successful resolutions, based on making a few simple changes in your lifestyle. Related Holiday Articles: Before diving into the changes that can be made, let's discuss why people find it so hard to succeed in their resolutions. Now, many people will make the resolution of getting 6-pack abs. So they begin by doing 600 crunches a day in addition to 3 weightlifting sessions in the gym a week and an hour of cardio a day. Seeing where the problem in this is? No one can maintain that type of schedule, and if they could, who would want to? The goal of this little program is to make a transition into changing to a healthier lifestyle. A smooth transition that is, instead of the incredibly drastic one described above. Now, let us look at the changes that need to be made for a successful New Year's transformation. The two most important changes to make for a successful transformation are changes in diet, and changes in your exercise or fitness regimen.
Any bodybuilder will tell you that diet is by far the most important part of obtaining a great physique. This is why this is an essential part of the road to a better body. Basically, diet can be summed up in a few little sections. These foods below are the foundations of a healthy diet.
Unlike refined carbohydrates, whole grains take a longer amount of time to digest. Whole grain foods contain generous amounts of fiber which blunt the body's insulin response. A fiber supplement is an excellent thing to take before meals for this very same reason.
Foods like fast foods are very high in saturated fats. These types of fats are solid at room temperature and at much higher temperatures than oils.
Picture this, would you rather have a glob of butter or a spoon of olive oil floating around in your blood? The olive oil of course, because it won't clog your arteries. This is what saturated fat essentially does. Not only is this terrible for the health of your circulatory system, it also leads to huge weight gains, which is the enemy of our resolution.
Adequate protein intake is essential for proper muscle growth. Protein is the building block to muscle mass and thus strength also. People that aren't taking a protein supplement in addition to their workout regimen are seriously hindering their progress in the gym. I suggest that everyone take a whey protein supplement after each and every workout.
Now these three points should be the basis of your diet.
One sad part of the American diet is that people enjoy 3 humungous square meals a day. This is actually not a good way to structure your meals. If you take all the food you eat in those three meals, and instead split them up in to 6 smaller meals, your energy levels will be much higher all day in addition to having a constant supply of protein to the muscles all day for optimum muscle growth.
  Click To Enlarge. Try To Get 6 Smaller Meals Throughout The Day.
A successful workout regimen includes both a cardiovascular aspect in addition to a resistance training program, which is also known as weight-lifting. The reasoning behind this is that having muscle mass helps burn calories, therefore, even when sitting at rest, muscle burns calories. This is why people who go on crash diets gain all their weight back, because in addition to losing all of that fat, they lost muscle mass, which would have helped them burn calories and prevent the weight gain. Related Calories Articles: So the goals of exercise are to build muscle mass, and to burn calories and the simple fact that muscle is being added also helps burn calories naturally. So if you ease into eating healthier foods in smaller portions as well as exercising consistently and moderately, you can prevent burnout and succeed in the resolution that you set.
 Click To Enlarge. The Goals Of Exercise Are To Build Muscle Mass, And Burn Calories.
Success in making a transformation really boils down to motivation. IF you're motivated to go to the gym, you'll go. If you're motivated enough to hit the weights hard, you will. The problem is just finding that motivation to get out there and do it. But in order to do this, you need to search deep down inside yourself and find what drives you, whether it's thinking of your kids, and how you want to live to see their kids or if it's something as simple as listening to a song that inspires you, it's something you need to find for yourself. Personally, my MP3 player is the key to my motivation. The selection of songs on there is so wide that there's something to push me to do that one extra rep, no matter how down or tired I feel.
There are two major mistakes people make when starting a New Year's Transformation:
As discussed above, people sometimes jump into an out of control fitness routine in addition to eating nothing but spinach and grilled chicken. This is just too hard to maintain, and basically takes most of the enjoyment out of life. This type of drastic change quickly leads to burnout, which is usually a complete stoppage of exercise and attempts at eating healthy foods. This can be avoided by just taking your time and making small changes for the better. I know you're dying to get into shape fast, but getting and staying healthy really is a life-long commitment. Don't worry; you have the rest of your life to work on it. The good news is that you still have several months until it's time to put on that swim-suit. Overall, just keep everything in moderation, so that you can maintain it and consistently work out and eat healthy.
