Hello,
I’m Bruce Dinsdale, owner of Fit ‘n’ Lean personal training in Inverness. For more years than I can remember my passion in life has been health and fitness, and now it is my mission to help as many people as I can to obtain the healthy lifestyle and body they long for.
I’ve clearly never trained to look like a bodybuilder and I don’t have the strength and power of a professional athlete, but at 42 I’m fit and healthy, have no aches and pains, normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol and energy that lasts all day, every day.
BUT. . . I was never happy with the way my body looked. I’ve been lucky enough to never be overweight ( ok it wasn’t just luck), but I wanted to be ripped. I wanted serious definition and a killer 6-pack. But it just wasn’t happening. For all the healthy eating and regular workouts in the gym I didn’t seem to get anywhere. Sound familiar?
I wasn’t alone. Week after week and month after month I would see the same people in the gym, doing their same regular workouts and yet like me they still looked the same, or in some cases more out of shape.
Then I found the answer
It came to me when I entered a body transformation contest. In fact it came to me after I found myself a category winner (Most Ripped!) against a starting line up of more than 2000 people across the world. I realized that besides the hard work and determination, there were a number of steps which, if followed, made the desired outcome surprisingly simple.
You may not want to enter a body transformation contest (though I highly recommend it), but what it did for me was bring together all the pieces of the puzzle into a system which finally got results. I like to call it KARMA.
Knowledge [acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation;]
Most of us know something about the kind of exercise program we want to follow and the kind of results we want to achieve, but how many of us know what is really best for our own particular goals?
Which exercises should we do? How often should we train? How hard do we need to work? What should we eat? Or NOT eat? And how often for best results?
Without the basic knowledge you will get nowhere.
Ambition [something so desired; goal; aim]
The majority of people starting a new exercise program or diet will only have a vague idea of what they want or why they are doing it and so are setting themselves up for failure.
Without a clear goal in mind how do we know if we are taking the right steps to achieve it?
“I want to get fitter” or “I want to lose fat” are things the majority of the population probably say to themselves every day, but that will bring you no closer to where you want to be.
A clear, well defined goal should be just that.
“I will lose 2 stone by 15th September so I can fit into the wedding dress of my dreams” is a good goal which can then be broken down into smaller goals, or processes, along the way.
A process goal could then be losing 1lb of fat per week, which would take you to your final outcome of a stone off by September. This could be broken down further into smaller goals, such as getting up 10 minutes earlier each day to prepare a healthy lunch, or making the time to get to your training sessions.
This way you know that each small step IS a step closer to where you want to be.
Resolve [a resolution or determination made, as to follow some course of action]
How often have you had a goal in mind and even known what you have to do to achieve it, but you’ve procrastinated and made excuses and found something “more important” to do, and it hasn’t got done?
Well how important is it to you?
How much do you want it? At the end of the day only you can make the decision to get started and actually do something about it.
It might not be easy, it may involve hard work and a few sacrifices along the way, but it WILL be worth it.
Take action! If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you will keep getting what you’ve always got. Is that what you want?
JUST DO IT!
Motivation [desire to do; inducement; incentive]
So you know what you want to achieve and you know what you need to do to get there but how do you stay motivated?
Only you know what your reasons are for starting, or continuing this process so motivation must come from within. Your family, friends and your personal trainer can help you, encourage you, push you, pull you and support you but your motivation is personal.
You know what you want, but WHY do you want it and WHAT are you willing to do to achieve it? You must be very clear in your own mind why you are here, and when you are feeling down or you can’t be bothered, bring those reasons back to the front of your mind, focus and push on through.
There will be days when your motivation is lacking but the clearer your goals are, and the stronger your reasons for wanting to achieve those goals the easier it will be to physically do what needs doing. Draw on the encouragement of others to focus your mind and get motivated.
Before you know it the exercise and healthy living will be motivation in itself. Instead of exercising to achieve something you will be exercising because you enjoy it and the healthier, happier, less stressed life it gives you.
Accountability [ the state of being accountable, liable or answerable]
Another fantastic motivator, or reason to stick to the plan, is to make yourself accountable.
Tell your family, friends and colleagues what you are going to achieve and when you are going to achieve it.
Enter a body transformation contest with a deadline in which to meet your goals. Join the forum of contestants and follow each others progress….. if they can do it so can you!
Join a training program or fitness boot camp and tell your personal trainer and other members what your goals are.
But remember you will come across destructive, negative people who will put you down and try to ruin your chances of success. “You’ll never do it” or “You failed last time so how is this time any different?” or “Just one beer won’t matter” are all the comments of jealous people, not friends. People who don’t want you to succeed because they couldn’t do it themselves.
So ignore them and do what you know you can do.
Putting the pressure of accoutability on yourself can give you a massive boost towards getting the results you dream of.
Put these simple steps into action and you will see results you never could have believed possible.
Find a personal trainer you get on with and make a start. He or she will have the knowledge and experience to ensure you succeed.
Whether you need the personal attention guaranteed in a one to one private training program, the motivational and social support you get from your friends in a group training session, or simply a good old-fashioned intense, highly effective, regular boot camp workout with expert advice and support, you now have everything you need to reach your goals. (You have set goals??!)
A good personal trainer is not just a gym instructor. He is
- a fitness coach
- a motivational coach
- a weight management coach, and
- a lifestyle coach
After qualifying as a Master Personal Trainer with the European Institute of Fitness, I set up Fit ‘n’ Lean Personal Training in Inverness specializing in fat loss for health and fitness.
So whether you are interested in private training, small group training or Fitness boot camp together we will be sure to get you from where you are now to where you want to be.
