Latest / Fit for Hiking / Ep. 129 3 Signs Your Fitness Goals Will Fail (and How to Succeed Instead)
Transcript
- Hi, my name is Brady and I'm a long time fitness professional and Midwest girl turned mountain living hiking addict. In combining my knowledge of fitness and passion for hiking, I've helped hundreds of women get lean and strong for the trails. Think of this as your one stop shop for both education and inspiration on all things female wellness, trail talk and adventure. Hiking, female metabolism, motherhood, nutrition, travel and fitness are all topics you'll hear discussed here. If you are outdoorsy and active, looking to level up your health, unlock your potential and become inspired to live your most vibrant life. You're in the right place. You're listening to the fit for hiking podcast. What's up you guys? Welcome to another episode of the fit for Hiking podcast. This is your host, Brady, and today we are talking about New Year's fitness goals because tis the season. We are officially through Christmas and heading into another year. And so usually this gets people thinking about, okay, what what do I want to accomplish this year? Like did I actually get where I wanted to be? You know, typically we're reflecting on the past year and really having to be honest with ourselves about where we succeeded and maybe where we fell short, maybe where we did not follow through with the things that this time last year we were saying, I want to do this, I want to accomplish this or that. Right? So today we're going to have a little bit of a tough love conversation. Okay, guys, because I'm feeling a little bit fired up, a little bit frustrated. I've been having so many conversations lately. And you know, I've been in the fitness industry for 12 years. Okay. So that's a lot of time to have conversations related to fitness goals like I've had probably at this point, tens of thousands of conversations around people's fitness goals. And I'm feeling a little bit frustrated because. Unfortunately, you hear so many people talking about these things that they want to do. How miserable they are with their current bodies. How uncomfortable, how not confident, how unhealthy. All of these things that they're like going on and on about, um, areas of frustration and just how deeply unhappy they are. But yet there's zero action taken. So I want to talk about three signs that you will actually fail your fitness goals. Okay. We're going to be very, very real. Today I'm going to give you a little bit of tough love because I want you to succeed. I don't want you to be the person that's listening to the same exact thing a year from now and saying, yep, another year went by and I'm exactly where I was last December. Okay, if that's you, if every single year you're like, oh, I still haven't lost the weight. I still haven't gotten lean and toned like I want to. I'm still not happy with my fitness level. I still haven't gotten to go on that dream hike because I have not committed myself to prepping my body. Right. Um, if you tend to fall into these patterns, then let's let that end this year. Seriously, commit to it because this there's no better time than right now. It's never going to get easier. You're never going to feel like it. It's always going to be uncomfortable and hard. But that's why we're going to have this conversation today. So buckle up. Just now I'm going to give you a little bit of tough love. But because I truly care and I don't want you to stay stuck anymore because what are we doing if we're just absorbing the information but not actually letting it lead to action or behavior change, then we're not really doing a whole lot with the information that we have. Okay, so let's talk about three signs that your fitness goals are going to fail in the new year and how to succeed instead. Right. Let's get into it. These are three of the main predictors that I see for people who are successful versus the people who fail. And I'm not just talking about failure in the sense of like not actually doing anything, but maybe these people even start to take action, but eventually they just fall off and revert back to old patterns, old habits. And they either let their fitness habits that they started to develop just completely fall by the wayside or, um, they regain the weight. Right. We talked about this on last week's episode about how 95% of people who kick off the new year with these weight loss goals or fitness goals end up failing. They end up regaining the weight. They end up relapsing back to old habits. That is such a high failure rate, and we need to be doing better than this. If we actually want to change our lives and transform our bodies for the better. Okay. So let's talk about these three predictors. Number one. We're going to get right into it. Okay. I'm going to be calling some people out here is you don't take radical ownership. Okay. If you don't take radical ownership, that means that you're already making excuses for why you can't start in January. Okay. If you already in your mind are like, ooh, now isn't the right time. I have little kids right now, or I'm just too busy next month. Like, we still have all these loose ends from the holidays. Things are still wrapping up. It's just not the right time. I'll start in February. Or. Oh, it's just too expensive. Okay, if all of these excuses are things that immediately pop into your mind when someone presents you with the opportunity to step into progress, to step into action. If these are immediate defenses that you raise up, then I'm talking to you on this one. Making excuses is the exact opposite of taking radical ownership, and I really am a firm believer that we cannot ever change until we take ownership. That means you're owning every single decision, every single choice. You're owning it. You're saying, I'm choosing to make these excuses like I'm choosing to not step into progress. I'm choosing to not make this a priority. When you're saying, I don't