Question 1: Have you clearly identified your goal to the point that you could write it down on a napkin?
First of all, is your goal a performance-based goal or a body recomposition goal?
Obviously, I coach people toward body recomposition goals, but there is, of course, an enormous population of people that care much more about accomplishing something performance-based rather than just building aesthetic confidence. .
A performance goal would be something like, “I want to run a marathon,” or, “I want to start doing CrossFit because it looks fun and I really want to learn to move better and develop a greater sense of functional strength.”
Physique or body recomposition goals, on the other hand, are pursuits that are centered around appearance – around looking differently – and they usually involve some combination of building muscle and losing body fat.
For these goals, let’s call it what it is: You want to look better naked.
The problem, however, is that too many people are afraid to identify their goal for what it really is.
For example, I get really skeptical when I hear people say something like, “I just want to get back to a healthy bodyweight.”
Maybe you do!
Those people are certainly out there, but is that really what you want? Because to be fair, you could be considered a “healthy bodyweight” without a trace of abdominal definition or any evidence you’ve ever lifted a dumbbell in your life.
I could be wrong, but my guess is that most of us aren’t quite so noble. Given the choice, most people would prefer to be healthy and look incredible all in the same endeavor, right?
So, at the risk of making your grandmother blush, is your goal about “getting healthy” or “getting hotter?”
There’s no right or wrong answer here, but I do think it’s important to be honest with yourself. Once you’ve landed on a genuine, well thought-out pursuit, write it down.
If I were doing this for myself at the moment, my napkin would look like this:
“My goal is to get below 175 pounds while maintaining as much muscle mass as possible. And yeah, I want to look pretty diced by the time it’s all over.”
What would yours say?
I sincerely challenge you to get a napkin, write down your goal, snap a picture of it, and save it to your phone for future nostalgia.
Question 2: Have you done the research to know exactly what it’s going to take to achieve your goal?
Now, at the expense of my own dignity, I’m going to use an example from my past to illustrate this next point.
Are you ready for it?
For a long time, my goal was to look like Brad Pitt from Troy.
To me, he was the perfection combination of size, aesthetics, and swagger.
Laugh all you want, but at least I had nailed down the goal part of things (or at least I thought I had). The problem is that I neglected to take the next most obvious step.
As ridiculous as it may sound, I never even googled “brad pitt training program troy” or “brad pitt troy diet.” How silly is that?
What’s even funnier about this particular example is that googling “how to look like brad pitt from troy” probably would have been a terrible way to go about “doing research” given the over-saturation of scammy clickbait articles in the fitness industry.
I can see the article now: How Brad REALLY Got Into Shape for His Role as Achilles in Troy (NOT WHAT YOU THINK), but at least it would have been an attempt - a step in the right direction - an evidence of real intent.
And yet I never did it.
Do you see the problem with that?
How did I ever think that I could achieve a goal without looking into what it would require to actually achieve it?
Well, when I think about it now, the answer is quite obvious. The fact of the matter is, my obvious lack of research and planning was proof that my “goal” to look like Brad Pitt was never really a goal at all. It was nothing more than a momentary fascination.
Unfortunately, however, I don’t think I’m alone in this sort of nonsensical mentality.
A lot of us ebb and flow between different “fitness goals,” but really we’re just daydreaming. And, to be fair, this sort of thinking is certainly not confined to goals within the fitness realm. It’s no different than driving by a beautiful home and saying, “I’d love to live in a house like that someday.” I’m sure you would, but that’s not a very helpful thing to say if you’re merely hoping aimlessly in the breeze, is it?
Now, if you’ve got a plan to launch a financially lucrative entrepreneurial endeavor you’ve been working on for months, that’s a completely different story.
It’s also a different story if you’re really just trying to say that you like that particular house but have no intentions of pursuing what it might take to live in. Again, that’s fine!
What I’m more trying to say here is that it’s important to test the realness of your goal by educating yourself on the process.
Another way I like to think of this sort of thing is to consider it in context of a travel analogy. Wanting to look like Brad Pitt without doing the research surrounding an appropriate training and nutrition regimen is like “planning” a trip to New York without ever getting online to peruse the available flights - much less book one.
Frankly, it makes no sense, and it’s why most people never wind up achieving a lean and muscular physique.
Question 3: What’s your motivation?
I’ll keep this one short and sweet, but it’s obviously very important to consider.
To expose my own motives a bit, I can fully admit that my primary motivation for getting very lean in 2020 was to further motivate both current and future clients of the IVRY brand.
I wanted to thoroughly document the process for those who are curious about "how I did it” despite the unforeseen limitations of life as we now know it in quarantine - to share that information openly with people who want the same results for themselves.
And, of course, I want the transformation photos as further confirmation that as a coach, I can lead you confidently and intelligently toward the greatest physique you’ve ever had.
