Ask Why. Achieve your Goals.

People have various fitness goals. Some desire to improve their diet, others wish to be healthier and live longer, and most want to look better. When we set our fitness goals the biggest question that we must ask ourselves is “why”.  The answer to that question must be for a more compelling answer than most people wish to hear. The answer must be more compelling than to simply impress someone, or to win something, or just to achieve a certain rank. In my limited amount of time competing in the fitness industry, 21 months to be exact, this is the biggest difference between maintenance of a healthy lifestyle and failing to achieve your set goal.

Surrounding yourself with positive people and eliminating the negatives makes you a stronger person mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  In order to harness the physical aspect of well being, the “negatives” must be controlled.  With the calf raise, for example, not only must one utilize their gastrocnemius muscle for positive movement, but they also need to control their negative movement by utilizing the soleus muscle.  That is when true muscle growth is achieved. The push and pull of the exercise is what builds the muscle, and through harnessing the powerful push and pull do we truly achieve what we aim for.

The other half of the fitness puzzle is nutrition.  If one is getting good fuel, then results will be easier to achieve and maintain. Nutrition and diet are crucial aspects of health and only with the combination of fitness and a good diet can we be in a position to achieve our goals. So when we answer our “why” we should give a compelling answer that drives us to achieve our goals and aspirations—that is the only way we will be able to accomplish our dreams.

This is a guest post by competitor Owen Taylor. Check him out on Facebook.