4 Critical Building Blocks in Creating a Better Version of Yourself

If someone said to me a few years ago that being healthy was easy, I’d completely agree.  Sure, I’ll eat a carrot here and there and an occasional salad and call myself a health freak. Present day, I laugh at how naive and ignorant I was back then. Of course, there is eating healthy and wanting to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but then you venture towards the extremes of training, strict dieting, macro counting and supplements.

I’ve decided that to reach your ultimate goal there are four fundamental components that go hand in hand for men and women:

Weight Training: 

I would recommend obtaining an exercise plan from a professional that would suit your goals and desires. If you don’t want to reach the crazy fitness images, then your basic workouts are the go, which are available online at your convenience. Also, changing your exercise regularly will decrease muscle memory and won’t become familiar to the exercise. Slowly, you will start to see results and reach new personal bests. However, don’t feel powerless when dropping down in weights. Sometimes the slow and controlled exercises are best, especially when you can feel a good squeeze in your muscles. Try and connect your mind to your muscles during each rep.

Dieting: 

Takes a lot of commitment and consistency. Unfortunately, it’s not an element that can be ignored. If you want to see results, you must stick to your diet and say goodbye to alcohol. There are many methods of dieting such as:

• Strict dieting: Eating the same thing over and over
• Flexible dieting: Macro based counting and freely being able to eat whatever you want
• Weight loss diets
• Paleo diet
• Vegan diet

And the list goes on; there are literally thousands of diets out there according to Medical News Today. Trying different diets to see what works for you is best. In the fitness industry, a lot of it is trial and error; what works for me might not work for you. I tried strict dieting for around 20 weeks – every meal I consumed was: kangaroo mince, vegetables, and macadamia oil 3 times a day and kangaroo mince, vegetables and brown rice once a day after training. This diet worked for me, but then I reached a point where I wasn’t seeing any more results.

Now, with my flexible diet from Joe Donnelly Fitness I’m free to eat whatever I can fit in for the day and have the freedom to increase my macros (protein, fats, carbs) once I stop seeing results.

Cardio: 

While cardio may come across as the devil itself, it’s a crucial part of reaching the shape you crave for. I found the main piece to my fitness puzzle that I was missing was in fact cardio. I have now incorporated three HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), which basically means intense cardio that will make you crawl to the finish line, but it works! I also walk, jog, or cycle 20-30 mins 4 times a week after training sessions. As much as I hate cardio, once you get into a routine, it becomes second nature. Now, after doing cardio as much as I have I feel I can’t leave the gym without signing off with a cardio session.

Supplements: 

I usually try and stay off supplements as much as I can, because it’s always better to get your carbs, proteins and fats from natural products. However, sometimes we don’t have the time to cook food up and it’s just easier to have a quick protein shake or meal. I find if you can pinpoint the right supplement for yourself, then you’ll have everything you need in creating a better version of yourself. If I told you all the supplements I have tried and all the supplements that are in my cupboard, I’d run out of dot points. If I could recommend any supplements, it would be:

• A good protein powder: Personally, I love Optimum Nutrition range. You can find a review on my blog, should you require more information and for a less thicker option, Cyborg Sport Ultra Lean is your next best option.
• A fat burner: While there is a lot of controversy as to whether they work or not, I say you need to find one that works with your body and again, a fat burner WON’T work if you don’t follow all of the 4 vital elements. Otherwise there is no point in taking a fat burner. At the moment I’m taking AM/PM Burn from BPM LABS and an E-Tox called Alpha Venus from ATP Science.

All these wonderful supplements can be purchased at your local supplement stores or online.

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Just remember, if you’re committed 100% you’ll start to see results in no time. You can’t sneakily have a spoon of Nutella, because you have a sweet tooth, because that’s 11g of extra fat that’s going straight to your stomach

It’s always nice wanting to create a better version of yourself and remember you’ll feel amazing for it. However, consistent training, dieting, cardio, and supplement intakes are not for the weak hearted!

Get moving or get left behind!