The holiday season is coming to an end and the New Year will be here in a little over a week. But I have one last, modest gift to share with all of you. It is quite possibly one of the best ways for you to get into shape for the new year. First and foremost let me say that I did not think of this. As much as I would like to claim this idea for my own, it is the genius of another individual. I read it in an article online this past year. Unfortunately I cannot find the article, or who the author is because I want them to have full credit for it. Usually I would immediately bookmark something like this but for some reason I didn't. So now that I have your attention and I've stated my disclaimer, let's get on with the details.
On December 31st, locate and set out your one piece, bikini, swim trunks or Speedo. Whatever it is you would wear to the beach or pool. Place it somewhere you can easily access it. The next day, January 1st, put it on and stand in front of a full length mirror. Take a good long look at yourself, front, back and profile. Drink it all in. If you are honestly happy with what you see, congratulations, stay the course. However, if you are not completely satisfied with what you see you have some work to do. Once a week until the first week of June, you will put on that same swim attire and stand in front of the mirror to check your progress. January 1st establishes a brutally honest starting point, and if you are checking your progress in the same fashion once a week for six months, that alone should be a great motivator.
With your baseline established begin to fine tune your nutrition and exercise three to five hours per week, preferably 70 % strength training and 30% cardio. If you do this you should see a marked improvement by mid-March. It didn't take a week to get where you are so it won't take a week to get where you want to be. In the meantime keep getting that weekly, visual reality check and honestly work your fitness program. By June you should be hitting your stride big time and rocking your beach wear. Also, when it's time to hit the beach or pool there should be no unpleasant surprises.
If you want to take the guess work out of your program, contact me at shirley@eatsleeptrainrepeat.com . My online and in person training packages include meal plans, cardio and strength training.
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I lay it all out for you, all you have to do is commit.