have time, when you're saying I can't, I'm too busy. It's it's too expensive. You're literally saying this is not a priority, okay? And I'm not trying to be harsh. That's just the reality. Because we spend money, spend time and spend energy on the things that are priorities for us. It's just true. That is, our currency for priority is how we spend our time, energy and money. So if you are not putting any of those things into your fitness goals or transformation goals, then truly it's just not a priority. And that's okay. But don't say that it is. If it isn't right. Don't expect an overhaul of your life when it comes to your health or your fitness, when you're not actually willing to put any money, time, or energy into that particular goal. It's not actually something you care about. If you don't want to spend any of those three currencies on it. Okay, so let's go through all these like kind of main excuses because these are valid things. I'm not at all saying that it always is going to feel like the right time, or that it's not going to feel expensive, or that you don't have small kids. I have small kids. I get it right or that you're not too busy. We are all busy, right? So let's talk about how to kind of work through some of these excuses. So if now is in the right time typically comes to mind for you, when will be the right time? And I really want you to sit with that. Will it ever feel like the right time? What would it take for it to feel like the right time? Less on your plate. Less responsibilities. Less obstacles. Right? Yes, that sounds amazing, but is that realistic? Will there ever be a time where you don't have obstacles? Will there ever be a time that it feels 100% easy and right to step into this? Sometimes we romanticize the future. We romanticize this futuristic date of okay, once this happens, then I'm going to be so consistent. Then I'm going to like put all of my energy into this. And that's usually not how it works. Once that date comes and goes, you realize that you were just romanticizing something, and now you actually have to put in the work. And it's never easy. It never feels like the right time. Okay, I want to share, like, a personal story with you guys because I just went through something very similar. I just made the biggest personal development investment that I have ever made, and I spent some scary money, you guys, on my own personal and business development. And it was the type that felt like a punch to the stomach, because I was putting myself out there in such a way that it was like, Holy crap, I cannot believe I'm spending this type of money on myself, and I just have to hope that it pays off, right? It's scary to invest in yourself, and in every sense it feels like not the right time. I made this investment in the beginning of December in the holidays. Didn't wait till January 1st. I have an eight month old baby and a three year old. I have only 12 hours of childcare every week. Right? So putting all of this money and time and energy into something that matters a lot to me, even though it feels like not the right time, I had to step into that and just say like, yes, this is a priority. So I have to put my money where my mouth is and I need to put the time, energy and money into this because I care. I care about growth in this area, right? So it's scary. But what I'm saying is that it's never going to feel like the right time. There's always going to be things that you could come up with and say like, no, I can't right now. But if that's always your initial excuse, I want you to really be honest with yourself about why you're still stuck where you are. Is it because it's never been the right time? Okay. So really think about that. The next one is I have small kids, and I'm going to be totally honest with you. This should never be an excuse. This is not a valid excuse to not work on your health and fitness. If anything, this should be your reason to get healthy and to exercise. Because why would you not want to be your healthiest self for your kids? Why would you want to be lacking energy, lacking vitality, not having the muscle or the stamina to run around with them, to carry them up a mountain? To say yes to all the things? Right. Our kids deserve our best version. Why would we just stop all healthy habits and then expect to be our best selves for our kids, right? It's not a valid excuse. And I'm saying that with love because I myself am a mom, and I've also trained hundreds of moms who have every possible reason to not show up like they have crazy schedules. They're having to get up at 430 in the morning to catch a ferry, to go to work for the day, and then somehow fit a work or a workout in there, and then pick their kids up by a certain time and then start the evening routine. Right? They have all of the obstacles and they still make it a priority. So you can, if it matters to you, okay. And it's not a good excuse to just say, well, I have little kids, so it's just not an option for me. Yeah. You got to just be willing to do it sleep deprived. And you gotta make sure that it's a priority because your kids are watching you, right? It matters. Number three. Is, I'm too busy. I'll just do it next month or I'll just do it in a future time. Right. This is just truly a cop out. Like everybody is busy, so you can make the time. If it's important to you again, time, energy. That's a such a big currency of like. What shows what's important to us is how we spend our time. Like, if you were married and your spouse literally never spent time with you, you would say, okay, they just don't care if they're always too busy. If they're always saying, I'll plan a date next month or we'll we'll spend some time talking next month, you would be like, why don't you care enough to talk to me now, right? That shows what level of priority that person is for you. Okay, so saying that you're just too busy. I'm sorry. They will never be a time where life doesn't feel busy. Maybe when