Stressed and Out of Shape? Here’s How To…

Last week I delivered an article called ‘Training Vs. Straining… How To Achieve…’

In it I shared critical factor that slows down or even prevents us from progressing towards our health and fitness goals. Then provided suggestions for you to avoid such issues and ‘succeed’

This week I’d like to focus on my male readers (Ladies, I will focus on you next week).

Guys – Do you sometimes feel stressed and out of shape?

Is work stressing you out? Life in general? Having trouble staying consistent with your exercise and nutrition plan? If so, this article is for you.

Why do most men tend to get weaker, fatter, and less healthy when they get into their 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s?

Chalk it up to increased stress, increased responsibilities and decreased time and energy.

We know we need to eat better. We know we need to take better care of ourselves. But most of us simply have a hard time staying consistent with our nutrition and exercise plans.

After working with thousands of men in my business I’ve seen it all—and I know there’s a solution.

You can take control of your own health and fitness.

You can reverse the downward spiral of stress, and start building a healthy body you can be proud of.

And you can do it all in an hour or two per week.

Seriously.

In this article, you’ll learn:

The two biggest fitness-related problems that hold men back from getting and

Staying in shape, and how to overcome these obstacles to get the body — and life — you want.

Here’s how to overcome two of the biggest obstacles standing in your way.

Problem #1:
Your life is busier than it’s ever been

Some interesting things start to happen as we exit our 20’s and enter our 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s:

We tend to get less sleep and wake up tired and sore.
Our sex hormones peak… and then start their slow decline.
Our crackling ankles, knees, and wrists remind us that we’re getting older.
We tend to snack and overeat more often, especially in the evenings.
We do less binge drinking, but more consistent drinking. Polishing off a bottle of wine or drinking a few beers each night becomes an ordinary routine.

Of course it’s not all negative. Lots of positive things start happening too:

If we’re lucky, we get a good career that’s challenging and rewarding.
We make more money than when we were younger.
We develop long-lasting relationships with people we love.
We start building and nurturing a family.
We become (presumably) smarter and more experienced.

While every guy’s life experience is different, there are a few things that remain consistent no matter who you are.

For most men, getting older usually means:

Increased responsibilities at home
Increased stress from work
Less time to take care of themselves

This is how we end up with a gym membership we rarely use, a healthy cookbook we rarely open, and a body we’re not particularly proud of.

Nearly all my male clients want to drop some fat and look more muscular and fit… but we just don’t have the time or energy. Someday, we tell ourselves, we’re finally going to get our ass in gear.

The only problem is “SOMEDAY” keeps getting postponed.

In my experience, lots of men are so stressed out with work and family obligations, that they don’t feel like they have the time or energy to “really commit” to a nutrition or exercise plan.

But what if you didn’t have to dedicate a huge portion of your life to getting in shape?

What you can do to be successful:

Embrace exercise minimalism.
Identify the biggest gap in your nutrition and work on fixing it (while ignoring everything else).

1. Embrace exercise minimalism

You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to get in better shape.

3 Times. For 30 minutes each time. Can you find the time? That 30 minutes you spend on social media – I’m sure you can utilise that time.

So how do you embrace exercise minimalism on your own?

If you’re looking for something to try this week, here’s a plan I wrote for a good friend of mine who was struggling to find time to exercise.

It’s a simple, strategic way for busy men to get their weekly exercise in without stressing out about missing the gym.

Super-Setting is the key. In other words, combine 2 exercises together. Here’s an example program to work the whole body:

Leg Extentions, immediately followed by Body squats (no weights). Perform 1 set of 20 reps on each exercise, then rest for 30 to 45 seconds.

Repeat the above procedure for 18 reps. Then 16 reps.

Next – Back

Same amount of reps and sets performing: Cable pulldowns & Lat pulldown.

Next – Chest & Shoulders

Pushups & barbell upright rows

Next – Abdominals

Simply hold yourself in a plank position for 3 X 30 seconds, with just 15 seconds rest between sets.

Note – no need to ‘attack’ your arms – you ‘tickled’ them during the above exercise.

2. Identify the biggest gap in your nutrition and work on fixing it (while ignoring everything else)

Most men know how important nutrition is for looking and feeling better. And they know they need to follow some sort of nutrition plan. However, they don’t know where to start. (Or they start a new diet and try to change everything at once, which usually fails).

Instead of trying to change everything about the way you eat right now—which will just add to your stress levels— I encourage you to follow the advice I give to my clients:

Pick one thing about the way you eat—the thing you think will make the biggest improvement to your nutrition—and focus on it exclusively for a couple of weeks.

Once you’ve been consistent for 14-21 days, then you can pick another thing to try.

The goal is to practice simple, strategic actions that build over time.

So how do you know what thing to pick? Easy. Just ask yourself this question: “What’s the one thing I could do right now to feel better about my nutrition?”

Chances are you have a good idea on what you need to do. Here’s a short list of what some of our clients have focused on:

Goal: Drink less beer
Action: Instead of drinking two beers every night, have one beer.

Goal: Eat less junk food / fast food.
Action: Instead of stopping in for a burger or taco for lunch, go to a shop and get a pre-made salad with chicken on it.

The idea here is to pick the one nutrition practice that will make the biggest impact on your body and health right now.

Want to learn more?

Most men know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

That’s why we work closely with clients to help them lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

My Guidance

Are you feeling somewhat overwhelmed with your training and unsure of what direction to take? Simply call me on 0437 314 920 to discuss your goals and potentially book a face-to-face PT session.

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