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Setting Up Fitness Time Lines.

From the last lesson you have set your goals. Now you need to set up some time lines to achieve them.

The first question I get is how quickly can I expect results? I answer, “What results are you looking for?” If it is fat loss, you can expect a lag for the first couple of weeks. Nothing much will happen. You are going to feel better, maybe a little tighter and sore, but nothing really visible or scale wise.

There is a ton of misleading media in regards to "before and after" as well as the time it should take to attain your fitness goals. It chaps my shorts when I see supplement companies run ads to consumers showing "before and after" promo’s. You see 98-year-old “Joe Fatty” lost 40 pounds of fat and can now do 1-arm pushups from only 15 minutes of exercise per day! If you read the fine print at the bottom of each add it will almost always say, "Results not typical." Or in other words, “we are full of crap”. The time and effort required to achieve our goals is different for each of us, and is based a lot on…. genetics? NOPE! It’s based on solid training advice and constant effort with a dash of genetics.

Look at all advertised timelines with a grin, and focus only on YOUR progress and results. What really matters is that you are always improving. That’s what the fitness lifestyle is about.

Now the AVERAGE person can lose 2 and at a maximum of 3 pounds of fat a week. More weight loss is a result of water and muscle loss, you don’t really want to lose muscle because you will kill your metabolic rate. Now with that information, take you goal of weight loss and divide it by the weeks and there is your time line.

Here is an average example:

You want to lose 20 pounds of fat (not a huge amount by any means). 20 pounds divided by 2 pounds a week gives you 10 weeks. Add in a couple of weeks of “warm up training” and your looking at 12-14 weeks or 3 months to lose 20 pounds if you do EVERYTHING right.

Lets say your goal is muscle gain. If your not taking steroids, the general number for weight gain is 1 pound per week. You can gain more depending on how much fat you are comfortable with. Most natural “pumpers” can get a perfectly lean, 10 pounds of muscle a year with no fat gain. I personally have done better than that with my clients and myself, but the people I train are not the norm, they’re getting constant guidance, routine adjustments and using perfect technique on their exercises.

What about “combo goals”? “I want to lose ten pounds of fat and gain 15 pounds of muscle!” It can be done, and I do it, but the most effective route is to either rip up or bulk up. Anytime you chase two goals your efforts are divided.

Next topic? Making the fitness plan.



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Ray Burton is a 15 year veteran weight loss coach who specializes in helping busy moms and parents maximize their results.