Last year I started working with 2 online clients, JM & GB, both over 350 pounds. Each needed my help badly. But it was quickly apparent which guy would succeed and which would fail.
Can you pick the success story?
JM filled out his feedback form immediately.
I had to ask GB twice to send his back.
JM started providing daily feedback on his workouts and nutrition, just as I asked. And he continued to fill in his fitday.com eating plan everyday for the last month.
The last time I heard from GB was 7 days after we started emailing...and he still had not started the workout plan yet.
It's not surprising that JM lost 7 pounds in one month, and GB, well, who knows how much more weight he gained last month. I don't hear from him anymore...
As frustrating as GB's failure was, JM's success highlights the importance of one often forgotten aspect of a successful program.
Accountability.
Research from Stanford University has shown that being accountable to a health professional increases the success rate in a fat loss program.
And I see this all the time with online clients and TT manual users. I encourage people to keep me up to date on the progress. And who succeeds? The people I hear from on a consistent basis.
The people I don't hear from? Well, they come back a couple months later and tell me how they fell off the wagon, stopped working out, started eating poorly, etc. Why does this happen? Because they are not accountable to anyone. They set their standards too low.
So I know that if I don't hear form you, then most oftentimes you are in fat loss trouble.
Now in a perfect world, we'd all have an expert trainer to report to in person. If you can't do that, you can at least get your Turbulence Training workouts and report back to me. Heck, you can even do what the good folks at www.TTMembers.com have done and start posting your workouts for me to review.
That's why the TT discussion forums are so valuable. You'll get almost immediate feedback and encouragement from me, as well as other TTmembers. It's the ultimate source of on-line social support.
And then there is the next best thing. Get a workout partner, or group of friends and have them hold you accountable - commit to them that you will train and eat according to your goals.
Why not take time over the March (during the school break, the March Madness, or the early spring weather) to connect with a family member or friend that has the same goals...and you can be accountable to each other.
Imagine that, sitting around watching college basketball and discussing fitness and fat loss. It can be done! Find someone that wants to get fit and spend time with them. Encourage one another.
You don't have to go it alone,
CB
"I look forward to the interviews with fitness experts. I am self employed and work from home, I also have a fairly extensive home gym and workout at home. As a result I don't have a big "social" group for fitness. Pretty much my social group for fitness is my wife and I. In that relationship, I am by far the more active in researching and trying new ideas. I look forward to reading your interviews with fitness professionals as well as the discussions in the discussion forums. I find this a convenient way to supplement my "social" group and keep my long term focus. That's what I love about TT. It's not just a book, it's a community."
"Just got the TT Membership today and it's just what I needed, inspirational and
educational as well. Literally tonnes of info. Anyhow many many thanks for the assistance it is much appreciated"
Mike Varrell, Toronto, Ontario
Lou Schuler, author or co-author of The New Rules of Lifting, The Book of Muscle, and The Testosterone Advantage Plan, and former fitness director of Men's Health magazine.
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