Rare is the person who has not failed to meet a health or fitness goal. Achieving health and fitness is complicated. It involves many factors. The reasons for failure are usually straightforward.
Miyagi says there are five qualities you must have to reach your health and fitness goals.
1. Preparedness to change
If you are not where you want to be in terms of your weight, strength or performance, you will have to make a change. The further you are from where you want to be, the greater the change must be.
Without mental preparedness for that change, your physical readiness is irrelevant. But when you are open to the changes, your results will flow easier.
2. Willingness to accept expert help
Losing a kilo is not hard. Reaching meaningful goals like losing fat and gaining lean mass takes expertise if you want to do it efficiently and without damage.
- You must have a strategy
- You must be able to recalibrate your workouts and your diet precisely at every milestone
These things are not simple and, if you don’t do them well, you’ll waste effort. The more effort you waste, the greater your risk of demotivation and giving up.
“A few exercises to get you started” will not help. Not every exercise suits every goal. And less is often more. Too much haste and not enough rest invite injury. Too few calories and you risk metabolic damage, making it hard ever to lose weight.
Working with the right coach means never having to doubt you are on track.
3. Acceptance of yourself
“The best diet is not the latest one or the one with the most research behind it. It is the one you can stick to.” — Miyagi
Perhaps there are optimal exercises for what you are trying to achieve. Perhaps there is a diet that will get you to your goal quicker than the others. But if you hate the exercises and dislike the food, you will be beaten.
These are your goals and the right way to achieve them is the way that is right for you.
4. The ability to walk before you run
“Just 10% inefficiency in the execution of a program means you are completely wasting your time in one gym session out of 10.” — Miyagi
People who follow self-prescribed programs often miss the zone of maximum results. They push too hard, or they don’t push enough. Balance is everything. Go too hard and you burn out. Don’t go hard enough and you become demotivated.
We all need a little coaching, especially when the work is close to home.
5. An understanding of your health
Your path to better health and fitness is unique to you. It starts with a complete understanding of your health and your baseline. You cannot navigate to a specific place if you don’t know where you’re starting from.
Ongoing assessment based on your individual circumstances will bring optimal results.
”Even though the path to health and fitness must be your own, you will walk it faster with a guide.” — Miyagi
