Getting in shape doesn’t just happen.
No one wakes up one day and realizes all of their fat dropped off, they’re incredibly strong, and their body added muscle in all the right places.
It takes serious work, dedication, and planning.
It takes a lot of effort to go to the gym day after day after day. However, most people who do aren’t actually following a plan. They show up, throw some weights around, and call it a day. (Or even worse, they go, get on a treadmill, and think that’s good enough.)
Every time I fuck around in the gym, I rarely see any results. Sure, it feels good. Sure, it reduces stress, but anyone who wants results needs some kind of plan.
I have people ask me all the time, “How do I get abs / bigger arms / bigger booty?!” And I ask them what plan they’re following. Then they come back with, “I don’t know, I just go and do a few moves I saw on Instagram a few times a week.”
Well, that’s not a plan.
Today is Tuesday and I would bet most people have already thrown in the towel for the week. Their Monday was busier than planned so they swear, “NEXT WEEK!”
(Pro tip: Monday is always busy as shit. Prepare for this.)
Here’s how I plan my weeks for domination even though life is a never-ending shit-storm most of the time:
1. Look at your whole week.
Scripting my week has been one of the fundamental habits that changed my results in both the gym and in life.
Every Sunday, I sit down and put in what Stephen Covey calls, the big rocks.
The big rocks are essentially the MOST important thing to your life, not the little things that get in the way of your goals.
You need to own a planner of some kind, period. I prefer paper planners instead of digital planners, but do what works for you. Even if you use something as simple as a sheet of blank paper for your planning, it’s better than nothing.
2. Plan out your exercise schedule for the week.
Write out what days and at what times you are going to go to the gym.
I used to write down that I wanted to work out four or five times the week. Except days would tick by and I still didn’t stay consistent.
When I put in dates and times I will be in the gym, I rarely ever miss. Commit to a time and put it in your planner. Treat it like a doctor’s appointment. SHOW UP.
If you have a workout buddy, agree on a set schedule or time. If not, pretend you did. Pretend someone important to you is waiting at the gym and you need to show up.
3. Plan out meals and supplements.
This was really the game changer for results. It’s easy to forget your diet, when you’re supposed to eat, when you’re supposed to take your supplements… but if you have dedicated time to each one, you need to put it down.
I have a cork board right behind my computer with my supplement schedule clearly written out for each week. It’s the only way I could manage it all.
4. Prepare as much as you can ahead of time.
Cook meals ahead of time. Clean your gym clothes. Leave your workout shoes in your car. Make sure you have an extra pair of headphones in your car.
People who want to win at life are always prepared ahead of time. They don’t mess around because they want results.
When you have a plan, you know you’ll need to skip those cookies in the middle of the day because you already brought yourself a much healthier snack.
Preparing in advance ruins any excuses for failure. People love failure, they love excuses, they love to blame everything else but themselves for their problems.
“Oops, I forgot my workout shoes! I guess I’ll work out next month instead.”
You’re going to be better than that.
Don’t fall into the blame game, take responsibility for your success.
The path to success isn’t sexy. It’s not glamorous. It’s hard fucking work day in and day out and day in and day out.
Preparing your life in advance gives you all the room in the world to make your goals come true. When you’re prepared, you’re going to win. You think all the athletes who just played in the Super Bowl just fell into that situation? Hell no. They prepared and trained for years. They do the hard work without thinking about it.
Planning in advance removes all the stressful thoughts about, “What do I do now?” Instead, do the thinking ahead of time so you can move into autopilot mode.
Studies show time and time again that we only have so much willpower in any given day, when you reduce decisions, you increase the amount of willpower you have.
What do YOU do to plan and dominate the week?
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