“I never believed I was average, and that alone is a big reason I wasn’t.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Perspective influences outcomes. The idea that your mindset plays an important role in your future reality is maybe one of the most underrated elements of human change.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the ultimate example of someone who built a vision for what he wanted to achieve, created opportunities, and surpassed expectations throughout his life.

While it’s easier said than done, success leaves clues. Specifically, the way Arnold approaches situations, obstacles, and challenges is a masterclass in mental preparation, visualization, maximum effort, and mastery.

“No matter what, I had to prove to myself that I’m extraordinary. There is no normal,”  Schwarzenegger told me during an exclusive interview.

The mind is a powerful thing, and Schwarzenegger has leveraged an unbreakable mindset to seemingly create a competitive advantage over the universe. As someone who started with nothing when he immigrated from Austria to the United States, his belief in himself and his hard work has made the world apparently bend to his will — and not the other way around.

What allowed a former Mr. Universe and Olympia to then become a Hollywood movie star and, ultimately, also become the Governor of California?

It wasn’t a motivational talk or a secret shortcut. It was a mindset that has powered everything Arnold has done.

“Always think of yourself as special. And think, ‘I’m going to prove to myself and the rest of the world that I can do it.’”

Even at 72 years old, the Austrian bodybuilder-turned actor-turned governor-turned activist continues to believe there’s more to accomplish — and it’s likely the main reason he continues to break the rules of aging and add more achievements to his resume.

If you’re looking to change your mindset, and learn how to make a vision a reality, here are 8 motivational lessons from Arnold Schwarzenegger on building mental toughness, eliminating the fear of failure, and developing unbreakable habits.

Lesson 1: Remove Your Excuses

“There’s an advantage of doing things automatically,” says Schwarzenegger. “I have a routine where you don’t have to think much — if at all. [Routines] are the foundation of a house.”

Schwarzenegger has built his life on habits and routines that have made him a creature of habit and efficiency.

Whether it’s his workouts he used to win Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe — delts and arms one day, chest and back and calves another day, abs every day, and an extra 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at night — or checking email and catching up on news, Arnold has built-in expectations for his day.

“Add as many of those routine things as possible because you do them without ever thinking about them. This is your daily schedule. Like breathing.”

While this isn’t earth-shattering, his mindset towards creating habits isn’t what you’d expect. 

Whereas you might consider it difficult to build certain habits, that’s where Arnold believes most people go wrong. You can’t label something as “difficult.”

If you think about change as challenging, it’s the first step towards making it harder to adopt change.

“People should realize that I don’t have sympathy for ‘difficult.’ There are a lot of things in life that are difficult,” adds Schwarzenegger. 

“If you want to build routines, you need to change your expectations. Are you going to back off every time something is difficult?”

“Or, are you going to be the person who looks at something that is difficult — or the most difficult — and say, ‘I’m going to go and do it and prove it to myself.’ That’s how you build habits.”

“Don’t ask should or shouldn’t I? You just do it.” 

Lesson 2: Create Energy By Saving Energy

It’s easy to think of a routine as a way to be more efficient with your days. But, for Arnold, it’s so much more than that. 

Routines are designed to require less mental energy and focus so you can have more energy to give to the non-routine aspects of your day. This is why making certain daily experiences is so important. If you’re going to have the energy to tackle the new challenges, you can’t be drained by everyday expectations.

To help you understand the importance of automated experiences, Arnold shared his experiences in politics as Governor of California. 

“When I was Governor, I had fixed funds on what you could spend on certain programs like education. It’s a fixed expenditure. Same for healthcare and prisons.”

“I had something like only 8 percent of discretionary funds. There’s very little wiggle room. But, knowing what is automatic and knowing what is not help you focus,” says Arnold.

Arnold recommends creating as many fixed moments in your day as possible. Then, you have fewer times where you’ll need to dig deep, be creative, and come up with custom solutions. This is good because then you’ll have more energy to dedicate, which means you’ll be more likely to succeed.

Less variation means more focus. The more you can focus on fewer things, the more likely you’re able to create a bigger impact. 

Lesson 3: Add Value With Effort

I asked Arnold about something most people don’t know about him, and he shared his love of art and painting. But, that’s not what stood out to me (even though I was impressed by his painting). It was how he thinks of his time spent creating art for others. 

“Today, it’s easy to go to a store and buy a gift or go to the flower shop and get flowers. You used to go out and pick flowers and put them in a vase. It’s all flowers. But, my mother was in heaven that we made an effort to go out and make the gift.”

Arnold understands that output isn’t the only measure of success. Your effort is one of the most important parts of the equation. 

“You must try to make an effort in everything you do, especially things for others. When you find pottery and paint on that, they know you spent hours on that. It makes a difference. It takes effort and people really like that.”

If you’re working on something, it’s easy to think about finishing the job. It’s something else to think about how you can take a task and put in more effort in a way that makes the final outcome something better or more meaningful, and in turn, that task has a positive impact on your own life.

Lesson 4: Success Follows the Unconventional

According to Arnold, more than 50 years ago, no one worked out in the morning. Gyms didn’t open until 10 am, so the entire structure of the day was based on rules that, as it turns out, didn’t exist for a good reason.

Arnold explained that people used to believe you were weaker in the morning. It wasn’t until he lived with his idol, Reg Park, when he finally decided to break the rules. 

Reg forced him to train early in the morning. Arnold recalls squatting 500 pounds at 5:30 am, and how it changed everything for him. 

The shift helped him remove limiting beliefs about his body. This, in turn, helped him understand that most limitations are self-conceived.

“If you think you can’t do something, you won’t,” says Arnold. “It’s a mindset that starts with ‘don’t be afraid.'”

“If you try to do something different, you might be surprised how much what you thought was a limitation wasn’t real.”

Lesson 5: Turn Visualization into Realization

Arnold opened up about one of the scariest moments of his life:

“Arnold, you’ve been asleep 16 hours. Something went wrong with this non-invasive procedure…you had internal bleeding, and in order to have you not die, we had to open you up.”

In the most powerful moment of our discussion, Arnold shared how his “routine” heart surgery took an unexpected turn and he was faced with a difficult comeback prior to playing The Terminator (once again) in Terminator: Dark Fate.

You might wonder how Arnold responded to such overwhelming news, and his immediate wasn’t what you might think.

