Thanks to Bruce Powers, the organizer of my Fitness Meetup group here in Virginia Beach, for sharing this excellent article.

The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Physical Transformations

By Stephen Adele "Real Solutions Magazine" Summer 2008, Issue 13
www.realsolutionsmag.com

This article is written along the theme of Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." Below is a summary of the habits:

Habit #1:
Successful people: Willing to accept the current state of their physical appearance and health.
Unsuccessful people: City excuses as to "why" they are out of shape, as if that's the problem and not them personally.

Habit #2:
Successful people: Make a concrete decision that "enough is enough" and they will NOT live another day under the current circumstances.
Unsuccessful people: Can't decide when the "right time" in life is to make a positive change, always putting it off.

Habit #3:
Successful people: Make an "open" announcement to at least one person around them stating that they're going to change the way they look and feel, and they that they need support.
Unsuccessful people: Don't tell anyone about their commitment and keep it a secret.

Habit #4:
Successful people: Set a specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, time-sensitive goal, which can be referred to as S.M.A.R.T. goals.
Unsuccessful people: Set a "wishy washy" goal like "I'm going to lose some weight and finally get in shape."

Habit #5:
Successful people: Build a solid support system around them, consisting of friends, family, colleagues, and a qualified fitness company. Studies show that you are four times as likely to reach your goals with a support system than without any kind of support system.
Unsuccessful people: Don't bother to enlist help from those who care about them [and often use these people's habits or attitudes as "scapegoats" as to why they can't change].

Habit #6:
Successful people: Chose a proven nutrition, weight training, aerobic exercise, and supplement program plan that suits their lifestyle.
Unsuccessful people: Follow a "hit-or-miss" program or trial and error, usually consisting of a program that's either to complex, too radical or extreme, or simply not practical.

Habit #7:
Successful people: Accept that their plan should become a new way of life or lifestyle, and not a short term, deprived state of temporary sacrifice. (These are typically called "diets")
Unsuccessful people: Choose to suffer, deprive themselves, and somehow endure "the process" whether or not they enjoy it, learn, or grow as part of the change.

Given what you have been doing for yourself for fitness recently and after reading these habits above, what do you think ? Is YOUR desired physical transformation likely to be successful or unsuccessful?

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In contrast to many fitness magazines, this publication does not have pages filled with useless advertisements or pictures of half-naked fitness models. It does contain pictures of successful body transformations by real, everyday people. If you are interested in the magazine, check out: www.realsolutionsmag.com