you're retired someday. But honestly, by then, you're gonna wish that you would have started 60 years prior. Okay, so let's not use that excuse in 2026. It's not even a valid one. And number four, it's too expensive. Okay. Again I'm just going to give a little bit of tough love here. People will easily spend $100 plus on a night out multiple times a month, but then refused to invest in health or personal development. And and honestly, like when you pay. You pay attention. This is just human psychology. This is just a fact. When you invest money in something, you care about the outcome, so you're so much more likely to follow through with something and to show up for yourself because you've put something on the line. When nothing's on the line, nothing changes. You're not going to feel motivated. This is why you can get all of the free downloads in the world. You can get free workout plans on ChatGPT. You can get free workouts on YouTube. On Instagram. There's so much free information yet we are on healthier than ever before as a whole in America, right? Because that doesn't work. You're not actually putting anything on the line. So there never really feels like the sense of urgency to actually change and show up. Information does not equate to behavior change, right? So this is where if you're being cheap, you're going to get cheap results. That's just the reality. And I've seen this time and time again, you will continue to not get great results until you put a little bit of skin in the game and really invest in yourself. So the question becomes what are your excuses costing you? Right. What's the main reason why you're not seeing the results? Which of these excuses do you kind of resonate with? Where would you be today if you would actually put those excuses aside last year, January 1st? That's a tough pill to swallow. Like, are our excuses the main thing that is standing in our way? 100%, yes. So being cheap. Being a procrastinator and always having excuses in your back pocket will 100% keep you right where you are today. So you really just have to decide if that's okay with you. Like be honest with yourself. If nothing changes between now and next year on January 1st. Are you okay with that? And what is the number one excuse that's popping up for you that's keeping you stuck? Okay, what are these limiting beliefs that are coming up that are keeping you stuck? How you spend your time, money, energy? It tells me exactly what your priorities are. It tells me what my own priorities are. Like, I have to be so honest with myself, and I've had to really start taking radical ownership of my own choices instead of just having excuses. So I'm not saying this from a place of like, I have it all figured out, right? This is stuff I have actively been also working through because we all do this. We all have our excuses in our back pocket of why we can't do XYZ, and sometimes you just need someone to call you out and give you some tough love to actually move to a place of change. I think right now we're kind of in a culture of everyone just being so nice to each other, like showing grace. Yes, it's good to be nice, but we also have to not always show ourselves grace. If we're only ever showing ourselves grace without any, um, you know, ownership or truth, then we're usually going to stay a bit stagnant and a bit stuck. Okay, we talked about that one for quite a while, so let's move on. Number two. You're re not adaptable. Not being adaptable will really, really keep you stagnant and stuck. Okay, so if you completely fall off the wagon, so to speak, the second that you experienced an unplanned hiccup in your schedule or your routine, then I'm talking to you here. Adaptability after coaching hundreds of people is like the number one skill that you need if you want to be successful long term, not just for a month, not just for two months, but for the rest of your life. Um, so this is one of the main skills that I see developed for our successful clients within Mountain Metabolic Coaching. Those who are too rigid or require perfection to show up honestly will struggle to ever succeed, because life will never hand you perfect circumstances on a platter. You have to do it tired. You have to do it without motivation. You have to do it with sick kids. You have to do it with a busy schedule, with work, stress, etc. that's just a fact. And here's the the reality. Everybody that you see doing it consistently, like the people that you admire, that you see on social media or that you see in real life at the gym and you're like, oh my gosh, that person is so consistent. Like, they're strong, they're lean, they're in shape. They're obviously doing the work they're eating, right. Man must be nice, right? Okay. Don't be that person that says must be nice. They are working their asses off, and they're doing it with all of those exact same roadblocks that you think are unique to you. They're not. All of us are experiencing these things. And when we say in kind of that victim mindset, it kind of takes us back to the point, number one, of not taking radical ownership, right? You just have to be willing to adapt and to keep showing up even when life is not handing you perfection. Right. So this is why flexible plans are superior by far to rigid ones. I am so not a fan of like strict meal plans or, you know, just doing these things that are like, I have to follow these exact steps and these exact days, and there's no wiggle room and I can't eat out and I can't have sugar and I can't have carbs, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That type of plan is not adaptable to real life. What do you do when you're at social events? What do you do when you do have sick kids? What do you do when you have a vacation or a holiday? That's kind of what leads people to be in that all or nothing, because you're like, I'm either on my plan or I'm off of it and I'm quote unquote cheating. And as we've talked about on this podcast so many