 Click To Enlarge. You Still Have Several Months Until It's Time To Put On That Swim-Suit.
Believe it or not, not eating enough can cause you to GAIN weight. This is because your body thinks the world is in a state of famine and conserves as many calories of food as possible, storing fat in case of famine. So it's important to eat, ESPECIALLY in the morning. This jump starts your body's metabolism, starting the calorie burning process for the day. This is also why it's essential to small meals often. The body sees that food is plentiful and therefore it has no need to store fat, since it knows food is only an hour or two away. Now, I find it hard to eat breakfast because I'm just not hungry in the morning, but I like to have two scoops of Optimum's 100% Whey in milk every morning because it goes down smooth, plus it's another step in the direction of getting adequate protein for the day.
To prevent these mistakes, just stick to the basics. Basics Of Good Health:
I'm definitely satisfied with my results last year. I really found out a lot about myself and what I need to do to stick to my diet and to keep lifting as often as I should. It takes a lot of effort to keep you enjoying the sport of bodybuilding, which I most certainly believe it is a sport, in addition to a lifestyle. I've put on muscle, increased the weight I can push as well as gotten some definition in my abs. Who could ask for more?
Thanks for reading! -K (Opiewags99)
With the new year [(now going full speed)], many people have an ideal body which they set out to obtain. It is important to have a strong start, and without this you will surely fail, and not reach your goals. You must also stay consistent, or you will not have a successful transformation. How can you do this? Read on.
Some people, in fact most of them, start of strong, and seem to be doing well, but come the end of January through mid-February, they fall right off the transformation bandwagon. They stop going to the gym and become couch potatoes. They stop eating right. They stop getting proper amounts of sleep and are inconsistent and erratic. These are the people that fail. They lack discipline and will never obtain the body they want and desire.
You do not want to be like them. You want to be successful. In order to do this, you need four aspects of your life in check and in your control. Here they are:
Proper motivation is key to attaining your ideal body. Without this, you too will become a lazy couch potato, who does not want to workout. There are many ways to stay motivated:
Find a poster of someone who has your ideal body, whether you buy it, set it as your computer wallpaper, or find it in your favorite magazine. Hang it on the wall and look at it every day. Bodybuilding.com has many motivational wallpapers which can be found here. Motivational Wallpapers:
When rewards are set, people are more likely to succeed because they know that when they get there, they can have something they have always wanted. It sets a positive meaning to the behavior. Try setting rewards for yourself, such as a new supplement, a small vacation, or anything you enjoy, which you don't do often.
By charting your strength gains, weight loss, or weight gain, whatever your goal is, you can see how well you are doing, which should motivate you a little more. Bodybuilding.com has tons of motivation articles with great information.
Don't you love eating ice cream, cake, and fast food? Sadly, those foods won't help you reach your transformation goal. Your diet should include lean sources of protein (steak, chicken, fish), good sources of carbohydrates (oats, pasta, rice), plenty of healthy fats (peanuts, peanut butter, canola oil), and lots and lots of water, at least a gallon a day. You need to eat at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight, and the amount of carbs and fats depends on your individual goals. I won't go into too much detail here, but you can find many more articles on diet on Bodybuilding.com.
As you would expect, a solid, consistent workout routine is needed to reach your goals. There are many workout routines, which can be split into three categories, and you can pick a routine that suits you best:
These type of routines usually involve higher rep ranges (8-15) and many cardio days, to burn the fat. They do not focus on increasing muscle size but the high reps are more for endurance. You can also try HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training, which can be used with your current workout routine to help burn more fat. Related HIIT Articles:
Pure strength routines, frequently called powerlifting, involves much lower rep ranges heavier weight, and more sets. Examples of these workouts are sheiko, and the programs based off the Westside Philosophy. Powerlifting articles can be found here.
