OK, I admit it. The post was kind of an excuse to feature a pic of the beautiful Jennifer Connelly. Couldn’t help it LOL. Seriously, her eyes… Anyway – my point is that in order to change some people need to hit the very rock bottom of their condition. They need to realize how pathetic their situation really is in order to take the drastic measures that are needed to change their body… or their lives!

Here Is the Quote From the Movie

Professor Barnhardt: There must be alternatives. You must have some technology that could solve our problem.
Klaatu: Your problem is not technology. The problem is you. You lack the will to change.
Professor Barnhardt: Then help us change.
Klaatu: I cannot change your nature. You treat the world as you treat each other.
Professor Barnhardt: But every civilization reaches a crisis point eventually.
Klaatu: Most of them don’t make it.
Professor Barnhardt: Yours did. How?
Klaatu: Our sun was dying. We had to evolve in order to survive.
Professor Barnhardt: So it was only when your world was threatened with destruction that you became what you are now.
Klaatu: Yes.
Professor Barnhardt: Well that’s where we are. You say we’re on the brink of destruction and you’re right. But it’s only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve. This is our moment. Don’t take it from us, we are close to an answer.

Looking Forward to Your Reflections on the Movie

Hey, what did you guys think? Do you join the bashing and think it is Anti-American movie lol? Speaking of this, I just think some people can’t handle the truth. Or did you watch just to enjoy Jennifer’s performance? Maybe your are a special effects guy or gal? Share you thoughts.

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January comes and it is a time when many people decide that they are going to change their lives. We have all heard it and we have all done it. You know the kind of resolutions I’m talking about. From next year I’m going to train or starting next month I won’t eat junk food anymore. Or how about from next week I will start saving money. Starting tomorrow, I will drink more water. Blah, blah, blah. Well guess what?

There Is No Tomorrow


[Rocky III. Some people think the Rocky movies are corny, but you just need to see the powerful message of this video.]

Tomorrow does not exist. All you have is the now. The next day? It won’t be much different than today. One more day of delay on what you want in life is one less day not living your life the way you are supposed to.

Ultra Ambitious Plans Fail

We have this unique ability to deceive ourselves. Have you ever been extremely motivated to do something? Let’s say you watch a movie and there is an actor in it, who is in top shape. I don’t know about you, but I get very motivated when I see someone in top shape. Thoughts start running through my head. I am going to train like a madman. I am going to eat ultra clean and run an hour every day, etc. Guess what happens with this kind of ultra ambitious I’m-gonna-be-the-next ninja-Rambo plans? Most of them fail and there is a reason for this.

Procrastination Is Self Deception

We have this tendency to justify things in our heads. You see, there is this internal dialogue going on inside our mind. More often than not, the side that emerges victorious in this debate is the one that justifies procrastination and laziness. It is easy to tell yourself that starting tomorrow you are going to do all the things you want to do. But when tomorrow comes, the internal dialogue starts all over again. And there goes the self deception again.

You Snooze, You Lose

The big secret is that nothing really different will happen if you sleep a few hours more, watch TV instead of train, eat that piece of cake, instead of some fruit, etc. That’s right, nothing happens.

You will not feel much more rested if you sleep one more hour. On the contrary, you may mess up your ultradian rhythms if you wake up in the middle of an REM cycle and thus sabotage your energy levels. As far as that cake goes, the sugar rush lasts for only a couple of minutes. Is it really worth it, considering how it will affect your energy levels for the next couple of hours? But I digress…

Finally, skipping workouts is clearly the easiest way to make sure that you don’t progress at an optimal rate. Or much at all.

Carpe Diem

[Dead Poets' Society. The ironic thing about the video is that the boys from the movie are no longer here. It’s now 20 years later and I hope they’ve seized the opportunities that life has thrown their way.]

Most seniors get this message when they are graduating from high school. It used to be that I didn’t exactly get it. How do you mean seize the day, I was wondering. Here is the deal – once you leave school, you are now in charge of how your life will develop. There is no schedule, no curriculum.

You are responsible for putting to action a plan of long term success. At the same time, you need to try and live each day to the fullest.

[Groundhog Day. Bill Murray's character is trapped in the same day and is cursed to relieve it over and over until he decides to make the best of it and execute every tiny detail of his day perfectly.]

The days pass, no matter how you live them. You might as well give it your best. What would your perfect day look like?

Image: Bengt E Nyman

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[Natalia Vodianova. Hot as hell. Her desire to work hard and determination to succeed are what made her fairy tale story come to life.]

It’s always better to aim a little higher. To overshoot if you will. Even if you don’t get to your targeted body, you will have achieved a physique way better than average. If you go for mediocrity though, you may get something way below that.

Now, the worst thing would be if you didn’t have a goal at all. You see, the mind works in a way that when you give it a goal or a time constraint, it gives its best to fit everything you do within the parameters of that goal or time constraint.

