The Health and Fitness ChannelDecember 2003 IssueYour Truth In Fitness Source
I went to upstate New York for Thanksgiving. Heard a lot about how
pretty that area of the country was for a lot of years, but never had
a chance to make it up there till a couple of weeks ago. Yea, it was
all it was cracked up to be, and made even more so by the snow that
fell a But nicer than the scenery was, the people. I don't know...something about small towns seems to preserve the inherent 'goodness' we humans seems to naturally have. A good that sometimes gets squeezed out of us when we're forced to live the rat race life. It made me step back and think about how I treat people. Could I improve? You betcha! And I promised myself I would try and be more patient and understanding with others. How about you? How about letting that car squeeze in front of you next
time you're stuck in a jam. What will a few extra lost seconds really
mean to you in the big scheme of things? What will the goodwill felt
by both of Think about it... Last month I gave you the second (of 20) lessons on how to make it easier to get and stay in shape. This month brings lesson 3. HERE'S A RECAP OF YOUR LESSONS SO FAR: Lesson 1: You Must Have a Powerful and Meaningful Reason To Want To Change Lesson #2: You Need to Make a DECISION to Change
Lesson 3: CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY I can’t emphasize enough to you how important it is to create a sense
of urgency, or positive pressure. When you can attach some kind of deadline
or date to your goal of getting in shape, your difference in attitude
towards food – one of the major stumbling blocks for most And not just food but other ‘roadblocks’ as well will seem insignificant when you pair a meaningful goal to a limited time in which to accomplish it. There are many women who months before their wedding date start dieting
because they want to look their very best on their big day. Knowing
'this is the most important day of my life' allows many overweight women
to suddenly develop tremendous willpower to 'just say no.' Foods that
previously had full control over their lives are now This kind of positive pressure is very effective and will strengthen your resolve during the inevitable temptations that will present themselves to you throughout your program. If you didn’t have some kind of goal to achieve in a certain limited time span, chances are you wouldn’t be as diligent in sticking faithfully to every aspect of your program. With a deadline looming you know full well that if you messed up at any point along the way it could affect the entire outcome of your results. Some people use their high school reunions as the positive pressure to increase the magnitude and importance of doing everything right to lose fat and get in shape in time. This Blueprint is, I feel, the most important one as far as the speed at which you can transform your body. Because if there is no sense of pressure driving you forward, you rationalize you can have that piece of chocolate cake, or go out to dinner with family or friends and 'just tonight' have all the food and drink you care to eat. Without a sense of urgency there will be nothing important and near (time-wise) for you to stay away from excesses guaranteed to sabotage your progress.
Story Of Dynamic Change Here's what happened to me that perfectly illustrates the almost miraculous power of what positive pressure can do for you. The year was 1998, and I had just gotten off the phone with Susan Phillips,
the mother of Bill Phillips (the creator of the supplement company,
EAS, and Muscle Media magazine). It was towards the end of the year;
Dec. 5, 1998 to be exact. After getting off the phone with her I was
in shock. Why? Because I had just been told by her that I was one of
the top-50 finalists for that years Physique Transformation This was a contest sponsored by EAS and consisted of completing a 12-week exercise and nutrition program of your own choosing. Plus, submitting a before and after photo (as proof) along with a 700-word essay (that described what you went through, what it meant to you, and how you did it). I made the decision (sound like a familiar Blueprint?) to enter this
contest and told myself I would pour my heart and soul into transforming
my body; nothing would get in the way of achieving the goals I set out
to realize. Well, dramatic was the word for the change I experienced,
both I knew that I had done my best in transforming myself but also knew
there would be hundreds of thousands of people entering the contest
as well (in fact, over 220,000 people did enter that year). I remember
thinking, 'Could I really have a chance at winning this contest considering
all the At the same time, while I was making tremendous progress with my own
body, my father was struggling with his very life. He fell a couple
of years earlier -- breaking his hip. It was a series of trips in and
out of hospitals He had lost his ability to walk earlier in the year and was confined to a bed. To say he was miserable was an understatement. Slowly but surely I saw his life slipping away before my very eyes. On October 28, 1998 my father passed away.