“I wake up, I see what’s happening, I’m hearing the doctors, and I’ll I can think is, ‘Wait a minute, in three-and-a-half months, I’m supposed to be in Budapest to shoot Terminator 6. But, they are saying it takes 6 months to recover.’”

While it might seem like Arnold wasn’t thinking about the big picture and overall health, it was — in fact — the opposite. He was visualizing where he needed to be as a way to return to health.

“I always look for motivation. If you have no motivation, then it’s hard to get going under those circumstances. You’re down and you have a major setback. And the vision is what can bring you back.”

“If you have no goal, you have nothing. You have to know where to go. You need a vision.”

Lesson 6: Focus on Small Wins (They Add Up)

Once you have your vision, then you need to put in the reps. This is exactly what Arnold, whom many consider the greatest bodybuilder of all-time, had to do in order to recover from his heart surgery. 

“I asked the doctors, ‘When can I get up?’ And the doctor says 3 to 4 days. People don’t die from the procedure; they die from pneumonia and lungs filling with fluid,” recalls Arnold.

“I’m going to be up tomorrow and I’m going to be walking. Get me a walker. And that’s what I did. I went for walks, would lie back down, rest, and then get back up for another walk. I was a fanatic. I built up to 2-hour walks. Then, I traded the walker for a cane.”

Instead of focusing on the end goal, Arnold focused on mini-milestones. Get out of bed. Use the walker. Go down the hall. Go for an hour. Ditch the walker for a cane. Believe in yourself.

The micro-goals were all steps on the way to recovery. And, it worked…just like it has throughout his life.

Within 6 days Arnold was out of the hospital. Just 3 weeks later he was working out with light weights. And, as he promised, three-and-a-half months later, he was on set for Terminator 6. Ready to work like hell.

“The director said, ‘I can’t believe you had open-heart surgery three-and-a-half months ago,’” says Schwarzenegger.

“We all have setbacks, but, if you have a very clear vision and a clear goal, then you put in the reps, you can come back.” 

Lesson 7: Find Your “On Switch”

Despite his success, Arnold isn’t immune to having down moments or aging. But, it’s his ability to adapt and be self-aware that allows him to keep on thriving.

“When I hit 50, I realized I was not able to come back as quickly at 2 am for filming after 2 hours of sleep. So I said, ‘I will never sleep again at night when I’m filming.’ But, I needed something to give me a spark.”

That spark was chess.

“The more chess I played, the more alert I was and able to come to the set fully charged because my mind was ready from all the chess. I remembered the lines 100% and the physical work felt 100%.”

“You have to figure out what it takes to be on. When you have a setback or feel sluggish or mentally tired, you must find a way to recharge.”

Lesson 8: Eliminate Distractions

In the 1970s, Arnold found himself overwhelmed with his bodybuilding career, acting, buying real estate, and building construction. 

“A lot of things came together at once. I was overloaded,” recalls Schwarzenegger.

At that point, Arnold turned to meditation, something he has discussed in the past. For a year, he would meditate 20 minutes in the morning and another 20 minutes at night. Whereas many might find meditation beneficial for its ability to calm and destress, Arnold found another invaluable benefit that continues to help him today.

“[After meditating] all of a sudden, I could focus on one thing. I could do real estate and not be thinking about bodybuilding When training, I wasn’t thinking about acting. I got really focused and learned how to focus, and it made me better at everything I did.”

“Knowing how to focus on one thing at a time has made me better at everything I did.”

Build Arnold-Like Confidence

Arnold’s mindset is built on something we can all possess: confidence. 

That starts by removing your fear of failure.  And visualizing what you can become and not what might go wrong.

Arnold’s confidence allowed him to take chances and push himself to heights no one could’ve ever imagined — except maybe himself.

And, that’s the secret. If you believe something will happen, block out the distraction, prove the naysayers wrong, and focus on habits that will allow you to tackle your big goals – then anything is possible. But, it all starts with your belief. 

“Prove to [the world] that there are extraordinary things that can happen because that’s when they can.”

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post 8 Lessons From Arnold Schwarzenegger For Personal Success appeared first on Born Fitness.

The obvious approach is that improvement is measured by growth. And growth is measured by accomplishing more than what was done prior. And “accomplishment” inherently implies a comparison to a prior situation or time. 

But, what if the idea of growth wasn’t just measured by how hard you pushed or the progress you could quantify? 

What if getting better was defined by finding joy, calmness, or clarity at the moment? Those traits require improvement of self-awareness over productivity; of self-care over competitiveness.

Different times call for different measurements of success. 

When the going gets tough, you need to find a way to persevere. 

But, perseverance doesn’t have one definition. The only way to get better isn’t through.

Anyone that says otherwise is either too stubborn to see the error of their own ways, bound to burn out, or too selfish to recognize that one person’s fuel is another person’s fire. 

These are hard times. COVID-19 has ravaged us all in different ways, some more than others. But, all of us are affected and impacted. 

Nothing is normal and no one knows what to expect. But, there’s a bigger lesson within. Normal is always relative to time and situation. 

A global pandemic makes us all stop and think. But, the ability to pause, adjust expectations, and find joy in stillness will pay off now and during any time of trouble or challenge. 

It’s Time To Play Chess

When it comes to your health and fitness, I will always encourage you to do as much as you can to be healthy. It’s why I’ve been inspired by all of the fit pros trying to make more workouts available, just as we’ve done.

Unfortunately, there’s a dark side to the adaptable mentality. Doing what you can is not the same as “getting better at all costs.”

I’ve also seen too much shaming of people’s time or struggles. Just because we’re on lockdown doesn’t mean you need to get in the best shape of your life. Or, eat healthier than ever. 

This mindset doesn’t only apply during times of lockdown. When life throws you obstacles, sometimes it’s better to play chess than checkers. 

Movements become more subtle. You take more time. It might not even look like you’re moving forward, but — when done right — you’re setting yourself up to win in the end. 

Personal growth can occur in many ways, and it’s easy to assume that physical fitness becomes easier when there’s more time. But, that’s just a fallacy.

More importantly, buying into that mentality can be damaging. 

A big part of being healthy is not only being kind to your body but also kind to your mind and heart.

This is the reality: 

You’re going to miss workouts.

And have crappy sessions.

You’ll snack more.

You might not even recognize your diet.

Maybe you’re sleeping less because of stress.

