9 Ways To Help You Meet Your Fitness Goals

When starting a fitness program do it the right way. Don't waste your time just going through the motions. Do it right! Here are nine ways to help you get started, maintain and achieve your fitness goals.

1. Take before, during and after pictures of yourself. Front and side views.

2. Take before, during and after weight and body fat measurements.

3. Keep a nutrition log since eating is the hardest and most important part of weight loss.

4. Keep a daily weight loss journal of everything you are going through, or start a blog and put in a post each day to keep yourself accountable to others.

5. Write out a pledge to yourself to start, and follow through with all your goals. Make sure you sign it.

6. Find a weight loss buddy to go through the journey with.

7. Enter a local or national weight loss contest, or make up your own.

8. Make a goal to achieve something you don't think you can do every two months such as finish a 5k or 8k run/walk.

9. Before you do anything...get the guidence needed from a trainer or fitness professional with a consultation. Most consultations are free. Use professionals. They are called professionals for a reason.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC. Chad is known as the local fat loss expert. He can be reached at chad@shapingconcepts.com

Thanksgiving Day Workout - Done With Only 3 Exercises!

Get Your "Summer Abs" here!

Summer is here and it's time to hit the beach or pool everyday. But wait...You aren't ready yet? You're not comfortable with the way your tummy looks?

Here are 5 summer sizzling tips to get a toned tummy!

1. It all starts with what you put in it! Proper nutrition is 90% of having a toned tummy or a bulging baloon. Eat a handfull of a protein and a handful of a complex carbohydrate every 3 hours throughout the day (5-6 times per day). Cut out soda's and sugars.

2. Core stretching. Lay over a stability facing up with your hands touching the floor behind your head and your feet still on the ground. Hold for 1 minute. Repeat 2-3 times every day.

3. A little walking goes a long way. Walking 30 minutes everyday in an interval fashion (1 minute very fast powerwalk or jog if you can, 1 minute easy walk for 30 minutes).

4. Core building. Yes, it certainly helps to work your core. Planks, crunches, whatever you've got to do, just do it. You will get better results in your tummy performing a whole body resistance routine with abdominals instead of just doing the abs.

5. Confidence! When you put on the bikini, be proud, stand tall, don't shy away from people. Show everyone how hard you've worked! Love your body!

Chad Cannon is a certified personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, author, and owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Studio in Bluffton, SC. Learn more about how you can receive a FREE no obligations trial of his Shaping Concepts of Bluffton Fitness Programs and Boot Camps.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Will Fail...

1. You have failed before.

2. You are too old so just give it up now.

3. You don’t have a gym membership and it’s too cold or too hot to go outside.

4. You are a loser.

5. Healthy food is too expensive.

6. You are lucky to have 10 minutes to yourself these days so how are you supposed to stay on a regular workout and healthy eating routine?

7. Everyone who has lost fat and have kept it off just have a lot more willpower than you do or they are just smarter, maybe luckier and probably are just better than you.

8. For you to lose weight would be vein and below your standards. “Shallow” if you will.

9. You don’t want to lose all your overweight friends.

10. It’s impossible to fight the fat genes that you have inherited.

Alright I can’t stop. Here is a bonus for you…

Bonus… What else is there to talk about other than complaining about yourself?

Chad Cannon is a certified personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, author, and founder of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Studios. Learn more about how you can receive a FREE no obligations trial of his Shaping Concepts of Bluffton Fitness Programs and Boot Camps.

How I Lost 15 Pounds In Just 5 Minutes!

Okay, you want to know the real secret on how to lose body fat fast. I promise, no gimmicks, no weird exercise gadgets, no supplements, no diets. This is simply the real deal on how I lost 15 pounds of UGLY, UNWANTED FAT in 5 minutes!

Yes, I was overweight at one time. Back in 1995-6 I coached college track while attending grad school an hour away. I spent most of my days where I coached and lived on Big Macs about three times per day, everyday. Once I stopped coaching at the college level, I decided to get my body back. I tried everything and nothing worked. Finally, I found the absolute best possible way to get rid of my fat and I did it in 5 minutes. And I did it at a very low price of about $4.
I walked down to the hardware store, bought myself a hack saw and cut all the fat off me. It only took about 5 minutes.

Okay, I didn’t really do that. I must say though that I certainly wanted to, as do many of you I’m sure. Well I hate to say it over and over again, but nothing you do will make you lose fat that fast. Losing weight simply takes time. It is work. It takes determination. It takes willpower. It takes a lifestyle change! If you aren’t willing to put forth the effort, then live with the consequences and stop complaining about it.