Enter Parkinson’s Law

Psychologists have established this so-called rule. It states that the tasks at hand will take up as much time as is allotted to it. Speaking of this, I read the story of Ukranian supermodel Natalia Vodianova. At 15 a scouting agent met her in her country. Struck by her looks, the agent convinced Vodianova that a bright future was ahead of her if she learned English fast.

What Did She Do? She Went Pro

The young girl learned English in 3 months and went off to Paris for a career as a high level fashion model. This is the same thing that successful Hollywood actors and actresses do. They are given a task and go PRO with it. Whether it is getting in fantastic shape, learning a language, etc., it doesn’t matter.

What Is Their Secret

There has to be something that drives these people to succeed as they do. Their hidden weapon is the powerful reason why. So many people fail in their fitness goals. They miss workouts, eat junk and so on and so fort. The reason we fail with our goals with our goals is that our motivation to succeed is weaker than our desire to be idle and lazy.

Let Me Elaborate On This

What if I told I’d give you $100k to get in top shape in only 3 months? Would you be able to do it? Hell yeah! Quite a motivation, isn’t it? So what is the secret? You’ve got to LINK what you desire to achieve with a very powerful reward. Getting your goal must be worth it big time so that you put everything you’ve got into it. Go pro with it and finally achieve it. Getting a lean and muscular body or a hot model-caliber figure for the ladies out there ain’t worth it much if the only way you are going to enjoy that bod is by looking at it in your bathroom mirror.

Think Big

Think cool clothes, people being drawn to you and complimenting you, think enjoying the summer sun at the beach or working out with no shirt on at the local playground. Think having fun with your buddies on exotic trips, playing pickup basketball games or beach volleyball. Think pool side ladies in bikinis looking hot. Use that mind of yours and imagine it.

Let’s Get Back to Parkinson’s Law

Now that you have your goal and powerful reward or reason why, you need to set a precise a date for the accomplishment of your plan. Natalia Vodianova had 3 months. Athletes have competition dates. Actors have shooting schedules. If you don’t set a date, achieving your goal will take forever. Literally.

Note: Here is a video of a 6-year old going PRO and killing it. Enjoy.

Shoot for a high goal. Get yourself a kickass reason why. Set a deadline and go PRO.

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You know, part of the reason for this is that folks have an unrealistic perception of themselves and what it takes to look muscular. They may think they are not muscled enough when in reality their shoulders or V-taper are hidden under a layer of fat.

Look Good Year Round

Lean people look decent even with limited amounts of muscle. This is the way to go – lose fat first so that you look good year round. Isn’t it a bit lame of an excuse to say you are fat, this year, because you are on a bulking program? Why not look good all the time?

Leaner People Can Get Away with Eating More Carbs

When you eat carbohydrates, you shut off your body’s ability to burn body fat for the next couple of hours. If you eat too much of the sugary stuff, you may also put on weight. So, to be able to eat moderate amounts of carbs, if you so desire, get lean first – you can eat some of the stuff when maintaining your weight.

Better Muscle Growth Hormones

When you have less body fat, you are primed for the production of the male muscle building hormone testosterone. (A side note for the ladies – no worries, you won’t ruing your body by getting lean.) Now, when you are fatter, the equilibrium shifts a bit towards the female hormones – which means less muscle building. This is so because the female hormone estrogen thrives in the presence of an abundant body fat storage. Lose the fat and you lose the unnecessary estrogen. So, to feel great year round and be in a muscle building state, get lean first.

Image: Alaskan Dude

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Now the catch is that most pros are at a level of unconscious competence. This means that they know how to do certain things, but neither can break them down in explainable form, nor can they teach them.

Here is an example. A badminton player used to come to the gym where I trained. When we asked her to explain specifics about the way she plays the game, she said that you just do it. The girl declared that we were just unfit to grasp the techniques. Unconscious competence is the reason why many natural athletes are poor coaches. They never had to analyze and breakdown the technique of their sport. Mediocre athletes on the contrary, often have to dissect things and are thus suited to teach others.

#1 – Know Your Outcome – Result Based Behavioral Modeling

How do you achieve something if you don’t know what it is you are trying to achieve? You have to be very precise and specific about the outcome you want. As Brian Tracy likes to say, you have to “start with the end in mind.” What this means for your physique goals for example is that you have to decide how exactly you want to look. Take precise measurements – body fat percentage, body part circumferences, etc. For example your goal may be to lose 2 inches from your waist and add an inch to your flexed biceps. Or you could have a goal to add 20lbs to your barbell deadlift.

#2 – Pay Attention to Whether You Are Getting Your Outcome

Are you getting results? If yes – keep doing what you are doing. If not – change things up! Probably the biggest mistake of unsuccessful people is to to try harder when things don’t work out the way they want them. Instead of trying harder, change something. This brings me to the next important rule.

