In this article, I’m going to explain the cause and effect relationship in achieving your fitness goals. And if you’re willing to do the work and fully commit yourself to the process (cause) you will produce/reap the rewards of a fitter, leaner and healthier body (Effect).
The Pareto Law Isn’t Just Some Theoretical Nonsense, It Applies Everywhere, Especially In Achieving Your Fitness Goals
I learned early on in my training journey that as long as I do the work, I will get the results. It’s a simple cause and effect relationship. Of course, there are many nuances involved but once you learn the 20% that produces 80% of the results. You learn that you just need to consistently do the work and implement the 20% most of the time and soon enough you’ll have achieved what you set out to accomplish.
So, you may be thinking. What is the 20% that produces 80% of the results? And the answer varies. For instance, if your goal is fat loss. Then the 20% that produces 80% is the calorie deficit. If your goal is muscle gain then the 20% that produces the 80% is a calorie surplus (eating slightly more calories than you burn) and progressive overload (Getting stronger from week two week).
Or from a broader perspective, if you just deeply understand how to use and apply energy balance and progressive overload to your fitness goals as a whole, to build muscle and lose fat. That would also be the 20% that produces 80% of the results.
Or take barbells for instance. They are the 20% of gym equipment in a plethora of different machines, cables etc that are going to get you the best results and biggest bang for your buck. I could go on and on. But hopefully, I’ve got my point across and you can see how the Pareto principle plays out in the glorious game of fitness and health.
In Theory, Reaching Your Fitness Goals Is Easy, But Why Do So many People Never Make Progress? Because They Don’t Do The Work
It’s one thing to know what to do. And if this is you, you are already above 95% of the population. But now all you need to do. Is do the work. This is the cause that is going to produce the effect. And if you don’t do the work you won’t get the results.
Doing The Work Is Hard
Life gets in the way. And sometimes circumstances won’t be ideal but all that matters is that you still manage to do the work. The trick is to have a plan and commit to the plan religiously and do the work until you reach your goal. Many times you will just not feel like working out or eating healthy. And it will feel like some destructive force that is intentionally stopping you from reaching your goals. Steven Pressfield in the war of art calls this resistance. And no matter who you are, you will feel resistance to any hard goal. It just comes with the process.
Don’t Let Resistance Win – Do The Work
You don’t have to let resistance win. You always have a choice. The more you prevail against resistance the more you will get better at fighting it. The longer you fight resistance the better you get. And the end result will be you coming out on top, considerably more than resistance. But resistance never goes away. Even for the most motivated individuals.
Build The Habits That Are Going To Produce The Desired Outcomes – Do The Work
At first, tracking your calories is going to be hard. Working out consistently Is hard. In essence everything hard. But If you keep going and build the habits that align with your goals then you’re going to get to your goal so much more easily.
Yes at the beginning you’re not going to be very good and you’ll struggle to hit your nutrition perfectly. But instead of letting resistance win. Look at it as a challenge to become physically and mentally stronger and better. Lifting weights has this amazing effect on your life. You feel more energised you feel stronger, more confident and in control of your life.
But this does come with a price. You need to consistently commit to a good exercise program, get stronger and look after yourself. This, in my opinion, is not much of a commitment compared to the advantages to be gained from it.
In essence, the habits that you need to cultivate are very simple. You just need to hit your macronutrients and calories every day and commit to a solid strength training routine.
Achieving Goals Is Hard But We Were Born To Achieve Hard Goals – Do The Work
As the famous psychologist and neuroscientist Carl Jung said ” man needs difficulties, they are necessary for health ” Instinctively we generally avoid and shy away from hard situations. This is wrong because, in reality, those are what make us stronger. We need challenges and goals to strive for in life. Because if we haven’t got those then life becomes pretty boring.
Fitness is a great way to do this. If you train properly you can easily see gains in muscle and strength from week to week when starting off. And when you see yourself getting stronger and improving, then this spurs on more progress. Because you get obsessed with it. And you’ll realise that the joy is to be found in the journey and getting stronger as opposed to just getting the results, which is obviously good too.
The 6 Habits Of Highly Fit People
If you can cultivate these 6 habits you’ll be doing the work and making progress along the way.
- Consistently track your calories and macros.
- Work out 3+ times per week
- Eat 80-90% of your diet through whole foods
- Drink 3-4 litres of water per day
- Know that consistency is more important than perfection
- You need to be more interested in progress than in your latest excuse
Lets start with the first one
1. Consistently Track Your Calories And Macros
This is the one habit that is going to determine your body weight and body fat levels. Because if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you’ll lose fat and if you eat more calories than you burn you’ll put on fat.
If you’d like a full guide on how to lose fat. Click the link below.
2. Workout 3 Or More Days Per Week
By doing this you’re going to build muscle. And if you build muscle you’re going to be able to eat much more calories compared to if you hadn’t built any muscle. You’re also going to be stronger and fitter in general.
workout 3 or more times per week and you’ll certainly feel better. Trust me.
3. Eat 80-90% Of Your Diet Through Whole Foods
By doing this you’ll be providing your body with all of the macronutrients and micronutrients that your body needs to build muscle and lose fat. Foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, grains and healthy fat sources.
If you do this then this will leave you with a buffer of a couple hundred calories to spend on the foods you like.
4. Drink 3 – 4 Litres Of Water Per Day
This will fill you up. Make you feel good and increase your performance. If you’re not used to drinking this much water. Try It and you’ll feel the benefits right away.
5. Know That Consistency Is More Important Than Perfection
Every day is not going to be perfect. But that’s a fact of life. If you really try you can surely get most days right and aim at consistency above all else.
6. You Need To Be More Interested In Progress Than Your Latest Excuse
We can always make excuses. It’s human nature. But Benjamin Franklin once said ” he who is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else” You need to pick excuses or results and if you want results then abolish all excuses. They’re not helping.
Conclusion
- If you really want results. Then the only thing stopping you from achieving them is doing the work. Get on with it. Today.
- Use the information in this article and website to ensure that you make progress and to help you on your journey. But above all don’t get stuck trying to find the perfect program or wait for the perfect time to start. These are all resistance in it’s most insidious forms. Just do the work.
- Don’t be overcome by resistance. Do the work and get the results.
My goal is for you to get results. So if you have any questions. Just email me at henrypaget976@gmail.com or alternatively you can message me on Instagram at Henry_paget.
Thanks for reading!
This article was inspired by Steven pressfield’s book, Do the work.
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