Jo and Stacey on the bench press, one spotting and one lifting
YOU spend years in the gym and don’t get results. You ask yourself why and reach a conclusion: exercise doesn’t work.
You go on a diet, fail to lose weight and determine that diets aren’t effective.
Or you take up weight-lifting, pull a muscle and decide that weight-lifting causes injuries.
Those are real life situations and common reactions. But there’s some missing data. How many people regularly visit the gym and don’t actually follow or stick to a progressive resistance program?
Or how many people go on diets, but either adopt a diet that is fundamentally flawed (in the long term) or cheat on the details?
Pressed for time, Adriano working hard to make the most of the final weeks
And when it comes to getting injured lifting weights, how many of us have failed to listen to instructions or ‘switched off’ at that all-important moment? To then say weight-lifting is dangerous is as illogical as a parent who hurts their back picking up their children saying they will never lift their children again.
In each of these real examples – and there are thousands more – I’m highlighting how we, as people, outsource responsibility for our mishaps or lack of success. I’m as guilty of it as anyone else.
There is an often uncomfortable truth we are trying to avoid: we are where we are largely because of choices WE have made.
Unleashing strength through deadlifts
The day when we start to reverse this trend is when we take ownership of the problem. It means to admit the only way to achieve lasting results is to recognise fully we are the ones in charge.
One of the greatest powers we have as human beings is knowing we can change things and that we have choice, because in the absence of choice we have hopelessness. The moment we blame others or circumstances we relinquish our power.
An artistic (10 and 5-year-old) impression of transformation
If you keep blaming and looking outwards instead of inwards, you are developing a practice – the practice of becoming better at blaming and squandering your powers.
“The body becomes what you teach it.”
Simply put, if you don’t own the problem, you can’t change the problem.
Who is in control when you pick up your phone at bedtime and start scrolling through messages or social media? Does the phone control you?
Who buys the food that goes into your fridge and cupboards that, when consumed, cause your health issues?
Taking a walk, farmer’s carry-style
The Amazing 12 is a unique program that offers the opportunity for change and, as you will know if you have been following my blogs, food and sleep should play an integral part of any healthy physical transformation.
You have to follow the program. That’s not a catch. It’s a requirement for it to work.
A reason people come to me or have personal training is because they want/need to be held accountable. They pay me to take them through the program, show and instruct them how to perform the movements, organise what weights to lift, how long to recover, watch their form etc.
Paying for my services and having me pull the strings helps motivate them to turn up when they don’t feel like it and do the exercise even if they dislike it.
So here we are, 10 weeks into the Amazing 12 Chichester at the Core Results Gym. The ‘end’ is in sight and some will be satisfied and some will not.
Whether the group are content or not at the end largely comes down to three things: mindset, expectations and honesty.
Are they a glass-is-half-empty or half-full type of person? How honest are they with themselves about what they have put into the program? How realistic were their expectations?
Adriano putting everything into the heavy battle ropes
Irrespective of the results, here’s the truth as I see it: this is just the beginning. Here’s another truth: what they do next and how successful they are going to be moving forwards is ALL down to them. We need to own that reality.
Stacey told me, “I don’t think I’d have got back into shape had I not done this [the Amazing 12].” She’s lost over a stone in weight and returned to her pre-pregnancy bodyweight.
I’d like to think, however, that Stacey is also much better equipped and informed now than when she started.
Still, Stacey feels disappointed whenever her scale weight hasn’t budged even if her strength and fitness has increased, which raises the question of what means of testing we are attached to for determining how well we are doing. Again, this is something we need to take ownership of by understanding it is a choice.
Finishing the week strongly with the prowler and kettlebells
Jo’s admitted she hasn’t been following the diet for weeks and that she’s really been struggling at times. But she was committed this week and, when she puts the work in and eats correctly, I’ve noticed big changes.
I can’t fault Adriano for commitment. Some days he gets stranded in London coming back from work yet busts a gut to make it to the gym on time. Occasionally, we’ve had to reschedule his sessions and started super-early.
The bottom line is he’s made his training a priority. If we can do the same with sleep and diet we have the winning ticket!