For me, that was a very powerful motivation.
So, what’s your motivation? And is it deep enough to withstand all the adversity you might experience along the way?
Do you need to lose weight so you can be more active with your kids?
Do you want to prove it to yourself that you can become a CrossFitter?
Or maybe you’re just excited about the idea of looking jacked and lean on the beach this summer because you’re sick of being the “fat friend?”
The list of motivations is endless.
I challenge you to search yourself deeply and meaningfully for something strong enough to carry you across the finish line.
Question 4: What’s the first step you need to take?
What is the very first thing you need to do to start making this happen right now?
If your goal is to lose 30 and you know for a fact you have absolutely no idea how to do that, hire a coach.
Stop making bologna sandwich excuses and invest in yourself.
If you don’t trust us enough yet with that endeavor, that is totally fine! Your trust should be earned and handled with care. We’re not the only coaches in the business doing quality work.
Maybe you’ve been following some other fitness personality on social media that you secretly idolize for their impressive physique.
You might be thinking, “Yeah, there is this one guy/gal I’ve always wanted to work with.”
Go to their site and apply for coaching. Believe it or not, we actually care more about you doing what’s best for you than you being an IVRY client.
“But I just don’t have the money to do that right now.”
Then let’s redefine the first step.
Start saving. How much is coaching? Start saving.
Maybe you’re spending more than you think on some little vice in your life. Coffees at Starbucks? A few too many drinks at the bar on the weekends? Buying new clothes you don’t really need? Slash the purchases that are getting in the way of your fitness goal, and put that saved money toward what you know you need to make it happen.
What I’ve found is that if you really want something in life, you’ll figure out a way to make it happen. Similarly, if you’re more interested in finding excuses that reasons to “get it done,” you’ll find those too. Which kind of person are you going to be? Only you can decide.
If your goal is to start CrossFit, start a new tab in your web browser right now and look up all the CrossFit gyms in your area.
Peruse their websites. Read the reviews. Figure out which one is the best. Do you know any friends who do CrossFit? Text them right now. Where do they go? Do you need to buy some equipment to get started? Get on Amazon and bag the gear. Once you’ve done that, walk into that gym literally tomorrow and get started. I don’t care if your shoes haven’t arrived yet. Go to the gym.
Otherwise you won’t do it - I promise.
You absolutely will not do it. The reason I know that is because you’re still reading this article right now and you have yet to act on that one little thing in the back of your mind that you’d love to accomplish - you just haven’t taken the first step.
Take the first step.
Q5: Are you prepared to “do the thing” every single day until the goal is accomplished?
Achieving any meaningful goal doesn’t happen overnight, so the bigger question here is: Are you going to be able to keep your foot on the pedal for the duration of the ride?
You’re sitting their holding your napkin in your hand - the napkin with your goal scribbled on it in Sharpie.
You’ve done the research about what it’s going to take.
You’ve identified your motivation.
You know what your first step needs to be and you’re prepared to take it.
Now you just have to stay committed until the deed has been done.
An extremely powerful way to hold yourself accountable to this is to set a deadline for your goal.
For some goals, this comes inherently. If you’re going to run a marathon, chances are you’ve already signed up for the race. The date is on the calendar. There are going to be people running a marathon on that day whether you’re there or not. The show goes on with or without you. If you’re like me, you love that sort of thing because it’s a reminder that there’s a bigger story beyond your personal goal.
If your goal is to look like shredded wheat for your wedding, that wedding date is on the calendar and you’re going to be taking tanned selfies in Cabo whether or not the ab squad is out to play.
If the nature of your goal doesn’t impose an automatic deadline (like wanting to lose 15 pounds in a healthy and sustainable way), talk to someone who can create a realistic timeline for you and then do the same: set a deadline.
Once the deadline is set, work backwards from the deadline and plan as much as you can. Just don’t let the main push of inspiration live and die in a matter of a week or less. Launch your effort and maintain the effort until the effort accomplishes the goal.
And there you have it, my friends. Those are the five most important questions I believe anyone could ask themselves before starting their own fitness or body recomposition-related journey!
If you’ve enjoyed this blog, consider sharing it with another fitness-minded friend or maybe someone who has been dragging their feet for a bit too long.
You know that one gal who’s always complaining about her weight at work? Give her a kick in the pants and shoot her a text.
And, of course, take the time to flip through some of our other recent posts for additional content! I often recommend this article as your next read if you found this one thought-inducing.
Lastly, we do have coaching slots available for people looking to transform their bodies.
It is not too late, but someday it will be too late, so don’t sleep on an incredible opportunity to be the most confident version of yourself you’ve been in a long time.
Oh, and we might even let you eat pizza a few times while shedding body fat. Are you in yet?
Learn more by clicking here!
-Andrew