Hypertrophy/Hyperplasia are two ways a muscle can increase in size. Hypertrophy is the increase in the size of cells, while hyperplasia is an increase in the number of cells, both which increase the size of the muscle. Strength gains on this type of routine are not as great as they would be on a powerlifting routines. Examples of these types of routines are HST (Hypertrophy-Specific-Training), and Rippetoe, which is a combination of strength and size, and is great for new lifters. Related HST Articles:
You must pick between these three types of routines, and pick a specific routine afterwards, and it is essential that you workout consistently, and follow your routine to a "T" in order to reap the greatest benefits. I highly recommend Rippetoe to all beginners and new lifter, as I myself have seen great results with this routine. Bodybuilding.com also has a huge workout database with tons of workouts for you to try.
Last but certainly not least is sleep. Sleep is necessary to survive, and it has many benefits to a bodybuilder, such as:
These are just a few of the benefits. Read more on sleep on Bodybuilding.com. Sleep is necessary to your transformation, and I recommend a minimum of eight hours a night for maximum benefits. Stick to this goal as well, as sleep is crucial to your success, and less sleep equals no success. Just because you feel well rested after five hours of sleep does not mean its enough, eight is a good amount, seven at the least.
Many mistakes are above, which includes an improper routine, poor diet, and not enough sleep. I have discussed how you should approach each, but I will discuss them a little bit here. When starting out many people neglect diet, and eat anything they want, or don't eat enough. Obviously, this will result in nothing but failure, the total opposite of what you want. You must eat the proper amount of protein, carbs, and fats, and drink plenty of water. Many people also neglect the importance of sleep, and do not get nearly enough. The benefits of sleep have already been discussed, and a lack of it can lead to the following:
You can see sleep is very important, as well as a consistent training routine. Altering your routine every day will not get you results. Stick with a routine for at least two or three months before switching it up. As a beginner, I used to change my workout every week, and I would see no progress, and I wasted my time.
There are a few ways to keep these mistakes to a minimum, and the number one way is to read... Read, read, and read. Read articles here on Bodybuilding.com and learn about training routines, sleep, diet, motivation, the mind, supplements, and much more. You have a great start to this by coming here and reading this. Another thing you can do is go to the Bodybuilding.com forums and ask questions. There are stickies, which contain important information and tips for everyone to read, and if those don't answer your question, you can search, or start a thread and ask it. There are almost one million registered forum users who can answer your question, so don't be shy.
Overall, I would give myself a 5/10 for last year. I have done much reading, but my diet was not in check, nor my sleep. I slacked off on keeping a good diet, and plan to improve it this year, and make it almost perfect. I end up going to sleep at around 11:00pm, and wake up at 6:00am for school (only six hours of sleep); which is as good as it should be. Other than those, everything was perfect. I followed my workout routine perfectly, and did plenty of reading. I gave myself a five because those two things are very important. Aim for a 10/10 in 2008, I know I am!
The best way to start & maintain a New Year's transformation is to start a program that is sustainable. By having some basic knowledge you will be able to know for sure that what you are doing will work, without wasting anytime. You don't have to be an expert; just a little reading over the internet will help you determine what you need to do to reach your goal. Or you can hire a trainer, for their knowledge and motivation.
Motivation is the key to succeeding in everything in life. If you have the motivation you will do whatever it takes to achieve your goal. Too many people believe New Years is the greatest source of motivation to begin a diet and exercise regime. It gives the sense of a "new beginning," a reason to change their lives for the better. They can kiss goodbye to their old, unhealthy habits as if to say "That was so last year" and grab hold of new habits.
However, once the novelty of a New Year passes so does the external source of motivation. People stop talking to their friends about how they looked forward to the New Year and how things were going to change. All of a sudden you need to find a source of internal motivation, something that motivates you to continue with your healthy lifestyle. For some, this comes easy. They may be result motivated or are just very self-disciplined. For others it is not so easy. These people need to find other sources of motivation. Perhaps hiring a trainer, or setting a goal to enter a competition, something that forces you to stick with it. Related Personal Trainer Articles: Scientists say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. So knowing this you should take advantage of that surge of motivation. For the first 3-4 weeks into the new year make sure you do whatever it takes to stay motivated, so that after about 21 days, your new lifestyle is no longer "new" and is rather something you do out of habit. Advanced bodybuilders would know how this feels, to them not training feels weird and uncomfortable. Get yourself to the stage where exercising and eating well is a habit.
