All my life I was in sports; track and field, taekwondo, tennis, football, and basketball which is my favourite.
After military I was training in gyms and during my studies I decided to have my hobby pay me and I attended a fitness school also. I became Aerobics & Fitness Instructor and eventually Personal Trainer.
Thank God, I never had any health issue and I was happy with my body having an average 14% body fat despite my regular cravings for chocolates and candy. I consider myself blessed with natural physique but I was amazed with the wonderful things the human body can achieve when you push through the attainment of a goal.
During Christmas holidays of 2013 I read the biography of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Total Recall. Apart from the fact that it is the most well written autobiography I have ever read, the whole book is an inspiration. This guy started from a small village in Austria and he became:
The best body builder of all times and the influencer for the sport all around the world
One of the highest paid and most famous Hollywood movie stars
Millionaire businessman with several business activities
Governor of California
Plus he married a Kennedy :)
Arnold has accomplished all his goals. He was locking them in his mind and he was laser focused.
While I was reading it I wondered, “I’m putting goals in everything and I don’t have any goal for my health and my body…” I had a breakthrough!!! At that moment I decided that I will take my body to the next level and become the best I can be in my eyes. “Let’s take my body fat to 8%”, I said…
Since I set the goal, now I had to make a plan to make it happen:
Nutrition - Immediately I called a nutritionist, who not only knew what I had to do, but also had the results that I wanted.
Training - Being a Personal Trainer myself I knew what I had to do, but I didn't want to do the things that I already knew. I wanted to shock my body and my mind, and the only way to do that was to follow a program "outside of my box". Hence, I went to a trainer, who again knew what I had to do, and he also had the results that I wanted.
It was an opportunity for me to train my mind and a challenge that I was excited to take. I went into a student mode and I followed my experts’ recipe with EVERY SINGLE DETAIL. The nutritionist was monitoring my progress every 2-3 weeks and in coordination with the trainer they were keeping me on line and accountable.
In 7 months I reached 8% body fat with the same body weight. The most important of all though was the person I became running for my goal, the experiences, the emotions, the frustrations, the challenges, the laughs, the support. The journey was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
The main lessons I got from that experience are:
The importance of having a WHY - Mine was to grow as a person and become the best I can be in my eyes. What is the reason you want to accomplish that goal? Why is this important for you?
The importance of having a COACH - My coaches (1) gave me the knowledge and (2) were keeping me accountable; accountability pushed me one step further of where I was supposed to go by myself. Pick a coach that he/she is an expert on that area and you respect. It will be more powerful for you if he/she has achieved what you want to achieve.
The importance of having a PLAN - I knew I had to follow some daily disciplines. My goal became so clear and achievable once I saw my plan written down. If you already know the plan great, if you don’t, then meet with your coach and he/she will set it up for you.
Running for a goal develops your DISCIPLINE - I consider my self a disciplined person, but running for that 8% body fat really took me to another level. The fuel that helped me follow the daily disciplines was the picture and the emotions of my accomplished goal. So go back to your WHY and find all the benefits of accomplishing your goal. Many people ask me, "how can I develop discipline?" and I reply, "by doing it".
Anthony Robbins says, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped”. Most of the times you don’t know when this moment will come. You have the power to create it. Keep searching and explore the possibilities. If you search you will find.
Nakis N. Theocharides
High Performance Coach
28/07/16