I lost my weight by eating healthier and exercising. I put myself in that situation, so I got myself out of it. Yes it took time, but think about what I would look like today and how I would feel today if I didn’t take a few months to make some changes.

You can do the same. You CAN do the same!

Chad Cannon is a certified personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, author, and founder of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Studios. Learn more about how you can receive a FREE no obligations trial of his Shaping Concepts of Bluffton Fitness Programs and Get Sexy Boot Camps.

My Daughter and My Muscles

My daughter saw me the other day with a sleeveless shirt on and said to me "wow daddy, you’ve got some muscles". That’s pretty cool coming from a 6 year old.

Earlier that morning the two of us went to the recycling center and her job was to recycle all the magazines. I had a few fitness magazines in there, some with some big body building guys on the covers. She was very intrigued by their muscles and couldn’t stop looking and commenting on them.

So after commenting on MY muscles that night, she then went on to say "If you work hard you could look like those muscle guys too." This is a funny conversation I’m having with a 6 year old girl (keep in mind that she’s always around fitness and a healthy lifestyle being in my family).
So we sit down and have an education session. I go on to tell her that no matter how hard I try, daddy will never look like those guys. I explained to her that my genetics won’t let my body do that. She actually understood that part. So then I said I’d probably have to spend 5 hours a day, everyday working out to even come close to looking like that years and years from now, and I would have to eat about 3 or 4 chicken breasts every meal every day.

So she said "daddy, because you work so much, you’ll have to get to the studio in the middle of the night, around 2 o’clock and workout before you start training people." She said "set your alarm, you need to start tonight".

I told her I would do it but only if she came with me every night. She said "okay daddy, I’ll set my alarm too." Then she added "But wait…Maybe I should ask my teacher first. She might not like that idea".

Chad Cannon is a certified personal trainer, fitness professional, owner of Shaping Concepts of Bluffton, author and speaker. Get your free trial at http://www.shapingconceptsbluffton.com

What was your "Pivotal Point" in Life?

Do you know your "Pivotal Point"? The point in which your life changed. The point in which you decided to do something about your health. The point in which you decided to transform your body into something better.

Maybe your "Pivotal Point" has yet to come, but most likely it already has.
My transformation experience started at the end of 6th grade.

At the end of our school year our school had one of those "field days" where the 6th grade class went to the park for a picnic and games and other stuff..

Let me explain a little more about my life at that point before I explain what happened that day…

I was a very scrawny, very shy boy that needed lots of help with almost everything in school. I lacked confidence, and was kind of wimpy. I was never really good at anything, except I was okay at basketball, but knew it was only because I was taller than everyone else at that age. I was a very weak and lazy kid. Pretty dumb too! It’s okay, I admit it.

So at this Field Day that was always held at the end of every school year, it always ended with a big race; a sprint across the park. The entire 6th grade class took part in this race all at once (probably about 200 kids I’m guessing).

I lined up with more seriousness than I’ve ever had in my entire life. I wanted to win this thing and show everyone that I was somebody too.

Well it just so happened that the fastest kid in the school was also in the 6th grade; his name: Kurt Witchey. I knew of him, but we had never really talked before (It’s funny that I ended up being very good lifetime friends with his much older brother, who is actually on this emailing list). Everyone, including me knew he was the fastest kid out there.

During those few moments, my entire life changed! That’s when I decided that I WAS somebody and I was going to run as fast as it took to beat Kurt.

It turns out that I ran away with that race. It was close, but I was the definite winner. I remember everyone saying after the race that they had no idea I was that fast, and people were talking about me being in the Olympics one day. I honestly couldn’t get enough of all the talking.

I’ve never felt so empowered in my life up to that point. It was awesome! From that point on I was somebody.

Well, I had to keep that perception throughout my school years, excelling at being a sprinter on the track teams. I ended up getting a scholarship to run in college and even continued to compete thereafter, and became a coach as well, teaching others what I had learned. This is what brought me into the life of fitness and to this point in my professional fitness career and why I’m so passionate at striving to be the best, and to keep improving.

So when I am feeling lonely, weak, and questioning myself, I think back to those years of my life where I was striving to keep that persona of the fastest boy in Dublin, Ohio. I think that toughened me and helped me achieve more in life.

All because of running faster than Kurt Witchey!

That was my transformation. That was my "Pivotal Point".

That’s my story.

What’s yours?

How did you decide to become a healthier, happier person? How did fitness make your life better? I want to hear from you.

Oh, and by the way… I’m curious: would you call your fitness experience a pivotal point or something different?

What terms would you use to describe your fitness experience?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Oh Yeah...Take a look at what I can do now in the video below!