Starting over from scratch.
The thought popped into my head earlier...
𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡?
But still knowing everything I do now after a decade of working in the fitness industry.
Here's exactly what I wish I did from day 1...
𝟏. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬.
I started working out a few years before I committed anything on the nutrition side of things.
Bc I had a misconception that "proper nutrition" meant I wouldn't be able to have my favorite treats anymore.
Like ice cream & baked goods. (I have a sweet tooth)
But tracking your macros not only teaches you forever about the 𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴....
It also allows you to eat more flexibly by including some treats, while still seeing results.
If I knew this, I would have started tracking my food from the start & saw much more progress.
𝟐. 𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡.
I spent a good 3-4 years working out without any idea of what I was doing.
And my experience working with some great coaches over the years has 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞
to 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 & also grow my knowledge of training & nutrition.
I wish I worked with a coach from day 1 more than anything.
It would have forced me to learn things earlier on that ended up taking years.
Like how to track my food accurately.
How to 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 over time to continue seeing results.
And it would have ensured I was following a 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 & 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴.
Bc in my first few years, I would mainly train areas I liked. (chest, arms, abs)
And neglected areas I didn't like training. (legs, back, shoulders)
This led to me developing some serious muscle imbalances that took years to even out.
𝟑. 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝-𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐠𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
Focus each & every rep on moving the weight with the muscle group you're working for that exercise.
Building this skill is so key when it comes to 𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 & 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬.
When I was younger, I was ego lifting.
Lifting more weight than I was able to with proper form.
And putting myself at higher risk of injury.
While also needing to recruit other muscle groups to move the weight. Therefore, not targeting the muscle group I wanted as effectively.
Using proper form & 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 on contracting the muscle on every rep,
is so much more important than how much weight is actually being lifted.
If I knew these 3 things from day 1, it's scary to think where I'd be today.
But luckily, it's a lifelong game and we've always got time to improve our current fitness level.
I'm pumped watching some of my clients in their 40s, 50's, 60s and 70s crushing it this year.
Thanks for reading. I hope it was even 1% helpful.
-- Jesse