Ben, who is almost back to full fitness after a recent injury, has been working practically two jobs in recent weeks and after training in the evening has had to then do a night shift. Therefore his sleep has been massively disrupted and, as I’ve written about previously, it’s through quality sleep that the body does its restorative work, growth and majority of fat-burning. That’s a biological process that can’t be short-circuited.
At least Ben’s been following more rigidly the diet I gave him last week and has noticed almost immediately the difference (and I’ve seen it) which has made him – and me – wonder just what his results would have been had he nailed it from the beginning.
However, what these past 10 weeks has taught me (and I’m always learning from the people I coach) is that motivation only goes so far for some and that over the longer duration you need to have a plan for when the wheels come off.
Plans are systems or frameworks that help keep you on track with your goals. “Fail to plan, plan to fail” is how the saying goes.
Upping the stakes, Adriano, Ben and Jo going through a conditioning workout
Plans don’t magically appear. You have to create them. You have to foresee where you have gone wrong previously and determine what is necessary or helpful to avoid that bump if it comes up again.
If you don’t plan, you’ll wind up repeating the same actions and you know what Albert Einstein said about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome?
Stacey showing her deep back squat
So the big lesson for this week is to recognise you – and no-one else – are in charge. Stop blaming anyone or anything. Take command. Make a plan. Stick with it. If you don’t like it, know that you can change it.
It requires discipline and discipline can be learned and practiced. As Aristotle once wrote, “Through discipline we find freedom.”
My next wave – an eight-week version – starts on May 8. If you’d like to be considered and think you have what it takes to commit to training, following a healthy nutritional plan, want to dramatically improve your strength and fitness, change your physical composition and learn how to lift and train efficiently and effectively, contact me at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk
OUR bodies are incredibly resilient. They are wired for survival. That’s why, in spite of abuse from over and under-eating, poor nutrition, drugs, alcohol, lack of sleep, stress etc, our bodies keep on going…until they can’t.
The truth is we take advantage of our bodies.
Sometimes – actually, probably quite often – we get warning signs telling us something is amiss or that we should perhaps change the path we are on. But we either ignore them or the signals go misinterpreted or we just think we are invincible. And then we end up in a situation where our health and well-being is compromised and the quality of our lives diminishes, which is not a place anyone of sound mind wants to be.
While the body is strong and wants desperately to stay alive and keep soldiering on, our minds can undermine that durability. Out of our minds come thoughts. These thoughts lead to actions. These actions/choices, if harmful or poor, ultimately cause our demise.
But what’s driving our thoughts is our beliefs. Change your beliefs and you can alter your thoughts and then your choices.
That’s why it is said that to change your body you must first change your mind.
Jo pulling a weight that is more than double what she thought was her limit two weeks ago
So why am I raising this subject? At the start of the week during training at the Core Results Gym, Jo had a concern because while she is losing body fat, her scales revealed no change in weight. Should she be worried?
A few days later Ben said he had weighed himself and felt disappointed – even though he hadn’t weighed himself prior to starting the program (so had nothing to compare his current weight to).
Stacey’s been weighing herself daily since her late teens. It’s now just a habit. “I jump on the scales every morning,” she said. “I’m not really bothered by what it says, but I just want to know.”
Stacey back squatting for leg development and overall strength
That all led me to thinking about the whole belief-thought-action connection and, more specifically, numbers. What numbers should we be interested in and are relevant and/or significant?
Body weight tells us how heavy we are and it could, for instance,be an indicator of whether the portion sizes of our meals are too great. But for generations we have been fed the myth that our weight is everything. And, much to our detriment, many of us believe it!
Weighing ourselves regularly doesn’t measure progress unless the aim is to lose or gain weight. But then I would ask the question: is losing or gaining weight a smart goal? (I’ll come back to this later)
Arnold in his prime – obese or not?
I don’t pay much attention either to BMI (Body Mass Index) because it seems flawed to me to determine a person’s health based solely on height and weight. By that criteria Arnold Schwarzenegger (above) in his prime was obese, which he clearly was not.
