Rule 1: Start RIGHT NOW. I know a ton of people who tell me they want to come check out my gym “sometime” and never get around to it. There is always something that comes up, you get busy with work, or you have your kids. People make excuses up the butt. There will always be an excuse, and before you know it, you are at the beginning of another summer where you don’t have the body you want. It’s really unfortunate, but you have to be proactive.

Rule 2: Start doing something you know you will stick to. Whether it’s TRX classes, or a personal trainer, or just getting your ass back in the gym, do something you know you will keep up for the next 7 weeks. A lot of people come to me, because they know they wouldn’t do anything otherwise. That, and the fact they just spent some money to get results:) This rule is also applies to nutrition. Don’t do some stupid diet plan you will only follow for 10 days, and then eat 4 pizzas in one sitting. Pointless, you’ll have lost weight for a week. Good job.

Rule 3: PLAN. You know that you are going to be going to work every day right? And usually those days are pretty much the same, regardless of what happens during the day, minus a slight change here and there. So it would make sense, to also KNOW what you are going to be eating throughout the day. Take your day off, and prepare meals for the week. If you go to work, without food, and without a plan, lunchtime will roll around, and you’ll be wondering what you should eat. You are more likely to make bad choices if you leave it up to that, than if you have tupperware filled with chicken and asparagus, with a greek yogurt. THIS, also applies to your workouts. Schedule them in each day, just like an appointment, and you are less likely to skip them.

Rule 4: Make a commitment to yourself. You need to allocate time for all of your workouts, preparing food, and sticking to this. So you have to say, for the next 7 weeks, you are going to commit to your program. Take drinking out of the mix. I know for a lot of you in Las Vegas, that’s a cardinal sin. Oh NO! You can’t drink for a whole month and a half! Is the world coming to an end? Try it. 7 weeks. No drinking, and take out fast food totally. All restaurant food. If it’s a good enough restaurant, it’ll be there in 7 weeks. If not, you shouldn’t be eating there. This goes back to rule number three. People do have 30 minutes to prepare meals each week. If you want an example, check out this video . Do some form of workout 4 times a week. Doesn’t have to be cardio, doesn’t have to be weights. Just do something you know you’ll do. Combine these rules, and I promise you’ll look like you should be in a bikini, or shirtless, when that time comes.

Tony Cress is a certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, Personal Trainer, and TRX Suspension Training Instructor in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can reach him at tony@tonycress.com, and on his website, www.tonycress.com

A lot of these guys shouldn’t have even tried to be honest, because right from the get go, you could tell they couldn’t cut it.  But guess what, they tried.  I’m not asking you to try to be a Green Beret.  I’m asking you to try your own hand, at whatever goal it is you want to accomplish.  If it’s running a marathon, start running.  If it’s losing weight, start eating better.  The things these guys attempted to do, without the physical or mental “gifts” some people say are genetic, were hundreds of times harder than trying to eat healthy while having a few kids.  Put that into perspective.  The effort you put into getting healthy habits, is probably going to be nowhere near the effort some of these “regular folk” are trying to put towards being a Green Beret.  Now, go get em!

This will make you mad.  What I am about to say, will make you mad.  I said it again.  Normally, I don’t say things like this, because as a personal trainer in Las Vegas, you try not to offend any potential clients.  But sometimes, things like this need to be said, for the better of everyone.  Consider the following post “tough love” from me.

You are fat.  If you aren’t fat, you don’t have to read this, but you may very well get what I’m talking about.  Now, here is a list of the things that HAVE NOT made you fat:

Your genetics.

Your job.

Your kids.

Your work schedule.

Your Pets.

The FDA.

The economy.

Your husband/boyfriend/wife/girlfriend.

Your kids soccer practice.

Your work deadlines.

Technology.

The holiday season.

People’s birthdays.

Your vacation.

Your pregnancy 2 years ago.

The amount of money you make.

The amount of time you have.

Yo Gabba Gabba.

The cost of a gym membership.

The cost of healthy food.

And on. And On.  And ON….

Now, here is a list of the things that HAVE made you fat:

YOU.

That’s it.  You are strictly to blame for where you are with your weight.  Don’t blame anyone else, or anyTHING else. You are directly responsible for every little piece of cake you have put in your mouth, every beer you have chugged, every cheeseburger you have inhaled, every loaf of bread you have spread butter on, and every workout you have skipped.  I am sure at first, you will take offense to this, because it is basically calling you out.  But if you actually think about it, how exactly did any of the above reasons make you fat?  Did your kids soccer practice make you have to go to the drive thru and order a value meal, or was it up to you to prepare before hand and make sure that wasn’t the end result?  Did your work make you miss your workout because you stayed an extra 3 hours past 5 pm, or did YOU make you miss your workout because you wouldn’t take 15 minutes out of your day to make sure you “got it in”?  For every reason you say you can’t drop the weight, there is 5 solutions.  Sometimes it takes the realization that the only thing that is holding you back from being the “fit” you, that you want to be, is yourself.  Let’s take for example, this holiday season.  I will guarantee you that multiple people will be telling me that they aren’t coming to fitness camp because there is a holiday party they have to go to, or they can’t afford it right now (which is valid), or they like to hibernate in the winter, and they’ll pick it up in the New Year.  I understand that there are holiday parties, but you could go get your workout in on your own.  You don’t have to rely on someone else to work out.  Everyone knows how to do jumping jacks and pushups and lunges.  Do them on your own time.  If you can’t afford it, same deal.  Do what you know, on your own.  Take accountability and be proactive.  And third, you are not a bear.  Bears hibernate.  People do not.  Every time you hibernate and don’t work out in the winter, it puts just a little bit more fat on your body, and makes you just a little bit more unhealthy, and will make it even harder to get to where you want to be ultimately.

I am sorry If I offended anyone, but sometimes as they say, “the truth hurts”.  I hope it only stings for a second, until you realize, that there is truth to this truth, and you can decide to change what you are doing for the better, or you can keep getting fat.  Don’t blame this on circumstances.  Assess your circumstances, and find solutions to the road blocks.  If you are driving cross country and a road is closed, do you cancel your trip?  I would hope not. You find a route that works.  That’s what you need to do with your overall health.  Happy Holidays:)