THE NO-BULL-FIT WAY TO A-NEW-YOU-IN-THE-NEW-YEAR

SO YOU’VE HAD IT WITH MAKING EXCUSES - The New Year is upon us once again, and if you’re like most, you’ve already set your New Years Resolution, AKA “Goal” for the year ahead. Why is it that we always seem to come up with the same Resolutions & Goals that we did the year before and the one before that?

If we are constantly re-setting and re-cycling the very same Resolutions & Goals year after year, we obviously aren’t successfully sticking to our plans of action.  To get in great shape, you must stay focused in the zone and be held accountable to bring your New Years goal to fruition.

How does accountability affect your ability for achieving success? Hey, if you don’t hold yourself accountable, who else will?

Here my friend’s is a no fail approach to sticking to a program and creating a new you in the New Year. You’re going to write up a contract. I want you to get as SPECIFIC as possible! Write down, in great detail, exactly what you want to achieve over the next 10 weeks/70 days. If today is Tuesday, January 1st, 2008, I want you to be more determined than ever to reach your goal by Monday, March 10th, 2008 (i.e. “I will gain 5 pounds of solid, lean muscle and lose 20 pounds of fat by Monday, March 10th, 2008”). Based on this goal, if you now weigh 200 pounds, your outcome weight will be 185 pounds by your due date. Use body fat calipers to determine your body composition (fat to lean muscle ratio). 

Here’s how you’re going to hold yourself accountable. Choose a friend, who you can trust and give them your written contract. In front of them, assign them as the person who will decide whether or not you’ve ultimately reached your goal. Next, I want you to give them no less than $500. That’s right; you’ve read it correctly, $500 and no less! You can always go higher – What’s getting in great shape worth to you? There should be no problem with this if you’re serious about making this happen, once and for all.  Here’s where it gets good! If you reach your goal in the time specified period, your reward will be the achievement of your goal – You’re the Man! If however, you do not reach your goal in the Time Specific period, your $500 Escrow deposit is to be instantly sent to a charity of choice and either way it will still have been a very worthy cause. There’s no excuses - If you’re gonna play, you’re gonna pay! Part of your trustee’s responsibility is to encourage you and continually remind you of your promise to yourself.

A study at Michigan State University in East Lansing found that people who bet $40 that they could stick with their program had a 97 percent success rate, while less than 20 percent of exercisers who didn't make a bet were able to stick with their routines.