Maybe you’re sleeping more because of stress.

It will all feel different — and that’s OK.

Whatever the situation, part of getting through all of this is to not set unrealistic expectations.

I’m as low-stress a person as you’ll find, but that has all changed. Each day is a new challenge of juggling my kids being at home, making adjustments for my businesses, watching friends becoming sick, seeing people die, experiencing friends losing their jobs, and someone managing the emotional weight of it all. 

And, given all of that, I know that I have not been impacted anywhere as much as millions of others, and it’s still difficult for me. The point: hardship is hardship. And when you’re in it, you must recognize and respect it. For yourself and others. 

There is No Wrong Move

Right now, more than ever, it’s important to control what you can control. 

Spend your time focusing on doing the little things that fill you up, removing what drains you (as much as possible), and staying healthy and keeping your head above water. 

Together, as people, we need to support one another because none of us know what the future holds. 

But, I do know this: the love, kindness, and patience you give to yourself and others will make you stronger through the pandemic and when we create our new normal moving forward. 

I spoke with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Arnold Schwarzenegger. The same guy who used to train for 5-6 hours per day. Even he says it’s important to adjust and celebrate the small victories that you might not have even acknowledged in prior times. 

When he had open-heart surgery, he didn’t start with the same expectations that propelled every aspect of his success. He had a bigger goal but began by adapting and tackling reality. 

That meant building up the strength to use a walker. Then taking 100 steps. Followed by walking unassisted. Each “milestone” was a reason to be proud and moved him closer to where he could do more. Remember, this was coming from a guy who used to squat more than 500 pounds, and now a walker was a success. It wasn’t “normal” but it was necessary. 

It might feel like you’re changing your expectations, but really you’re building momentum.

Better times are coming, but that doesn’t mean right now isn’t hard. 

When you can’t see clearly, it’s essential to focus on the next step, knowing that each one will take you out of the fog and towards a time and place where things are better.

The healthiest thing you can do is learn to celebrate the small wins, whether it’s the walk you take, the vegetable you eat, the friend you call, or even the deep breath and reminder that “this will pass.”

Fuck the haters that tell you otherwise. 

Sometimes, it’s not about good or bad decisions. It’s about action vs. inaction, and any action is a win.

Remember, we don’t build strength to lift heavier weights. We build strength to help us through moments like this.

As people, we evolve and adapt to situations. That is how we survive and thrive. 

Your fitness goals will be there whether you can tackle them today, tomorrow, or 3 months from now. 

Create energy where you can.

Conserve energy when you feel drained. 

And, remember to stay strong and keep smiling.

When you do, those steps will accumulate, you’ll see more clearly, the pieces will be in place, and then….checkmate.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Note To Self: F*ck The Haters appeared first on Born Fitness.

60.

92.

On the surface, the numbers mean nothing. They could be a lottery number, a gym locker combination, or the estimated age when all men mature. But if you look closer, these numbers are proof that fitness programs aren’t working the way they should. Or maybe more accurately, bad fitness has become the norm.

• Approximately 33 percent of the population is now obese or overweight, and that number is projected to climb
• More than 60 percent of people who visit gyms have trouble sticking with their plan consistently for more than three months.
• Up to 92 percent of people fail at their fitness resolutions by the end of the year.

Some might find these numbers depressing. The reality is, the numbers—while disconcerting—are a sign of hope and improvement. Because while most experts continue to spend so much time stressing the search for the perfect exercise program or diet—research is finally uncovering why so many people struggle to get in shape.

And the reason is simple: an important variable is missing that significantly influences whether you see the type of results you want.

Good health and fitness books or good diet programs work because they provide information that has been proven to achieve a particular goal, whether it’s burning fat, building muscle, becoming more athletic, or just boosting overall health.

Whether a diet and training program works is not why so my people fail. Many diets work. Many types of exercise burn calories. But certain programs are effective for individuals because each person is able to crack the code and learn how to change behavior.

It’s time to flip the script on why certain people are fit and others struggle to fit into their favorite pair of jeans.  It’s the secret in the fitness world that few people address because most never grasp why some people succeed on the same plan where others fail.

Beyond the calories in versus calories out equation, finding the perfect workout or number of sets or reps, the real breakdowns in body transformation don’t occur in the muscles or fat cells—they happen in your head.

Whether you realize it or not, your success is determined by your ability to adhere to a number of behavioral changes that make it easier for you to experience success on any type of program.

The two most common explanations for why fitness programs don’t work are:

1)   The workout (and/or diet) was no good and full of nonsense

2)   Your body sucks. Your genetics are awful. Everyone can lose weight and you can’t. 

The reality is, the second reason—while valid (genetics do play a big role)—is not a reason for your lack of success. Anyone can change and transform. Weight loss and muscle gain are not restricted to the genetically blessed.

The list of why programs don’t work is missing two essential elements that make it complete:

3)   You didn’t follow the program, weren’t compliant, and constantly made adjustments

4)   The program was delivered in a way that gave you no option but failure.

It’s this fourth element that most people overlook and never even consider, which is why so many are frustrated because it is probably the most common reason for frustration and a lack of progress.

Unless you inherently love exercise and eating good foods, shifting to new habits takes a lot of mental energy. And if you don’t take the right approach, your brain can literally prevent you from making the changes you desperately want.

Instead of blaming yourself, you can arm yourself with some basic knowledge that will make sure you mind is strong enough to carry your body to its new and improved look.

Bad Fitness 101: Don’t Rely on Willpower…

The first rule of willpower is doing everything possible to not rely on it. Willpower is a real thing, and it can be the reason why you head to the gym and eat broccoli instead of lay on the couch and eat ice cream, but it’s also the reason so many people have trouble adapting to healthy behaviors that feel foreign.

You see, you have much less control over your behavior than you’d want to believe. That’s because stress and anxiety—emotions that are inevitable—can wreck havoc on even the strongest intent, and make it difficult for you stay focused and push yourself to stay consistent with new behaviors.

Which is why it’s important when taking on a new plan to be aware of the ways that your willpower might make it difficult for you to experience success. Instead of thinking, “I must avoid all of the candy in my pantry,” you need to throw out all the food you know you have trouble avoiding and replace it with the stuff you want to eat.

If you’ve noticed that you can’t make it to the gym consistently, hire a trainer and make a special request that they text you an hour before your session.

