Keeping track of it all...

Most people walk into a gym with no intentions whatsoever. To workout without a plan is basically wasting your time and money. Yes, something is better than nothing, but without a clear set of goals and a plan you'll never really achieve anything. We'll take two trainees, Trainee A and Trainee B. Trainee A, Jim, wants to get “big and ripped.” Very general. Jim goes to the gym and does some bench pressing, a few arm exercises and a short ab workout. He didn't track what he did, how much he lifted, or what he's been eating so in a couple of days when he went back to the gym, he gravitated towards his favorite exercises. He did some bench pressing, maybe a few different arm exercises, and maybe a few leg exercises, too. A few months goes by and we see Jim looks exactly the same as he did before, complaining to another gym-goer that it must be genetics that's keeping him the same.

Now, let's say Trainee B, Lisa, wants to lose fat and get more defined. She picks a goal of ten pounds she wants to lose and a body fat percentage of 17% she wants to attain. Very specific. She writes up her goals and looks into the best ways to do this by finding a trainer who gives her a solid plan. She follows the exercises prescribed, writes how much weight she lifted, what she did, and what she's been eating. She reviews it consistently and strives to work harder and eat better then before. She weighs herself every week, checks her body fat and records it. A few months pass and we see Lisa has transformed her body. She has lost 15 pounds of fat, gained a few pounds of muscle and looks incredible.

Both trainees have been going to the gym the same amount of time, but because Lisa had a clear set of goals a plan to attain them, and spent a few minutes each day recording her activities, she reached her ideal body while Jim never will. Now, which story would you rather be? If your answer is Lisa then here's a simple set of steps to achieve your goals.

1.Pick what you want to see. Be specific (gain 5 pounds of muscle, lose 15 pounds of fat, etc)
2.Once your goal has been set, find out exactly what needs to be done. A simple 6-12 week plan is often the best solution.
3.Grab a notebook and keep track of everything. The exercises performed, how much weight you lifted, how long you worked out, what you're eating and what you weigh.
4.Review this notebook so that you are consistently pushing yourself to lift more, eat less, and lose more and more body fat.

If you were to follow just these steps you'd start seeing results in a matter of weeks, guaranteed. A few minutes spent recording your workouts and meals each day will amount to huge rewards in the long run.