Next week I will be 44 years old. What comes with that is a lot of wisdom that I could never have gotten without going through the fire that I have. What also comes with age is that spare tire constantly rearing its ugly muffin-shaped head.
I was lucky enough to marry a hot girl 13 years my junior, forcing me to find new ways to stay on my game and keep things right. The problem was that it became more and more difficult to fight the bulge. I’m telling you, she wasn’t a slug. I exercised every day and ate healthier than my average counterpart. But, I still felt like aging 40-somethings, always having to suck my guts out on the beach.
I decided to enter a fitness competition to shake things up. She did exactly what she expected her to do. He made me lean and strong. But, I got to thinking; What was the difference 25 pounds ago?
I exercised then. I exercise now. I ate just then. I eat right now. What is the difference? As Shakespeare said “let me count the ways”. The differences are so subtle that he would miss them entirely if he wasn’t looking.
Subtle Differences 101:
1. My training back then hardly ever changed. Now, my training changes every week in some way (reps, weight, exercises, etc.). I mean literally every week.
2. My diet back then may have been fine, but it never really changed much. I never would have thought that changing your diet was important. Now, my diet changes from week to week. Proteins up this week. Carbs down that week. Water consumption increased this week. Water consumption down that week. All for different reasons, which to be honest are beyond my understanding. Another thing, I eat a lot more food now than ever!
3. My cardio back then was 40 minutes a day until I blew up. Now my cardio is only a few times a week with a heart monitor dictating when to increase my intensity. All of which is based on how my muscle looks. In other words, assess whether cardio is making me lose muscle mass or not. Which, I had no idea cardio training could do.
4. The biggest change and honestly the point of this is to add a trainer to this equation. So I had no coach. I also didn’t think it was necessary to do more than diet, cardio and exercise. The truth is, there is no way I would have intellectually understood these subtle differences in diet, exercise, and cardio without one. More than anything, having a weekly check-in with the trainer, with the pictures to demonstrate your success or failure, definitely keeps you honest!
It worked for me. It worked for Kim. It will work for you.
