By James Ford, Personal Trainer in New York City

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein The definition of insanity is going to the gym for “insert time frame” and not getting results.

How are results measured?

*How your clothes fit

*Increased energy

*Aesthetics

*Strength gains

*Improved Posture

*Improved Sleep etc. Top reasons people fail to reach their fitness goals -They don’t have a good plan A GOOD plan, accompanied by specific, believable, challenging yet achievable goals. This is SCIENCE. There needs to be a deficit in order to lose weight. 3500kcal/7 days = 500kcal  The more muscle you have the more calories you burn. The deficit must come from changing 2 factors: Current eating habits and increasing your activity rate. Activity rate: if your main objective is rapid fat loss you have no business sitting down and working out or performing isolations movements either. IE; bicep curls/preacher curls with a belly(Bros) Giving a body part it’s own day IE: chest day is primarily used for bodybuilding. Not fat loss. You need to perform compound movements.

This is the most effective use of your time FULL body movements. High intensity interval training. IE. squats,deadlifts, squat curl over head presses, Burpees with push-ups, renegade row to push up to deadlift to curl to overhead press. Etc. High intensity interval training. Here’s an example of a routine: Do each group of 3, 3 times and move on to the next group. Rep schemes can be 10,15,20. Use challenging weights! Squat curl overhead press Bent over row  Plank  DB lunges DB c.press Eccentric sit-ups  DB/KB swings 30 seconds  Mountain climbers 30 seconds  Russian twists 30 seconds  Free weights are your friend and will get you faster results – learn how to use these tools. They set unreasonable expectations  “To lose 30 pounds in a month” A good goal would be 1.5-2lbs lost per week
Don’t set yourself up for failure  -They believe results come overnight Argghhhhh. This is a process. Nothing worth having in life comes easy. You didn’t get overweight overnight right? So give yourself time. They don’t correct their nutrition habits This seems to be my clients BIGGEST problem. You can’t out train a bad diet.  You are going to be eating until you depart this Earth better to develop a good relationship with food. Eat clean-er. -lean protein  -complex carbs -avoid excess sugar -avoid processed foods -prepare as many of your own meals as possible  – go easy on the alcohol They don’t get adequate sleep

How fitting for the city that never sleeps. They don’t train effectively  Effectively means the BEST use of your time to meet your goal. If your main goal is fat loss and sculpting act accordingly. That means ditch the mundane, repetitive cardio routine.  Our bodies grow accustom to certain movements.

Try running laterally on the treadmill,jogging backwards,do sprint intervals. Ditch the typical fitness class at the big box gyms. Zumba,dance and yoga are great in combination with resistance training.  Working out is not supposed to be a punishment. Movement is life. Find something you like but also find something that WORKS. Don’t be scared to lift weights ladies! You don’t have the testosterone in your body to “bulk up”. Google an image of an endurance runners body and google an image of a sprinters body. They overtrain

This is especially true for people that seem to hit a pleateu.  Overdose and overdo it. Get burnt out and then sick and fatigued, slow and steady beautiful people. Be ego-less Get help! There are people out there willing and able to help you navigate the madness.

Find someone you click with. It will save you time(your must valuable asset).

You will learn what works.

You will ensure you perform the exercises properly. Invest in your health and it will pay you back in dividends.