One of the most important things about starting a healthy lifestyle is that it is sustainable. A "diet" is not sustainable. A diet is only temporary because it refers to removing or restricting something from what you eat. I prefer "nutritional plan." Just like the training, this needs to be sustainable. So starting a "diet" that you feel like you're struggling to stick to is a no-no. Depending on your goal, do some research to find out what type of nutritional plan is best for you. Doing research backs up the thought that what you are doing will work, thus adding to the motivation (which as I said earlier is the most important factor in achieving your goal). Whether you're trying to build muscle, lose fat or just be healthier, eating 6 small meals a day is a great idea. Each one should have high protein no matter what your goal. In VERY basic terms here's how your nutritional plan should look depending on your goal: Building Muscle: Losing Fat: Why high protein? Because protein is the catalyst to build new tissue, not just muscle but almost everything else in the body.
 Click To Enlarge. Protein Is The Catalyst To Build New Tissue. Once again, the most important factor is finding something sustainable and keeping motivation high. What you eat is the most important factor when it comes to achieving your goal. Think about it, if you train well but eat bad you won't grow. But if you eat well and train bad you still will experience some muscle growth. So if your goal is to lose weight - eat less calories than you expend. To gain weight - eat more than you expend.
There are so many different ways to train it's not funny. They all depend on your goals. However resistance training is a definite inclusion in your new program. Cardio is too. The options are endless. You need to find what you really enjoy doing so that you will stick to it. If you absolutely hate lifting weights then do not do it. Find something else that lets you mirror lifting weights but that you enjoy. Perhaps you will like rock climbing? You never know until you give it a go. For cardio, do something different each time. Use different machines in the gym (treadmill, elliptical, rowing) or go outside and run, swim, kayak, etc. If you're having fun then you will continue doing it and that is the most important thing.
 Click To Enlarge. For Cardio, Do Something Different Each Time. Considering this site is called Bodybuilding.com, I will assume that the majority of people here want to build muscle while staying relatively lean. While there a millions of ways to do this here is a sample split:
Like I said that is just an example. In terms of reps, the mainstay would be 8-12, with the addition of some high rep sets to increase capillary density and glycogen storage.
Sets would be around 10 for large muscles and 4-6 for smaller muscles however this is just a guideline.
Rest is often overlooked by many "New Years' transformers." In their very excited and motivated state, they feel as though they can train all day long, and so they do, at least for the first few days. But burnout results, quickly. Not just physically but mentally. Incorporating rest days into your program is important. So is making sure you don't train too intensely in the beginning, while your body adapts to the new stimulus. Getting adequate sleep (8 hours for most) is also a must.
The biggest mistake is starting a program that is not sustainable. If you do this, the moment you return to your bad habits you will gain back the fat, or lose the muscle (or both). I have seen so many people, including members of my family, start an exercise regime where they train 3 hours a day, every day. This is fine when your completely relaxed, on holiday with nothing else to do but when you return to your work or school schedule you will quickly find that this is close to impossible to uphold. Once you start to realize you can't train for 3 hours anymore, you'll cut down to 2, then 1, then you'll lose motivation (key word) and it's game over. Another mistake is to be doing something you're not enjoying. If you're eating foods you hate and exercising in a manner that bores you, you won't continue for long. Eat healthy foods you enjoy and train in ways that make you look forward to your next session. So by starting your transformation with a sustainable program, you'll be in it for the long term, rather than a couple of weeks like the majority of the population. And doing things you enjoy will help make that program sustainable.
I am satisfied with the transformation I made last year. I made good gains in lean mass, and actually stayed very lean. However if I would do anything different I would eat more food. I think I was too concerned with staying lean at times. I plan to do my first bodybuilding competition in May '08 so come Jan. 1st, I'll be starting my own New Year's Transformation.
By Harley G.
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