***Warning: DO NOT READ THIS if you are easily offended***

Lets face it, these days you’ll find no shortage of shameless lies and down right ludicrous claims put out there by weight-loss industry marketing “masterminds,” IE Shake Weight, Colon Cleanse and Exercise in a Bottle (pills), to name a few.

But for a change, that’s not who this blog post is aimed at. Actually, I would like to turn the microscope around on YOU. (Dun dun DUNNNN!) EVERYONE has the potential to get in shape no matter your past or current  life situation. The problem is that we cling to our excuses, or our “STORIES” as ways to explain away our faults. Change your mindset, guys, and you can change your current state. It all STARTS with getting real with yourself, creating a plan and taking massive ACTION.

Allow me to sound a little harsh for a second…but I am sick of the excuses! So right now I’m going to expose the silly white lies  (stories) we tell in attempt to make ourselves feel OK about why we are over here (where we DON’T want to be) and not over there (where we WANT to be.)

The top 4 workout lies you are telling yourself AND the no-nonsense solution for all:

1) “I don’t have time to workout”

Simply put, this really means “I DON’T WANT TO FIND THE TIME.” SOLUTION: Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t. Prioritize your life by eliminating time suckers (IE social networks, email, negative people dragging you down) and get serious about what’s important to you.  Commit to a serious plan of 30-60 minutes of exercise early before work. Get up, get it done and be MORE productive during your day. Period. Early morning workouts have a natural “side effect” of cleaning up and eliminating the BS the night before because they force you to make smarter decisions about bed time, pointless happy hours, and mindless TV realityshow-athons.  SHW BOOT CAMP is at 5:30am. Lemme see you TRY to come up with an excuse for “not having time” for that!

2) “I have to do abs EVERY workout b/c I’m trying to lose my stomach.”

If you’ve read this post about the secrets to losing your stomach you will know that ab work DOES NOT spot reduce fat, it’s scientifically impossible and is probably the MOST INEFFECTIVE exercise you could possibly choose to decrease your pooch.

SOLUTION: To burn fat, your precious time is better spent doing heart pounding, sweat inducing exercise moves that burn massive calories and build lean toned (calorie incinerating) muscle. ORRRRR you can continue to just flex at the waist 20 times while in the lying down position (*sarcastic tone*:) See what I’m sayin?  Try the moves in the video for sexy arms or toned legs that we  regularly in boot camp in NYC & LI.

3) “I’ve tried exercising, it didn’t work for me.”

60% of Americans quit a newly started exercise routine within the 1st 30 days. (These people are holding on to those failure stories for dear life!) Often times people underestimate  the consistency and effort it actually takes to make a lasting change due in part no doubt by the aforementioned lose-weight-fast scams seen all over TV, the web  and magazines.   Put it in perspective: it took YEARS of dirty eating habits, poor decision-making, and lack of commitment to get you to your current health state. To believe it will only take   3 weeks or even 1 month  to undo the damage is a 1 way ticket to  crazytown.

SOLUTION: Set a realistic goal that is 2 months away; work backwards from there realizing that the SAFE average weight loss per week is 1-2 lbs with consistent exercise and total overhaul of your eating habits. Craft a OCD-like, DETAILED PLAN of action spelling out which days you will do what, for how long and with whom. Just like we exercise our muscles to gradually make them stronger and leaner, starting a healthy routine is  exercising your decision-making skills & habits in order to become better at turning down those fries/packing your lunch for work/sticking to your workout routine!

4)  “I only do long-duration cardio because I’m trying to drop fat.”

Look people, if you are still in this mindset then you are following outdated workout trends from the 80’s. SOLUTION: In a world where no one has time for anything, short bursts of intense cardio-strength moves is not only a superior way to burn fat,  (metabolic training SHW boot-camp-style) it’s the most effective AND proven science for at least the past 10 years. Diversify your workouts with this kind of training and of course sprinkle in the other fun stuff like bike rides, running and the like. BUT, IF YOU DON’T CLEAN UP YOUR DIET in conjunction with the workouts, you are fighting a losing battle and may as well just take it easy for 45 minutes on the elliptical. (*Sarcastic tone*)

Granted, a lot of these “lies” you tell yourself is due in part to misinformation from either uneducated fitness trainers or you just following along with what everyone else is doing. Get yourself a serious plan of action and commit to making BIG changes. Read the rest of the no-nonsense articles on this blog because I uncover all of the BS out there and give it to you straight.  If you are in the NYC area and want to kick your routine into high gear…

BOOT CAMP IS BACK OUTDOORS STARTING MONDAY 3/21 in Battery Park, NYC & Oceanside Long Island. We give you a plan, we motivate you to make a change, we have FUN. Only a few spaces left…www.StrongHealthyWoman.com!