Willpower can be faulty, so building systems that guide behavior can ensure that when willpower breaks down failure is not the only option. The more structure and rigidity to the systems you build, the easier it is to program your behavior.

If you feel that you need to walk more, you can purposely park your car 15 minutes away from work. Sure it’s inconvenient, but it will get the job done, right?

All too often we over-rely on the belief that creating change will be easy. Instead, anticipate that it will be hard and simplify your job by making it easy for you to adhere to your new behaviors. After a while, you will change as a person, and you won’t need the systems any more.

…But Creating More Willpower Will Help (Yes, it’s possible)

The most frustrating thing about willpower is that we legitimately have limited amounts available. The area of your brain that controls your willpower is located in your prefrontal cortex. You might remember this from biology as the area directly behind your forehead.

It’s the same part of your brain that helps you with all your day-to-day tasks, everything from your short term memory (What did my wife tell me to buy at the store?), figuring out some simple tasks, and even staying focused.

The point is, the pre-fontal cortex is busy at all times. So whenever you take on a new behavior—especially one that is as big as getting in shape, exercising, and eating better—it’s like having a massive project dropped in your lap and being told everyone else in the office is too busy to help.

The result is that desired actions—if new—can be very (very) hard to execute. In fact, it’s more than your brain can handle, meaning you default to old or undesirable behaviors.

Here’s how manipulative your brain can be. In a well-known study at Stanford, two groups were given a number to remember. One group needed to remember a two-digit sequence, whereas the other needed to remember 7 digits (Both short-term memory tasks). Then the groups went for a walk. At the end of their walk, they were offered an option of snacks: Fruit or chocolate cake. (This type of dilemma might sound familiar.)

What happened? Those who had to remember the 7-digit number were two times more likely to dig into the cake instead of opt for the fruit.

Researchers refer to this as “cognitive load.” The more space you’re taking up in the prefontal cortex, the harder it is to make certain decisions. That’s why you need to train yourself and prepare accordingly so that you have enough willpower to take on new tasks.

This is one of the reasons why resolutions are such a flawed concept. If you’re trying to change 10 behaviors at the same time, it’s nearly impossible for you to succeed. Your brain won’t have it, and, as a result, you’ll be more likely to find yourself in December eating cake—and not because you’re celebrating your new body.

Instead of listing off many goals or taking on too many projects, it’s best to focus on one big effort and then break that down into habits.  Researchers from Australia found that taking a step-by-step approach, such as building one habit at a time helps reduce cognitive load.

So rather than saying “I need to lose 10 pounds” it’s best to program simple behaviors that will help make this possible. This might be, “I will have an accountability team to make sure I go to the gym.” The habit is simple—building a team—rather than something more complex such as promising that you’ll exercise for 60 minutes five times per week.

The lesson: Be aware that your willpower is the most overworked employee in your brain. Make the job easier and you’ll see your habits change along with your body.

5 Ways to Boost Willpower

In order to make sure you create more willpower and don’t sabotage your efforts, here are five things you need to consider when trying to change your body, take on a new diet or fitness program, or accept a new behavior.

Create Hope

We all want to believe that we can achieve our fitness goals, but all too often “false hope syndrome” makes the process harder than it needs to be. You need to set realistic expectations of who you are, what you are capable of achieving, and want processes you need to set up to help you be successful. This goes back to building systems.

If you know that you fall victim to cravings, don’t tell yourself those days are over and that you can completely control yourself. Odds are, you’re lying to yourself and these positive intentions—while seemingly good—can be harmful. That’s because the moment you slip up you’ll not only revert back to old behaviors (not terrible when it happens once in a while—hey, we all screw up!) but more importantly it can crush your self-esteem. And once that happens, willpower becomes overrun and you fall off the wagon.

Therefore, it’s important that you start out confident, but also be realistic with what will be easy and what will be hard. Make a list. Separate it into two goals (easy and hard), and for everything that’s hard, plan certain systems that will help ensure that you’re not putting too much pressure on yourself.

Think Small (But Still Dream Big)

If you’re serious about your fitness goals, you need to determine what other areas of your life should be prioritized less. Go in open-minded and realize that making these changes will be tough; if they weren’t, you wouldn’t be in this position in the first place. So make sure you have the energy to take on the task and be prepared for the hard days. You can simplify this process by:

• Creating goals that matter to you. This will make it easier to fight for them.
• Setting up a plan
• Creating Milestones
• Trying new ways of living

All four of these elements have something in common: you’re creating new thought patterns. When brain scientists have looked at MRI’s they’ve found that our minds work off of old memories. It’s like a taking a particular route to work. After a while, it becomes you routine. But when it comes to behavior, oftentimes you simply try to tell yourself, “Don’t go that way!” That’s a recipe for failure. You need to find a new route. Don’t try to “not to do something;” that just strengthens a pre-existing behavior. Instead, create a new line of thinking, build a new neural pathway, and take that route enough times until it becomes your new habit.

Set specific Goals

This is a good lesson for anything in life: When you set goals, make them specific and tiny. You want to make it as easy as possible to succeed. We all are susceptible to a psychological concept called learned helplessness; fail enough and you come to expect failure. This is the foundation of bad fitness. And yet, all too often goals are set that increase the likelihood of failure. If you make your goals almost too easy to not fail, you’re on the right track. This builds positive reinforcement. And in no time, a series of small successes will have you feeling good and making more changes.

Set up An Accountability System

Speaking of positive feedback, having a team—whether it’s friends, family, a trainer, or workout partner—pays huge dividends for any fitness goal you’re trying to accomplish. In fact, research from the University of Chicago suggests that your likelihood of success is directly related to accountability and support. The ongoing lesson: don’t convince yourself you need to go at this alone. Build a team that can help you succeed. And the more that team is either invested in your goals—or are willing to be a part of your journey—the more likely you’ll succeed.

Create Incentives

If all else fails, bad fitness can be offset by building an incentive system that hacks your behavioral patterns and forces change. Research has shown that rewarding behaviors—especially with a monetary value—can help reinforce actions (such as going to the gym) that lead to long-term change. While it might be hard to find someone to pay you to exercise, you can invest your own money (in a trainer or gym) that might help make you less risk aversive. But if gym attendance shows you anything it’s that belonging to a gym is not reason enough to get in shape.