#3 – You Need Behavior Modeling Flexibility

To produce different results, don’t try harder. Instead try doing something different. Stiffness of behavior is not typical for high rollers. They constantly evolve and reinvent themselves. Look at Michael Jordan who changed his offensive game to make more assist when he was being double teamed. Or what about Madonna, who has been dictating the trends in the music industry for 20+ years. They would have failed if they had tried, instead of adapting and changing, to try harder.

#4 – Take Action

If you don’t take action consistently, nothing will happen. No amount of reading, talking, web surfing and planning will get you your dream body. This is probably one of the curses of the information age – an overload of data. In the past people achieved phenomenal results with scarce resources. Maybe this is the secret – to have limited data and test it. If the approach works – good. If not – find another approach or another mentor.

Image: Vincent Boiteau

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[Beautiful women are a big reason why for most guys.]

Because goal achievement comes down to doing small step after small step, you have to be motivated to do these incremental advances towards your goal even though there is no short term or immediate gratification. It is easier to do something fun right now than work hard in order to experience something fantastic a little bit later. This applies everywhere – work, dieting, training, etc. But it shouldn’t be like that.

Strong emotional motivators come into play here. You have to imagine in bright colors and feel with all senses how it would feel to have achieved your goal.

Looking Good at the Beach on Your Vacation

Going for a nice relaxing vacation (or a crazy party trip) will feel that much better if you are super fit. Guys could take their shirts of and show off and girls will feel hot and sexy at the beach in their bikinis. You just can’t lose when you are in top shape at an exotic place.

[Nothing like feeling fantastic in your skin for that dream vacation.]

Sports Domination

I enjoy basketball and martial arts. While I do not compete in fighting (I only train for fun), I do play pick up basketball at least once a week. During the summer I do it as often as possible. Being fitter for basketball for me would mean being lighter and stronger. I would be faster on my first step and on fast breaks. I would jump higher, both because of lower body weight and body fat and because of increased strength in my posterior chain muscles.

Looking Good In Bed Every Night

I have a favorite quote by accomplished bodybuilder Clarence Bass – “Nothing tastes as good as being lean feels.” It sums it everything up. Enjoying your healthy and attractive body all day (and night!) long far outweighs the 5 minute joy of goring down on some fast food junk. Every time you get naked you will feel better – be that in bed with your girl (or man – sorry ladies lol) or while taking a shower.

Feeling Great in Hip Clothes Every Day

When you are fit and you buy clothes that are just the right size, you will look and feel great. Whether it is jeans or suits, everything simply clicks better. For example, polo shirts hug your upper arms when you are well built and pants are comfortable when you are fit and lean.

[The Casino Royale trailer. Check out how clothes, when they are the correct size, look awesome on a fit guy like Bond.]

Being Healthy, Fit and Full of Energy

I guess for some of the younger guys this won’t ring, but feeling good and full of energy is a big thing for me. Actually, ever since I started lifting weights and eating right, I stopped getting sick so often.

Looking Good at Pool Parties All Summer Long

There is no rule you can sun bathe and swim only on a vacation. You can have fun outdoors all summer long – going water skiing, sun bathing, having pool parties and going for early morning swims at outdoor pools. All these in a hot body.

I train with my shirt off all summer long at my local playground – doing pullups and dips and stuff and enjoying the sun.

[Looking good by the pool never hurts...]

Now, what are your reasons for getting in top shape? Share them here or at least list them for yourself somewhere. I promise it will make a difference.

Images: Christopher Peterson René Ehrhardt Vincent Boiteau

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1. Skipping Workouts Establishes Bad Habits.

Just imagine how much more consistent you would be if you didn’t have the habit of missing training sessions for petty reasons. The more you miss sessions, the more you reinforce that same bad habit. It takes around 3 weeks to form a new habit. Make the decision to be consistent for 21 days and this will pay off later when you will automatically decide to stick to your plan because of the new habit.

2. Missing Training Sessions Delays Your Progress – No Matter If Your Goal Is Gaining Muscle or Getting Lean.

If you skip a total of two weeks for example, that equals two weeks more for you to get the results you want for your body. Why wait for the future? Everyday you act on your goals is one day less to wait for them to come true.

3. When You Skip Scheduled Training, You Most Probably Will Gain Fat If You Continue Eating As If You Were Training.

This is the reason many athletes get fat when they get older and stop training. People think that muscular people have their muscles turn into fat after they stop training. The truth is that they continue to eat as if they were training and that causes the weight gain. Because of the lack of activity, the consumed calories are excessive and convert to fat. Muscles just shrink, they cannot become body fat.

4. When You Miss Workouts and Get Back to Training, Sometimes You Even Have to Take a Step Back.

Instead of being able to progress from your previous workout or at least train with the same weights, you might have to go lighter. Now, some times this is a good thing when planned. But not when it happens all the time. Why erase some of your efforts by being inconsistent? Forge your will power instead and reap the benefits of sticking to the plan.

Image Vincent Boiteau

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