Knowing our weight would be significant if, for example, you were a combat sportsperson or take part in a competition separated by weight divisions.
Beyond those circumstances, the only reason to be concerned by where the needle falls on the scale is if you believe it matters. Ben was disappointed solely because he had in mind a weight that he thought he should be.
I’m saying your weight is the least valuable number worth tracking.
So what numbers are vital to know?
Let’s start with body fat. It’s more critical to know than weight, but harder to calculate. Too much body fat is harmful to us in many ways. But your body fat can go down while your bodyweight increases, which creates confusion if you are attached to the thought that weight equates to success.
The fact is that in most circumstances having muscle is more essential and healthier than having more body fat. And, as I’ve said, muscle mass is heavier than fat.
Jo has already lost several per cent in body fat which, at four weeks, is a healthy rate of improvement.
So if losing body fat is the goal, here are what I would regard as some sensible targets. For women, 26% would be a good start, 23% above average and 21% getting into great shape. For men, over 22% means you have work to do, 17% is ahead of the game, 14% in shape and 12% lean. Under that and you’re getting towards being ripped.
Measuring the circumference of different parts of the body can be useful and is simple. I’d say the stomach (around the belly button) and hips are the most beneficial for ladies. But it’s important not to over-do it. Take measurements infrequently for it to make sense and for your sanity!
Ben would struggle with light weights when he started, but now can comfortably press heavier dumbbells
Strength can also be measured and it’s a valuable statistic. So pay more attention to the numbers of the weights you can lift and the number of the repetitions of the exercises you are able to do than the needle on your scales.
The weights, reps and times on the Amazing 12 program assist me, as coach, to monitor progress. I can see who’s getting stronger and fitter. Even though it can’t be calculated numerically, more crucial than how much you can lift is how you lift. Never sacrifice form for reps. So when I talk about how well someone is doing in terms of weight and reps, take it as a given that I am always referring to quality repetitions (unless specified).
Adriano demonstrating good form on the bench press
Then there are some more imaginative ways of using data, like the number of times in a day that you consume healthy, fresh vegetables. Or the number of times in the week that you exercised or played sport or went to the gym or took a walk. Or the number of hours you didn’t spend sitting down, either at your desk or in front of the TV. Or the number of litres of water you consumed in a day. Or the number of times you did something that brought you pleasure and helped you to relax. Or the number of hours you managed to go without checking emails and social media. Or the number on the clock when you go to bed. Or the number of squats you completed to negate the hours you spent seated.
I could keep on going. But you should by now have the message: there are more sensible things than weight to keep track of.
Last, but certainly not least, however, make note of the number of quality hours sleep you get each night.
Numbers are just markers. And let’s not lose sight of a key goal – to complete the program as prescribed. Make note of the number of workouts you have attended or the number of times you felt like quitting, but didn’t.
If you’re going to track anything, be sure it helps rather than hinders you. Otherwise don’t do it.
I discuss some of these factors weekly with Jo, Stacey, Adriano and Ben. Why? Because it matters. It’s not just to optimise results on the Amazing 12. Getting into the habit of focusing on the important numbers will help you to stay healthy (in mind and body) and strong and vibrant beyond the Amazing 12 and into old age.
Stacey improving her curls
So how did the quartet do in week four? My statistics show steady improvement in strength and fitness. Steady – rather than meteoric – is how I want it.
Jo said to me after a tough day 3, “should I be feeling less fit?” and I explained that when the load is more challenging she’s having to work harder. That’s all.
It’s all a numbers game. Just choose which numbers are worth obsessing over and disregard the rest.
Here are some numbers for you to consider: how many years have passed training without getting the results you desire? How much money have you spent without success trying to get fit and/or strong and in shape? If you are not happy with your investment/result ratio, perhaps it’s time to consider the Amazing 12. If you are serious or curious, drop me a line at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk
OUR bodies are incredibly resilient. They are wired for survival. That’s why, in spite of abuse from over and under-eating, poor nutrition, drugs, alcohol, lack of sleep, stress etc, our bodies keep on going…until they can’t.
The fact is that in most circumstances having 