Your Move

“What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.” –Abraham Maslow

Now that you’re aware of your brain’s role in the fitness plans, it’s up to you to execute. Build your own structure and systems to help improve the likelihood of success. Or find an option that considers all of those factors.

Whether it’s online coaching or any other proven tactic, you must start with awareness and then move to planning and action. Create a structure for psychological support. Doing so will change your mind, and soon after your body will follow.

Lose Fat…The Realistic Way

A weight loss plan doesn’t have to be a world of false promises and hype.

Now you can join a proven weight loss program with a personalized component of support and accountability with personalized online coaching.

Here you’ll learn how to eat, the type of exercise needed, and the actual plans to point you in the right direction.

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Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Bad Fitness: Why You Don’t See Results From Your Workouts appeared first on Born Fitness.

Goal setting is the health equivalent of pressing the refresh button on your life.

No matter what you did in the past, setting new goals is an opportunity to change everything. The process is as basic as it is motivating: Learn from the past and plan for a better future.

Have hope. Be an optimist. And believe that anything is possible.

It’s a safe and effective approach that allows you to reinvent yourself, set new standards, and become the person you want to be.

Unfortunately, if success was that easy and motivation was a given, you wouldn’t repeatedly set the same goals year after year.

As you might know, willpower is a limited reserve. So really on it is far from a surefire way to accomplish way you want.

So what really separates the successful from the unsuccessful? And why do so many people constantly need to reset goals hoping for the best only to repeat the same failures?

The goal-failure-success continuum really boils down to one simple factor, and making an adjustment to your approach could be the difference between achievement and failure.

The dirty little secret about goals is not complex.

Those who succeed are unwilling to quit. They want to taste success more than those who don’t.

More importantly, those who succeed understand realistic expectations and timelines of progress and change. 

According to research published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutritionists, a more effective approach for long term fat loss is a plan that allows you to lose “only” about .5 to 1 percent of your body weight per week.

For muscle gains, if you factor out “rapid beginner changes” you might be looking at a maximum (in the most perfect of scenarios) of 4 to 8 pounds of muscle gain in 12 weeks, and even less the more experience you have.

This isn’t meant to be depressing. Instead, it should be just the opposite. It will allow you to set realistic goals that won’t drive you insane.

Why Progress is Blind

We all have the desire to be better. In fact, that’s what motivates most people to set goals in the first place.

But after working with thousands of people and hearing countless stories—both of successes and failures—the most common reason for success is the relentless drive to succeed.

This is not a blame-game or a lack of respect for whatever hurdles stand in your way. I’ve failed at plenty of my goals too.

This is a reality check that everyone needs to accept, yet few ever mention.

Changing your body, losing weight, gaining muscle, quitting smoking—every goal you desire will be difficult to achieve.

At some point, you’re going to hit a bump in the road, confronted with a challenge, and begin to doubt your ability to make real, lasting change.

Many view this as a bad thing. In reality, this is the inevitable situation you must confront if you want to have long-term success.

Reaching this point is not the problem; it’s how you react after it occurs.

Pulse Moments: The Gateway to Greatness

When situations become difficult and you anticipate trouble on the horizon, do not ignore your frustration. That’s the first step towards failure.

Instead, acknowledge your anger and fear. Channel your frustration and ask yourself one simple question: How badly do I want this?

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe that’s when you’ll achieve your goals.

This isn’t about six-pack dreams, running a marathon, or building bigger biceps. Those are all great goals that are achievable by anyone. But it’s not the goal itself that matters; it’s your relentless mindset in its pursuit.

I don’t care how far your journey might appear. You can make a change. And if you have any doubts, read the stories of those who are just like you.

I’m inspired by these people because they do the “impossible.” And now it’s our job to eliminate doubt and apathy so that you can join in on the success.

This is a gut-check. Or as I call them: Pulse Moments.

Check your pulse and determine if you’re ready for your own challenge.

Are you willing to scratch, and claw and fight for your health? Are you willing to push harder, make yourself a little uncomfortable, and make the adjustments you need to succeed?

Change is hard, and I understand every ounce of hurt you feel when it seems like you can’t lose weight, you can’t eliminate pain, or you can’t become the version of yourself that you so desperately desire.

Change starts by taking the first step, looking in the mirror, and saying, “I want to be better.”

But that’s just the beginning. You need to remind yourself that this will be a battle. And that the battle should be fun.

Make no mistake about it: Becoming healthy will make you smile more, laugh more, and feel better than you could ever imagine.

It’s worth every drop of effort you put into it. But making the transition from your current situation to the one you want takes time and includes struggles. It will be difficult, it will inevitably frustrate you, and you have to expect what’s waiting on your journey.

Approach your goals with eyes wide open.

Have hope. Be an optimist. And believe that anything is possible. And then tell yourself that when you get knocked down, you will pick yourself back up.

Every. Single. Time.

Do it for your family. Do it for your friends. Do it for the people you love. And most importantly: Do it for you.

Once you achieve that mindset, the rest is comparatively easy.

Your job should be limited to one single focus: Take action and don’t stop until you achieve your goals.

You can be the change.

But change doesn’t start with making a list of goals, finding a great workouts, or finally settling on a diet that you can follow.

It begins with a hard look in the mirror and a determination that your health is worth fighting for.

It’s time to make it count. Take the first step, don’t accept failure as an option, and you’ll never again doubt that you can uncover your best.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Forget Motivation. Find Your Pulse. appeared first on Born Fitness.

They are the fuel to living a better life, but they are not the engine.
In other words, good nutrition and an effective exercise plan help and are necessary, but ultimately they are both just pieces of the puzzle.

And without an extra element, only focusing on those two aspects are why so many people struggle even when they receive the best guidance.

In a world of click-bait articles, 5 steps to abs, and super food diets, the missing piece is what’s in your head and in your heart.

This isn’t a sentiment designed to make you go “Awwwww.” It’s a reality we all need to take time to digest and accept if we truly want to maximize our potential.

I’ve gone from battling an overweight childhood to trying to deadlift 500+ pounds.
I’ve worked with cancer survivors, people trying to lose hundreds of pounds, and professional athletes and bodybuilders.
And I’ve received thousands of emails from people around the world documenting their struggle.

The battle for them all, myself included: finding peace of mind in our hearts and heads about who we are, who we want to be, and what will make us happy.

This is the real health battle.

