Baby Steps

The secret to turning Small Steps into Big Success
Keys to focus on:

• Big life improvements start with simple changes practiced daily/weekly.
• The best way to learn good habits is to give yourself daily/weekly tasks so easy that it is unthinkable that you can’t succeed.
• Examples of such tasks include eating one more vegetable per day, drinking more water upon waking, committing to sweat at least once per week.
• Don’t necessarily establish a deadline for these goals (unneeded pressure). Just be accountable to someone – like your trainer, spouse or friend.

Successful people set goals. They write them down, envision them, and commit to reaching them. But having a big goal can be overwhelming at times. The finish line can seem very far away, even unreachable. Successful people learn to break down the process into smaller steps and making them into habits- little things they can do every day that get them closer to reaching that goal.
When I trained for my first bodybuilding competition almost 20 years ago (wow, I’m old!). I needed to lose 60 pounds. That is a mountain of an obstacle to try and overcome. I focused on losing 2 pounds per week, and the steps it would take to get to 60. The expected caloric drops, and increased cardio. I wrote it all down, had a plan, stuck to it, and did it. Although I didn’t even place at my first show, I was just happy to have done it, and proud of the accomplishment.
After I did that first show, I would like to say I was so motivated that I stayed focused and kept going. Unfortunately, the truth was that I was so exhausted from that long hard journey of deprivation that I claimed I would never do another show again.
The mistake I made, was being too extreme, not making it a lifestyle and I put the weight back on.
Once I got tired of that, I missed the challenge, and missed being in peak shape. My next goal was to actually “place” in a show. I decided on a competition, and focused on the steps needed to improve enough to place. Those steps worked again, and I came in 2nd place at my next show.
Now, I was on to my next goal of “winning” a show. I again, worked on the steps it would require – and even though it didn’t happen at my next show, I didn’t give up, and eventually won my first show in 2001 in the Novice Division.
It was very rewarding to have accomplished a goal, and then set another one. During my bodybuilding career, the Nationals was something that always seemed unattainable. To qualify for the Nationals, you had to come in first place in the Open Division. Now that I had just won the Novice Division, I could no longer compete in that division, and only in the open – which was much tougher competition. I figured if I was going to do it, I might as well shoot for the stars and made my next goal winning the open division and going on to compete at the Nationals.
I knew it would not be easy, but I outlined the steps it would take to accomplish such a lofty goal, and did my best do them day by day. It took me 3 shows to finally win an Open. I won the 2002 New England Natural, which qualified me for the 2003 ANBC Nationals.
I had a whole year to focus on the steps needed to prepare for that show. I knew it would be tough for a rookie to go in and take first place, so my goal was to strive for top spot, but mainly just wanted to at least place in the top 5.
I not only outlined the steps needed, but I let everyone now that I was training for the Nationals. This way, everyone was holding me accountable. People saw me training, saw me eating, saw me doing cardio. I couldn’t cheat, or skip a session, or not train hard…..Accountability.
I actually had signs on my fridge and around my house that would say – “why not you, why not now?”. Forcing me to stay focused, because I knew there would be times when I wouldn’t be.
I would go on to make the top 5, actually took home 4th place.
The whole point of this article, was about the steps taken to accomplish your goals. I didn’t just set out a goal of doing the nationals. It took from 1996, my first show, until I stood on the Nationals stage in 2003. That’s 7 years!
Regardless of your goals, whether it’s bodybuilding, job promotion, retirement, or weight loss. A plan must be in place, and well designed steps in the process. If weight loss is your goal, focus on daily tasks. Wake up and eat a good breakfast. Prepare your meals for the day, so you have options and won’t eat on the go and make bad choices. Prioritize your training for the week. Make appointments to work out, whether it’s with yourself or a trainer. Let all other appointments fall into place around your workouts. Just like with the meals, if you are not prepared you will slip up. By making training a priority, this will insure that you are taking the necessary steps towards reaching your goal. By scheduling your training after all of your other weekly appointments, you will be more likely to skip it.
The good eating days, will turn into weeks. The workouts will start being consistent, and next thing you know your clothes are getting loose and your down 2 pounds, then 4, then 10. That’s how it works. Day by day, leads to week by week, then month by month – and you will wake up one day and your goal will be attained.
One of my very first clients was a police officer who sat the majority of his day in a car, ate fast food, never exercised, and drank 12 cans of Coke per day! I knew if I completely turned this guys life upside down and not only get him to commit to working out with me 2-3x per week, when he never worked out, but to also start eating grilled chicken and salads- he would have laughed in my face, or gotten so discouraged and quit. I didn’t want to set him up for failure, and when you drastically change someones habits that is exactly what you are doing. I wanted him to succeed. He thought I was going to put him on a strict diet, and work him so hard he would throw up every workout. What I did shocked him. I said the only thing I want him to change the first month is switch his Coke to Diet Coke, and commit to our workouts 2x per week, without vomitting. No diet, no cardio. He thought I was crazy. But guess what, he lost 20 pounds in 4 weeks, and never missed one workout. Increased his metabolism by the training, and took away 3,000 calories per day from the Coke (250 per can). By not overwhelming him, and having him just take one step at a time, taking away one bad habit (not really, because he replaced it with diet coke) and added one good habit- working out, it was attainable and not a shock to his system. It lead to him having confidence he could do this (after years of trying and failing). After that, I then made small changes to his diet and workout regimen on a step by step basis.
Don’t get caught up on the outcome you want, but focus rather on the steps needed. Unfortunately, you can’t just sit on your butt and wait for your goals to be handed to you by wishing for them. Anything worth having, is worth working for….. and more likely than not, the work is hard work. So if you know it’s going to be hard- plan for that, be prepared, don’t waste any more time than you have to – commit to it, and do it.
Let’s say if you have a desired goal of saving $1,000 for a downpayment on a car one year from now. You would just put $20 away per week over the next 50 weeks. Scratching up a grand can seem overwhelming if you need it all now, but putting aside $20 per week – you would barely even notice it.

Fitness is like Finance. Step by Step.