times, that all or nothing mentality is not adaptable. So that's why a lot of people kind of say stay stuck. They'll see progress because they're all in. And then they get into this nothing cycle because they can't be perfect anymore and they can't adapt. So they just don't do anything. They just fall off altogether because they don't know how to find that middle of the road. And I'm here to tell you that middle of the road is actually the key to longevity, with success. Trying to be all in and not being able to adapt will really, really keep you stuck long term. So if you don't have a coach who adjusts, adapts and troubleshoot alongside you, it's going to be really hard to stay consistent. So you have to think about like the goal is consistency, because consistency in your eating habits, in your movement and your workouts, that that is what moves the needle long term. That is what will keep you seeing results or maintaining results. So not being adaptable is an obstacle to being able to be consistent. We want to remove any obstacles to consistency and that's something that we work on a lot in. Mountain metabolic coaching is what are the obstacles like what is coming up that's keeping you from being consistent as possible. And then we try to work around that and remove those barriers so that you can be consistent. Because being consistent is better than being perfect, right. So if you're not being able to adapt then it's going to be really hard to show up day in and day out because there's always going to be bumps in the road and hiccups. So you have to be adaptable. You just gotta. Okay. So number three, um, somewhat similar to number two is that you operate in extremes. And I see this all the time. People love the flashy, extreme options. We love diets with a name that are new and trendy and oh my gosh, if I just follow the carnival diet, if I just follow 75 heart, if I follow this extremely strict meal plan or juicing cleanser or whatever, then that will be the magic bullet that will get me the success that I want. And let's be real here. The number one predictor of weight loss or fitness success is actually the ability to make small, sustainable changes. This goes completely against the extremes. And that's why a lot of people fail. And that's why a lot of people don't like the reality that it's just the small daily choices that actually give you the results, because it requires consistency without extremes. And a lot of people would prefer to jump on bad bandwagon of extremes versus just doing the work day in and day out and working on those mindsets that are keeping them stuck. Okay, so if you haven't mastered small daily habits that are truly sustainable, research shows that you will gain the weight back. It's just a fact. So while it's true that while you're actively pursuing physique change or like a fat loss phase, you will need to be a little bit stricter than you are during maintenance. You should still shouldn't be doing anything that's crazy extreme. Okay, there shouldn't be that much of a variance between your fat loss phase and the habits that you have during maintenance. There's just going to be a slight differences in the numbers, right? Other than that, it's not going to be that different. You're still doing the same stuff. Extremes equal inconsistencies. And like we were talking about, consistency is the secret sauce that is the only magic bullet. It's just doing the things forever over and over again. I know it's not the answer a lot of us want. Um, but when you think about extremes, you have to realize that you're so much more likely to be inconsistent if things feel really extreme. So, for instance, the perfect plan could involve lifting weights like five, six times a week, say perfect workout split. And then you're also doing fasted morning cardio five days a week, and you're also eating 1500 calories, but also hitting a goal of 150g of protein. Right? Sounds like it's going to definitely give you progress, and it probably would. Right. That's just a fact. Those things will move the needle for progress, but if you can only achieve that 30% of the time, 40% of the time, even 50 to 60% of the time, that's not the perfect plan for you. Okay. It's just not. So if you're seeing, you know, some influencer talking about how they got this transformation, but they did all of these things that are like, so not doable for you while you have three little kids or you're working a certain job or you're starting out completely sedentary, doing nothing, then no, you should not jump into doing all of these things because that's going to be too extreme for you. And it's going to be really, really hard to do that consistently for the rest of your life. Okay, so. That's where you have to find something that actually works for you. That is not too extreme, that feels manageable, digestible, that you're like, okay, yeah, I could actually do this forever. Okay. Sometimes when women start out in our Mountain Metabolic coaching program, they're almost like, shouldn't I be doing more? And it's like, no, do these things consistently. And then we can talk about more because most people start out doing way too much, and then they burn out there so sore they're overwhelmed and they realize this doesn't actually fit into my life. The perfect plan for you is the one that fits into your life enough for you to do it consistently. Okay. It really is that simple. You got to get good at living in the middle, doing enough minimal effective dose, right to move the needle and keep you healthy long term without feeling restricted, miserable, or obsessive. If you're feeling restricted, miserable, or obsessive, again, it's not the right plan for you. There will be challenge. There will be discomfort, right? You're going to have to put yourself in in some discomfort in order to see changes. You're going to have to show up when you don't feel like it. But there's a difference between being miserable and being