Many of us carry scars from the past: whether it’s relationships, internal struggles, or lack of control over situations that play a big role in our lives, both directly and indirectly related to our mind and body.

All of this uncertainty and instability impacts our ability to be healthy.

I can trace every long term “success” story not to perfection, but rather internal happiness that allows for focus and tenacity, and removes the many of the restrictions that lead to stress, disordered eating, and misguided approaches to health and fitness.

I am not a doctor or a psychologist. But I am a person who understands that resolving internal conflicts is the best way to take on life with a relentless passion that can make you feel unstoppable.

You want better health? Identify your insecurities, unresolved conflicts, or roadblocks that seem immovable. Don’t fear weakness. Instead, embrace it, own it, and conquer it.

A clear mind and a strong heart will do much more for your health and life than any perfect diet or workout.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Your Diet and Exercise Plan Is Not Working. Here’s Why. appeared first on Born Fitness.

I forgot to take a breath, closed my eyes, and suddenly began to panic.

My mind said, “Push!” but my arms wouldn’t move. I wondered if this was what trainers meant when they warned about their extreme programs that could cause “death by barbell.”

Don’t fit your square life into a circle hole of someone else’s definition of fitness.

Those are the thoughts that race through your head when you lay trapped beneath your own bench press; the cold iron grazing your throat like an impending guillotine. In my desperation I gasped a plea soaked in embarrassment.

“Help… help…”

My hero ran over from some direction. I never grabbed his name, but without proper introduction he grabbed the weight and curled it off my head. I jumped up, relieved and exasperated at my Neo-like reincarnation, and thanked my savior for his amazing feat of strength. He chuckled, made sure I was OK, and left with words I’ll never forgot.

“Probably didn’t think you needed a spotter, huh?”

I looked down at the bar. Just 10 pounds sat on each side.

It was official: My 65-pound bench press found a new way to completely embarrass me.

Nearly 15 years later, and after writing seven books (including a New York Times best seller) and serving as editor for Men’s Health, editorial director for LIVESTRONG.COM, and holding advisor positions for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Examine.com,  I still remember how my strength was sparked by an undeniable weakness.

Starting From Scratch

You see, the bench press incident (let’s call it BPI because it sounds better) wasn’t an isolated account. At the time, I was just a freshman in college, and I was going to the rec center to train very early in the morning.

It wasn’t because of my schedule. I was trying to go when no one would be there. And let me tell you, if you want no distractions at your gym, hit up a college rec center at 5 am. Cemeteries are more alive.

I wanted to be isolated because I was embarrassed. I was weak. I was scrawny. And I had no idea what I was doing. I even knew a girl that could shoulder press about twice as much as I could, so I had to schedule around when she was there. Then again, struggling in the gym was nothing new to me.

Growing up I was overweight. And I’m not talking about little-boy-that-can’t-shed-his-baby-weight. I was fat. I was a constant target of jokes in junior high because boys that saw me in the locker room were convinced I had some of the biggest breasts in school.

At my Bar Mitzvah, I needed some special tailoring because apparently they didn’t make dress pants for young men of my (short) height and extreme girth. I blamed it on genetics. And maybe that was part of it. But my late-night brownie and cookie habits didn’t help either.

Then in high school I suffered a comedy of injuries. I broke my back. I suffered concussions. I tore a muscle in my elbow. I broke my back—again.

Every injury was a roadblock. A hurdle. A reason to quit, give up, and decide that fitness wasn’t for me. I loved playing sports and being active, but I never felt I had the opportunity to show and prove what I could do.

I had a drive to become something better. But I had strong doubts if whom I wanted to be actually lived within me, or could even be fulfilled.

I wanted to quit fitness, but there’s really no escape. It’s like the mob in that way. Some of us just choose to make it a more prominent part of our lives, while others either ignore the value or never cease to grasp that fitness—and health—can be an enjoyable, invigorating, and stress-free (as well as stress-busting) experience.

Ultimately, that’s what kept bringing me back. I felt that I had more to give, and more that I could achieve. Only I had yet to figured out how to release my potential and be happier with me.

A Lesson in Failure

I’d love to pretend that after BPI, I rediscovered the gym, found my Mr. Miyagi, and everything instantly became better. But that would do an injustice to human nature and real life.

Life doesn’t happen in montages. (Although it would be awesome if it did.)

Looking back at my approach to fitness, I’ve probably made more mistakes than every person I’ve ever met—combined.

I lifted weights without instruction and never took time to be coached. I pushed through injuries, which only caused more injuries. I avoided all dietary fats. And then I avoided all carbs. To top it off, I ate hundreds… and hundreds… and hundreds of grams of protein. And I made several girlfriends suffer through the “ass of fire years.” (My sincerest apologies.)

I felt supplements were evil and took none. And then I tried every (legal) supplement in an attempt to become bigger and leaner.

I bulked. I cut. I ran. I swam. I did yoga. And I lifted weights—big weights (eventually) and small weights. I did high reps, low reps, timed reps, Tabatas, and Tae-Bo.

I’ve tried every type of HIIT training, low-intensity cardio, and kettlebell workouts imaginable. I’ve tried ab machines, tested crazy cleanses, and had a shake or two of the Shake Weight. I even used pink dumbbells one time to impress a girl. To no one’s surprise, it didn’t work.

But I never stopped working at it.

And then one day I tried to do something different and learn from other areas where I was actually successful. I was always a good student, and part of the reason for my success is that I never focused on grades.

Instead of stressing about goals, I looked at the process. I didn’t worry about how much weight I lost or strength I gained; instead, I focused on learning what techniques worked. And I spent my time learning how to exercise correctly and improve movements.

By shifting my focus to different goals and removing the stress of the mirror, I discovered a philosophy that changed my life, shaped my career, and allowed me to transform my body.

I am a model of failure, and that is why I have succeeded.

I never quit. And I never stopped learning or worrying about how long it took to make changes. I measured myself by different metrics of progress.

Did I learn something new? Did I set a new goal? Did I try a new exercise, eat a healthier food, or ask a new question about something I didn’t know?

Most importantly, I discovered every life is worth living the way you want. But no life can be lived without a concentrated effort to include healthy behaviors as part of your lifestyle.

The Born Fitness Guide to Success

I’m asked all the time about my favorite piece of advice. So here it is: Your health isn’t limited to a gym, a diet, or the image you see in the mirror.

