Welcome to Sunday.

More important than my personal regrets…the 28-Days-Later-Challenge ended LAST weekend…and, well…some people got some pretty amazing results.  In easy to understand terms (and singling out people is not usually my thing):

What’s more impressive?  Losing kilos?  Dropping Body Fat?  Gaining muscle?  I mean, all of it!  This chart could literally be 100 lines long because sometimes the most significant changes can’t be read in a chart – they are something like “lost 2.5kgs and 2% body fat whilst establishing a new breakfast routine” or “Gained 1kg of muscle and learned how to prioritise protein throughout the day”…  The challenge vibes have been super positive and – as I’ve said literally hundreds of times, challenge times are so good because everyone is ‘chasing’ something (whatever matters to them) and they are in the gym, doing classes, doing their extras, doing whatever – but just getting it done! Somehow a challenge just creates a buzz at the gym and it’s an awesome feeling!

Ultimately here’s want I wanted to say to everyone this week – congrats on getting to the end of the challenge.  But (as so many of us know) – NOW is when the real challenge starts.  We all talk a good game about ‘keeping it going’ etc – but good habits formed in February seem (mostly) lost by April!  Long-lasting results only come through establishing positive habits for the long-term…for finding a way of managing your diet and training “most” of the time.  For making sure than when little ‘snacks’ sneak back into our day, they are ‘planned’ treats OR one-time events.  For making sure than when we have that mid-week beer/wine for a birthday or anniversary, it doesn’t become a mid-week beer/wine ‘every night’.  And for making sure that 3x sessions 52-weeks of the year means exactly that – 3x 52 – and not 3x this week, 6x next week then 0x for each of the 3-weeks after that.  In other words, what really matters isn’t the numbers on the scales ‘now’ – but the numbers that are on their in 6-weeks/3-months/6-months time!

SO…what ELSE can you do to try and ‘maintain the rage’ so to speak?  I know a lot of people got ‘NEAR’ their goals…but if you want to smash them, well – this can’t be the end!

First off:  Re-establish your targets (or, even better – set some new ones!).  Most of us had some outcome based goals for the challenge – lose x-kgs, or y-% body fat etc.  Now might be the time to move away from ‘outcomes’ and refocus on performance ones – for example, target doing 10x pushups (on your toes) in a row, or 10x pull-ups…target a specific number for your ‘big lifts’ if you are in the strength gym.  Something challenging but both FUN (eg.  Don’t set a running target if you don’t like running!!) and within the realms of reality.

Next:  Re-establish your routine.  This (in theory) should be a simple case of rinse and repeat from the challenge-  get those 3x sessions done each week, have a ‘backup plan’ in case you miss one etc.  Be strict on yourself and stick at it…yep – it’s supposed to be fun and all, but at the same time you need to have some clear targets for ‘YOU’!

CONTINUE to track your progress.  The challenge can be SUPER motivating as you watch your sessions get ticked off.  Make a mark in your diary every time you train, every time you have a ‘positive’ food day etc.  Give yourself a way to get some pretty immediate feedback on how you’ve been going!

CONTINUE to Stay accountable: The trainer isn’t signing off your sessions?  OK – that doesn’t mean you can’t find other ways!  Just connecting with someone in your class and saying “Hey – If I’m not here on Friday, make sure you kick my butt on Monday” is a great option…nothing is better at building accountability than a good workout buddy!  I know as coaches we give you a hard time for chatting to your buddy, but we genuinely LOVE seeing you guys creating connections and training alongside the same people all the time.

DON’T FORGET:  Moving OUTSIDE of the gym matters.  You simply MUST find a way to get your step count UP.  Climb the stairs when the option is available.  If 10K steps is your target and you get home with the number at 9000…well, I guess that means you’re heading out for a walk!  There’s certainly no need to be obsessive about it BUT what you do away from the gym is the majority of your day…walk, stretch, move…etc.

Challenge yourself with food:  This doesn’t mean ‘be restrictive’ but I do think if you set little challenges for yourself (meat-free Monday is an easy one) then it encourages you to really connect with what you’re eating and stay on the healthy track.  Setting constraints always helps as well – for example, Taco Tuesday can be an idea but it is really a ‘constraint’ that can trigger some great ideas.  Rather than roll out the same old thing, instead you set yourself for a different ‘Taco’ every Tuesday…mix it up and see what amazing fresh ideas you can come up with.  Little goals, little changes – they ALL 100% add up to a big outcome by the end of the year.

MIX UP your training.  I know I say this (a lot) but somewhere around the 3x Boxing/2x Strength sessions is what works best for me.  Having a bit of variety is truly the stuff of the gods when your feeling a bit ‘exhausted’ by it all.  And yep – I KNOW all the sessions are different, but it’s remarkable what just doing ‘something else’ can do for your motivation levels!  Different training style, different people around you, different movements – it really does help with the mind-muscle connection, it drags you RIGHT out of your comfort zone and forces you to really ‘get involved’…it can make a huge difference in terms of relieving stress!

CELEBRATE!  If you’ve done something ‘GREAT’ – acknowledge it.  Finished the challenge and killed it?  Awesome – maybe it’s time for that new pair of runners you’ve been looking at…maybe it’s a brekky with your gym buds?  I have no idea but if you continually let successes ‘fade into black’, then it really does all get a bit of a ‘so what’ feeling about it.  If you’ve done something awesome – take a moment.  Celebrate it and be openly proud about what you’ve done.  

Anyway – that’s about it.  28-days-Later is done for another year.  What about me?  Well, 2.6kgs down including 1.7kgs of Fat…honestly, not exactly the stuff that dreams are made of but not a terrible start to the year.  After letting my BF% get out to 12.7% last year, I’m pretty determined to get it back under 10% – and right now it’s back to 11.3%.  It’s not proving as easy as it once was to move but I’m 100% going to get there.

See you in the gym,

Michael.