uncomfortable, okay? And you kind of just have to to figure that one out for yourself, right? Showing up to the gym three days a week. That's not restrictive. That's not miserable. That's not obsessive. That's a healthy amount. Will that be uncomfortable to someone who maybe has not gone to the gym in ten years? Yes, that's going to be uncomfortable. That's going to be a stretch for you, right? But it's it's not restrictive and it's not miserable. Okay. So you got to find that minimal effective dose for getting the results, being able to reach where you want to reach without hating your life. Okay. So these mindsets of taking radical ownership, being adaptable, being able to pursue health and moderation are honestly skills that take time and practice like anything else, like learning an instrument. Like learning a new a new language. Like you have to practice these things. Otherwise we kind of just resort back to old mindsets and old habit patterns. So once you work on your mind, the habits actually do just fall into place. Like I've talked to so many clients who I've been working with and in the beginning and everything felt so hard, right? Everything felt like so much energy and work. And now that they've done the mindset work, they're like, this just feels so easy. Like, it doesn't feel tough anymore because I did the the mindset work, and now it's so much easier to just do these daily habits without overthinking it, without it feeling like such a mental hurdle every single time. Um, so you really got to start with the mindset, get those things in place and then the habits will follow. And this is why simply getting information off of the internet or ChatGPT or social media, it doesn't equate to results for people. If it did, we would all be like super tone and lean by now, right? It's taking it's talking through like the mindset blocks, accountability, having personalized planning. That's what gets people results, which is why coaching works. It's not having the cheapest option or the free download that doesn't get people results. If it did, we wouldn't be in this health crisis, this health epidemic that we are in the US right now. We have more information than literally ever before. So no, coaching won't be the cheapest option. I'll tell you right now, my coaching program is not cheap. Like if you're wanting the cheapest option, don't apply for my coaching. But if you immediately raise defenses because someone says that something isn't cheap, you might need to work on that first mindset we talked about. Because cheap equals cheap quality and poor results, right? The same way that you wouldn't go on like a super nice date night to McDonald's because you want the service, you want the quality, you want the environment, right? The same way. The same thing applies to your health and fitness investments. If you are refusing to put money into something, then you're probably not going to get the best experience in the best results, right? So don't expect a transformation from that. That's just the reality. Um, so all of that to say, it's very last minute, but we are running a 30 day lean reset coaching challenge within Mountain Metabolic Coaching. And this is like really the only challenge that we run all year. So it's a really great opportunity to see if this is for you because it's very low commitment. You can check it out, see if it's for you, see if you're getting the results that you want without a ton of barriers or commitment or anything. Okay. So if that's sort of been something that's on your mind, but you've been nervous to commit for whatever reason, this is literally the perfect opportunity and you're going to be able to get results in the month of January. Get the right habits to kick start your new year in the best possible way to maintain it throughout the rest of the year, you're going to get all of the support of coaching. Um, it's going to be awesome. So obviously this is going to start soon. We begin January 1st. So if you are like, okay, I'm tired of my own excuses. This really resonates with me. I want to do things the right way this year and actually see change. Uh, then DM us at the Fit Underscore for Hiking Instagram page. Just send us a message that says reset, and we'll get you the information so that you can join us on January 1st. We'll get you really quickly on board, but don't dilly dally here because we really don't have a ton of time. Let's make some quick action here and get you going into the challenge. I'm very, very excited for this. Um, we have a really great group of women participating. Um, so I hope that this has been helpful. Again, I'm not trying to come across as being too harsh, but I really hope that this provides some helpful things to think about heading into the new year. Um, so that we can all kind of push past our typical excuses that we make and really see the best possible results and success for ourselves, so that hopefully this time next year we're talking about the transformations that we've experienced instead of the areas where we really just didn't do the work and we didn't show up and we're still feeling stuck. Um, hope this has been helpful. We'd love to connect with you on Instagram at the Fit Underscore for Hiking Instagram page. Let me know if you're liking the show. Um, ratings and reviews are so, so helpful for small shows like us. We really appreciate that. Um, and I will chat with you guys in the next episode. Happy New Year! Thanks for tuning into this episode of the fit for hiking podcast. As always, I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and informed on how to take your health and adventure into your own hands. For more content like this. Be sure to follow along with my daily posts at Ponytail Underscore. On a trail that's ponytail underscore on a trail. You can also stay up to date on my new episodes being released at Fit Underscore for hiking, and find more free resources at ponytail on Etrailer.com. Happy and healthy trails.