Your health is what you make of it. The real distinction between healthy and unhealthy is giving a damn about your body; and making sure you do something—heck, anything—consistently so that you can live a long, active life, take care of yourself, and take care of others in this world.

I’m a big believer in goals, good behaviors, and in sharing options that are sustainable. What frustrates me more than anything is that we’ve gotten away from the real goal; we must find smarter ways to make exercise and healthier eating a seamless part of everyone’s life.

Notice I didn’t say lifting weights or cardio, recommend a certain diet, or even prescribe flawless healthy eating. Do I have opinions on my favorites strategies? Of course I do. But I refuse to be dogmatic and insist there’s only one right way.

That approach is a recipe for failure. Only a very small group of people inherently loves all healthy behaviors.

And I’ll be honest—I’ve become one of those people. Feed me Brussels sprouts and chicken all day, and I’ll walk around with a bigger grin than the Enzyte guy. But that’s not normal and isn’t what you should expect from yourself.

We need to do a better job of redefining all the different faces of health. I believe that dessert can and should be part of a healthy eating plan. Or that walking can be a perfectly suitable form of exercise. If these are the behaviors that you enjoy, then you can—and should—find a way to make them part of your life.

Don’t fit your square life into a circle hole of someone else’s definition of fitness.

My journey has created a simple goal: To help identify the diets, types of exercises and workouts, and various strategies that you can apply to your life to be more fit, feel better, and live longer.

And if those options also help you build more muscle, lose your belly, deadlift 400 pounds, or shed the baby weight, then great. Those are extra bonuses.

Your job is to find out what options exist. Healthy living is a buffet. And while there’s definitely some bad Szechuan chicken lurking (yeah, that’s my metaphor for bad info), there are too many good options to walk away without easily being satisfied and living a healthy life.

Therein lies the bigger message: There’s no reason for you to be stressed or feel that a better body, a better mindset, or a better life isn’t for you.

I encourage you to explore the numerous options that exist. Exercise the way you want, whether it’s in the gym, on the field, or in your home. Eat healthier foods most of the time, and—if you want—indulge in some not so healthy foods.

You don’t have to be staring down the chokehold of a 65-pound barbell to have this realization.

If my journey has shown me anything, it’s that the signs are there every day. No matter if it’s Men’s Health,LIVESTRONG.COM, or my brand, Born Fitness, I’ve seen some amazing changes from some incredible people. And most of the time, the individuals thank me for showing them the way.

My response: Don’t thank me. Thank you. 

Thank you for having the courage to pursue what lives deep within your soul. To answer the call that can be so intimidating and scary. And to open your eyes and see that you can have the life you want.

Accomplishing your dream is really no different than building a bigger bench press. All it takes is a deep breath, a clear plan and patience, and a desire to never stop trying.

As long as you keep coming and don’t quit, I’ll be here pushing you forward and providing the guidance to the type of life you choose to live.

This post was originally published on Greatist.com, but after questions about “what’s your background” became overwhelming, I thought it was time to share this here. -AB

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post The Born Fitness Approach to Health and Fitness appeared first on Born Fitness.

Weight Loss Effectiveness: Expectations vs. Goals

I once watched a video by sports psychology expert Patrick Cohn, PhD, about how athletes become frustrated with their performance in youth sports. He broke it down this way: For an athlete who’s experiencing frustration, there are two important concepts, the trigger and the emotions.

The trigger is some kind of action on the field: a poor play, a missed shot, a mental mistake, or a cheating opponent.

And the emotion is the consequence of that trigger: anger, frustration, or helplessness. One leads to directly to the other, except—and this is a big except—that there’s a whole chasm between the trigger and emotion.

Cohn argues that this chasm is filled with beliefs. For the athlete, what is the belief? That others will think you’re bad if you make a mistake, that you have to be perfect?

Sounds exactly the way dieters think. “What will the world think of me when I need to buy two airplane seats?” “What if I order the burger and fries and eat the whole thing?” “Will my spouse think I’m a slob if I keep gaining weight?” “What is the consequence of slamming down a football- size burrito?”

To change the emotions, it takes shifting beliefs. For youth sports, it may be convincing kids that mistakes are okay—everyone makes them; that’s the nature of sports, since there’s no such thing as perfection, except maybe in bowling. But how do we do it as adults?

The Weight Loss Mindset: Shifting Expectations

How do we take something as embedded in our minds as our beliefs about body and weight and flip them upside down?

How do we tell ourselves that mistakes are okay when we know full well that mac-and-cheese omelets are not a health food?

How do we tell ourselves that the goal isn’t perfection, but rather the blander “being good most of the time”?

The argument would go that you’re not going to be able to limit your triggers. (There will always be 4,000-calorie doughnut concoctions, just as there will always be pressure to make free throws at the end of the game.) But you can change your response to those triggers, if you can change what you believe to be true about weight loss and dieting.

While not a weight-loss expert, Cohn makes a good point that can be applied to this subject: the way to improve composure, he told me, is that you have to differentiate between expectations and goals.

People get frustrated when they don’t meet their expectation that they have to eat perfectly at every meal.

While it’s good to have goals, he said, it’s more important to manage your expectations of how you should perform. By focusing on the process instead of the final number, you’re more likely to get to the outcome you want.

“If you do the process well,” he said, “that will eventually lead to the desired outcomes. Focus on the execution—in athletics, it’s shot‑to‑shot or pitch‑to‑pitch execution— knowing that if you focus on doing the action well, the result will take care of itself.

But if you’re so obsessed with reaching a weight-loss goal, does that help you do the process? That’s backward. It doesn’t help you get to the outcome.”

In practice, this means you keep the desired weight or that pair of skinny jeans as the goal, but you stop focusing on them.

Instead, shift your attention to whatever process you’re going to use to get there. And when things don’t go right, you also have to manage your mistakes, not beat yourself up about them.

That, of course, takes some practice and the ability to work through the frustrations of scale numbers not moving or body shapes not changing.

Goals Gone Wild?

Here’s an interesting side note about the development of those goals: In the mainstream media, we’ve been pounded with the message that we need to set reasonable goals; if you have a better shot at attaining a goal, the argument goes, you’re more likely to succeed.

However, a recent paper examining obesity myths, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, challenged this notion.

