7 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting in Shape
Getting “in shape” is a very subjective phrase, yet we all chase it.
Getting your body to a state you’re happy with can feel overwhelming.
You have a hundred different people telling you a hundred different things on how to get started.
Nonetheless, whatever your end goal is (losing weight, building muscle, increasing performance) there are some nuances to fitness that I wished I learned before starting my journey.
Here are 7 things I wish I knew before getting my body in shape and I hope they help you with your journey.
1. Your lifestyle is the map. Your goal body is the destination.
If you want your physique & health to change, then your identity is going to have to change too.
The “old you” isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Your habits, the foods you like to eat, physical activity level, hell - even your friends and inner circle may need to change.
You need to do an audit on every single factor in your life that is contributing to your health and wellbeing.
The “new you” needs to develop habits & an environment that ultimately shapes who you become in the future.
Be the person that needs to go to the gym everyday, be the person that refuses to eat junk food and fast food (even on the weekends), be the person that does what’s necessary to become the best version of yourself - mentally and physically.
2. It’s going to take longer than you think
Anyone telling you that you can make “lasting changes” in just 12 weeks is a sham.
Yes, you can make changes in a short amount of time, but sustaining the weight loss & setting a new baseline for your body will take a year or more.
Significant progress comes when you think long term.
Everything meaningful in this world is rarely completed overnight. It takes persistent effort and determination to get to your goal.
Welcome to the journey. Enjoy it.
3. Stop trying to lose weight all the time
If I could restart my fitness journey, I'd start by losing the excess weight, then focus on sustainability while building muscle.
Muscle is one of the biggest assets of the body.
Especially as you get older, you’ll appreciate every ounce of muscle you have because that’s what’s preventing you from injury.
You won't be able to build muscle efficiently by always being in a deficit.
NOTE: Yes, you need to eat more to build muscle, but you shouldn’t risk your health & obesity to do it (I’m talking to you, dirty bulkers).
To build muscle, eat 200-300 above your maintenance calories, but please stick to whole, natural, foods in the process. That factor should never change.
4. Cardio is not the only solution to weight loss
Cardio is an amazing way to keep active and maintain cardiovascular health.
And yes, I know what you’re thinking… cardio can aid in weight loss, but if your diet is not in check, once you stop that cardio the weight will come right back.
So if you are doing cardio, do it for your brain & heart.
Then, focus on your diet & your choices in the kitchen to burn fat. You’ll get longer-lasting results that way.
Additionally, if your goal is to build muscle, then doing just cardio will only eat away at your muscle energy stores since your body will need a fuel source for all of that cardio training.
You need to prioritize resistance training and weight training in order to maintain and build muscle mass. Not only will this improve muscle building but it will also increase metabolism and improve overall body composition.
In short, balancing cardio with strength training can lead to better results.
5. Supplements won’t fix a crappy lifestyle
Supplements are meant to do what they’re named after - supplement an already healthy lifestyle.
They are 5% of the entire equation. The other 95% is how you eat, exercise & recover.
Use supplements to enhance your lifestyle habits. Not compensate for them.
All of those “fat burning supplements” and “weight loss pills” are nothing but a gimmick and waste of time.
The ONLY things that significantly provide results for your body composition is training, diet, recovery, and consistency. Period.
Additionally, if you’re a chronic bar hopper or alcoholic, then I’m sorry to break it to you but you cannot outwork your drinking habit.
Alcohol is an antagonist to a healthy, in shape, body.
6. You can’t spot reduce fat in specific areas
No amount of core exercises will help you lose that muffin top.
I quickly learned that all of those sit-ups and crunches did “jack all” to help me lose belly fat.
Core exercises are great because they improve stability in the torso - which helps during compound movements and performance.
However, those core exercises do not “specifically burn fat in the belly”.
The only way to lose belly fat is by losing weight throughout the whole body. And to do that, you need to eat natural, whole, foods, in a caloric deficit. That’s it.
It’s like thinking that replacing your car’s tire is going to fix your busted transmission… That’s not how sh*t works.
7. People won’t like the “new you”
Have you ever heard about the “Crabs in a Bucket Theory”?
When you put a crab in a bucket, it can easily crawl up and escape.
However, when you put a lot of crabs in the same bucket, the crabs cannot escape anymore.
Whenever one of them tries to escape, the others catch him and pull him down.
You don’t even have to lid a bucket full of crabs, because even though each one possesses the ability to escape, the other crabs never let anyone escape. They all just immobilize each other.
In short, crabs, when put in a bucket, will pull any crab that’s close to escaping back down with them.
Some people will not like it when you're trying to change, so they'll subconsciously try to pull you back with social pressure.
Don't take it personally. It's only human.
Jealousy is a crazy disease. Don’t let it affect you. Just stay on your path and remember lesson 1 (your identity is going to have to change).
In the end…
Those are the 7 things I wish I knew before getting in shape.
Obviously, there are nuances to everything, but the idea is to go broad at first and then focus on the details later.
Create your foundation before getting into the tactics.
Be well and Keep Pluggin.
-C.
