People tend to think that the results a client gets are attributed to the personal trainer who meets with them once, twice or three times a week. But let's be serious here. What difference does 3 hours a week with a PT mean when you consider that that same client has 112 other waking hours! Give me a break!

I'll admit that we can have a substantial amount of influence over our client's workouts. How many reps, how heavy etc. But for the most part, their growth or lack thereof is pretty much theirs for the taking. And if you read the article about energy you'll see (link) that sometimes even the trainer can't influence the workout of the client because they show up on an empty tank!

And what is the root cause to a bad workout. The same exact reason why people are overweight or out of shape. Nutrition. And the 2 P's? Quite simple really. PLANNING AND PREPARATION. What's that old saying that really pisses me off? œPeople don't plan to fail. They fail to plan.? And of course I dislike the phrase because it, from time to time, sums up my disposition. Which is usually followed by a decrease in either energy level or workout results.

I'm not going to dwell on this topic because, well, it's a very simple subject. And it's also covered quite extensively, in an abject fashion, in the article about habits (link). So what I'm going to do is summarize this Planning and Preparation thing in relation to the waking up process. I used to have a habit of getting up as late as possible because I wanted to get as much sleep as I could. Sound familiar? I am now man enough to realize that that was nothing more than a habit. And I finally came to the conclusion that it was nothing more than a bad habit. And more often than not bad habits can be easily replaced with good ones. Which has the following trickle down effect.

I get up late so I have no time for breakfast. Or to make sandwiches and other 'stuff' for lunch. So I dash off to work and either skip the most important meal of the day or succumb to the path of least resistance and go to the drive through. And knowing full well that I have absolutely no willpower I order a mc'something that contains my daily allowance of fat! And it's not 9 o'clock yet. And of course because I chose not to get up at a slightly earlier time I have no choice but to go out or order in for lunch. And yet again that useless willpower strain kicks in and I eat crap!

I'm not going to belabor a point any more. I can pretty much guarantee you that the next time you truly analyze a bad meal you'll find that it stems from your lack of planning or preparation when it comes to nutritional requirements. Now you should check out the article about energy (link) so you can see how your lack of the 2 P's also accounts for your poor performance in the gym. Which you'll see is probably the cause for you giving up on the gym in the first place.

But, please don't give up hope. That's why we're here. We've been there, done that and a screwed up a heck of a lot more than you have. Thankfully you can join our group and get it right this time.