The authors pointed to several studies, including one in the journal Obesity, showing that those who articulated a dream weight were positively correlated to weight loss over the long term—and that there was no significant correlation between realistic weight goals and actual weight loss.

Matthew Herper, who wrote about the NEJM paper for Forbes, made a good point: “I’m a great believer in clinical trials, but it’s always important to remember that just because a clinical trial does not show an effect doesn’t mean that effect doesn’t exist.”

That means that those of us who are challenged with these struggles have to gather evidence in all forms (studies, stories, experimentation) to figure out the recipe not that will work with a doubt, but that will give us the best chance for succeeding, for breaking through plateaus, for working facing the inevitable frustration we encounter.

Art Markman, PhD, a professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin and author of the book SmartChange, studies such things as decision making, goals, and motivation. He said that part of the reason weight loss is so difficult and frustrating is because our brains are not wired to handle the absence of action.

“When you’re trying to lose weight, you’re trying to eat less, avoid certain tempting foods,” he told me. “If you succeed, if you achieve that negative goal, what you’ve done is not doing something.

The problem with not doing something is that your brain basically doesn’t learn not to do something.

When every time you’ve successfully resisted a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, you’ve achieved something significant, but your brain really hasn’t changed.

What you have to do in order to be really successful is turn all these negative goals into positive ones—actions that you’re going to take in particular circumstances, actions and things you can learn to do.”

That made a lot of sense: most of our struggles come from the fact that we’re deleting content from our brains, rather than trying to upload new files for our brains to work on.

It also makes sense when combined with Cohn’s take on process: that is, laser-beaming our attention on the process, whether it’s writing down what you eat, or logging the miles you walk, or aiming to eat nine fruits or vegetables a day.

But if your tactic is just to deny yourself x, y, and z, then your brain will soon enter a sort of emergency state.

An empty mind, after all, will go back to what it knows, a. k. a. meatball subs.

In a way, to shift out of bad eating habits, it’s not as much about denying ourselves or resisting or having the mental grit to fight the aroma of fresh cookies. It’s much more about keeping our brains fat and happy.

The post was an excerpt from Down Size. Reprinted by arrangement with Hudson Street Press, a member of Penguin Random House (USA) Inc., from Down Size by Ted Spiker. Copyright © 2014 by Ted Spiker.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Why Losing Weight Is Hard appeared first on Born Fitness.

What does it all mean?

I’m human. I’m flawed. I have insecurities (Yes, even as a guy). And I’m not perfect. And sometimes I’m just really hard on myself because I know I can be better.

But you know what? I no longer let these fleeting moments bother me because I can put them in context and not let them overwhelm me.

We all have bad days. Sometimes we all feel bad about ourselves even when we have NO reason to do so. I wish it never happened, but the way to lessen those tough moments is to create a better context of “health.”

One of the bigger problems in this industry is that we have too many details to worry about that we lose sight of what really matters. We stress over all the small things and, in doing so, living a “healthy life” feels like a burden.

The outcome: we either reject the healthy behaviors or become obsessed to the point that it controls other areas of our lives.

Life happens. Breathe. Enjoy. Go with it. Don’t set your standard at perfection.

The end game is not mastering diet and exercise or making it everything in your life. It’s understanding how it should play a part in your happiness and making sure you can experience the type of life you want.

Your fitness or nutrition plan should have two priorities:

1. Make you happy
2. Be sustainable and designed for the long run.

It’s up to you to determine what that looks like. Whether it’s training 5 days a week and working until you can see your abs, or just being healthy enough to play with your kids and feel good in your own skin.

You want to be healthy? Start by simplifying your approach and making it easier for you to succeed.

And that means not letting the bad days crush you. They happen to us all.  You’re not alone. You’re not lazy. And you’re not a bad person.

Life happens. Your job isn’t to control it all. It’s to live and enjoy.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Life Happens appeared first on Born Fitness.

1. You helped people, sacrificed personal bias, answered questions honestly, never stopped learning, and did everything you could to make your clients better.

2. You helped people, sacrificed personal bias, answered questions honestly, never stopped learning, and did everything you could to make your clients better.

3. You helped people, sacrificed personal bias, answered questions honestly, never stopped learning, and did everything you could to make your clients better.

4. You helped people, sacrificed personal bias, answered questions honestly, never stopped learning, and did everything you could to make your clients better.

5. You helped people, sacrificed personal bias, answered questions honestly, never stopped learning, and did everything you could to make your clients better.

Filter out everything else, and this is what really matters. This is a fitness professional’s job. Anything else that comes with the territory is a byproduct, not a primary focus. Remember that, and you’ll enjoy the industry and be much more likely to have success.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Top 5 Ways You Know You’ve Made It In The Fitness Industry appeared first on Born Fitness.

Stare only at my biceps and wide back and tell me I have nothing to add to this meeting.

Judge the protein shakes at my desk, and label me a freak as I order healthy items off a menu.

Call me a meathead and a moron and misunderstand my interests and intent.

But be sure to say goodnight when you clock out for the day and I’m still working on me, my family, my job, and becoming better.

Look at me.

You see the fat hanging over my pants, my oversized clothing, and the sweat pouring from my body.

You watch me eat, stare at my body, and whisper things in your friend’s ear that I probably don’t want to hear.

Call me lazy and unhealthy. Tell me I’m disgusting to my face.

But make sure you’re at the gym with me at 5 am every morning to see me working twice as hard as everyone else. Watch me in my environment with people who don’t judge, so you can see my weight doesn’t prevent me from bringing joy and happiness to this world.

Look at me.

You say you can’t see me because I’m too thin. That I have no “meat on my bones.”

You call me sickly and gross and suggest I stop starving myself.

You bump me in passing, but ignore me when we’re alone.

But make sure you actually eat with me and see that I’m staying nourished and doing what I can. Stand with me as I learn to love my body for what it is, and not what’s beyond my control.

Go ahead, look at me.

Take your time and don’t just use your eyes.

I’m not hiding and not embarrassed of who I am.

But before you turn away, make sure you take note of everything you can’t see.

That’s me. The real me. I’m not defined by size, shape, or body type.

You look at my appearance, but you don’t see who I am. What you’re missing is real life, real people, and a chance to improve this world.

And if your vision is too blind to see that reality, make sure you take one more look: this time at yourself.

Then ask one question: who are you?

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Look At Me appeared first on Born Fitness.