It was an extremely sad time for my family and I. Although I had just completed the most miraculous changes in my body and I was happy about that, it paled in comparison to the suffering my father was going through and my family as well now that he was gone. I completely forgot about any and everything that was even remotely concerned with body transformation or working out or eating right. And I had totally taken all thoughts of the contest that I had entered out of my mind. Well, as fate would have it, Susan Phillips called me just a little over a month after my father passed away and told me I was a finalist in a contest I had forgotten about. That call came as a total shock and surprise. It was as if a lightning bolt had hit me on a clear blue day. The day was a Friday, and the date was Dec. 4th, 1998. Susan said that she had been trying to get in touch with me for quite some time and was almost ready to turn it over to someone else in the home office to see what they could do to reach me. Since I had been a spending a lot of time with my family I wasn’t home that much -- it was the reason she had such a hard time reaching me. Susan then told me she was going to ask me a few questions in order
to help them better determine who the eventual champion was going to
be. She asked me a series of questions and then one that caught me off
guard, 'You are still in good shape aren’t you?' After thinking for
a few I lied, and I felt really bad for saying that I was still in shape
when in actuality I was far from it. During the 2-½ months since
I had completed my transformation program I had barely worked out. I
had no desire to do anything at all about my physique or worry about
supplements or even Susan then said, 'That’s good you’re in shape because in 2 weeks, on Dec. 18, we’re going to fly the winners to Golden, Colorado for the Grand Champion awards ceremony plus shoot physique photos on Saturday the 19th.' I sheepishly said in a voice that hopefully wasn’t quavering too much, 'great?!?' Before we were done talking, Susan said the winner would be called the next day and arrangements made to fly out to Colorado. She wished me luck and I said goodbye. Needless to say, I was nervous as could be. Sheer elation at the thought of potentially winning this contest was suddenly replaced with immense terror at the thought of actually winning this thing. 'What if I really did win it? HOW would I get into the shape I was in for my ‘after’ photos in only 2 weeks?' These were the thoughts racing through my head for over 24 hours until I received that fateful call from none other than Bill Phillips himself on Saturday evening, Dec. 5th, congratulating me on becoming the newest 1998 Physique Transformation Champion. Was I happy? You bet! But then a sense of urgency swept over my body and I get goose bumps still, just thinking about it. 'I need to be in shape in less than 2 weeks! And not just any ole shape either, but championship caliber material shape', I cried! I looked intensely at the calendar and saw from that Sunday the 6th (the next day) until the photos were to be taken on Saturday the 19th, there would only be 14 days to get ready. Talk about the power of positive pressure. Here was the man I had idolized for so many years talking to me on the telephone, telling me I had won his contest, and he was inviting me to his home in Colorado to be honored as the new 1998 Physique Champion. Talk about being scared out of my mind! I definitely did not want to let Bill, myself, or my family down. The humiliation of showing up out of shape as THE champion was a thought I could not bear. But what was I to do? I could re-transform myself if I had the time but I couldn’t really do it in only 2 weeks, could I?!?
I made a momentous decision that day. I said to myself that instead of worrying myself half to death about it, I would instead do everything in my power to transform my body back into the shape it had been in before. I wouldn’t worry about not being to accomplish my goal I would just do it, with no thought at all of the consequences of not achieving it. I just ran on pure faith... And I’ll tell you, as soon as I made that decision that I would do any and everything to get my body back into my previous shape my whole life changed. My entire thought process changed, I became consumed with forcing my
body into shape and I never worked so hard to do it either. I knew down
to the last micro-ounce how much protein, carbohydrates, and fats I
was consuming. I upped my supplement intake to handle the increased
demands on my body. My weight training sessions were so intense that
There was no stopping me from that Sunday through the next two Saturdays. Twice a day cardio sessions were the norm (though I don’t recommend you do this as this was an extreme situation). I had my bodyfat measurements taken at the beginning of that 2-week
period prior to the Championship ceremony and the results showed I was
at 12% bodyfat. Now while this was not obese or grotesquely out of shape
by any means, it was a far cry from my ultimate shape where my bodyfat
percentage was a paltry 5.5%. At this 12% level of bodyfat I made a decision and promise to myself that I would do whatever it took to change. And since the ceremony was only 2 weeks away, this tremendous sense of urgency invaded my very existence. I HAD to change in 2 weeks…I would accept nothing less than 200% effort out of myself. I was also convinced that I WOULD change dramatically. I had absolutely no doubts that I would get my body back into photo-ready shape. I truly believed! So did I do it? Was I able to get myself back into my championship winning shape of 5.5%? No...I didn't. However, I did reach a bodyfat percentage of 7.3%. And when I took that final measurement it was no surprise to me (because the mirror was telling me I had been making tremendous progress those last 2 weeks).
I knew all along my body would dramatically change. I trusted in the
20 Blueprints and applied them with my entire heart and soul. And although
I hadn’t yet created the 20 Blueprints as you’re reading them now, each
one was nevertheless clearly written down and imprinted in my But if I had applied only 19 of the Blueprints and had left out this one, the power of creating a sense of urgency, there is NO WAY I would have changed so much in so short a period of time, absolutely not. Can you envision this power of 'urgency' and what it can do for your results? I am the perfect example because I lived, breathed, and experienced it. I showed myself the capacity I had to accomplish the seemingly impossible. Before, if someone had asked me if it was possible for anyone to go from a 12% bodyfat level to under 8% in 2 weeks I would have said, 'No way, it was impossible.' Not anymore. This real-world example underscores the true power and potential our
minds can wield if we believe (which I did with all my heart and soul)
and then follow through with action. If you want it badly enough, believe
you can do it, do all the right things, and utilize the power of positive
Can you do the same? Of course you can. Everyone can if his or her motivation is strong enough and a sense of urgency prevails. What will your sense of urgency be? I can’t answer that for you. But it has to be the kind of deadline you impose where reaching that ending date you either achieve the success you’re after, or you fail to reach it and the consequences are dire. And just like the changes I made with my body, don’t think about what
you can’t do, but rather what you can and will do with your body. Next Months Topic: Blueprint #4: Write Down Your Goals, Draft a Contract With Yourself, then Sign and Date it.
Please send your questions to The Fitness
Corner
I hope you enjoyed this latest issue. See you next month with more tips and solutions to achieving your best body. Good luck, God bless, and all the best in health and fitness, Harry "Hank" Johnson Jr,
President
Harry is the creator of the "Amazing Fat-Loss/Ultimate Results Program" - specifically designed to help you lose fat quickly and easily. "Can't get in shape? Feel you have bad genetics for losing fat and gaining lean muscle? This might be your answer..." CLICK HERE.
Please send me your questions on getting fit, working out, supplements, food, losing weight, losing fat, gaining muscle, etc. I will answer your questions here for all to benefit in ''The Fitness Corner'' Send your questions to: fitness corner To see back issues of The Health and Fitness Channel newsletter please Click Here. Sign
up others for my Newsletter and WIN Free
Products! |