With these 10 tips to the dream body

You want to change, but you don't have forever. If you're not in shape, you're lowering your quality of life and putting your health at risk. However, making positive changes to your body requires a lot of effort. Of course, you need to train well and eat healthily. To be truly successful, you need to do even more and actively work towards your goals. Respect your body and challenge it at every opportunity. When it really hurts and you can hardly think straight, you have to persevere. This is the only way you can change. Follow the following ten tips and you will significantly accelerate your progress.

1. respect your recovery times

This point is listed at the top because it is the most underestimated. Many people think they have to jog hundreds of kilometers every day and lift tons of dumbbells until their muscles burn in order to make a change. Sure, your body learns and adapts, but that's a trap. Your muscles grow during rest, so you need the breaks. Any activity outside the gym will affect muscle growth and your improvements. Daily efforts in endurance sports and strength training exhaust your body. Even a good diet won't help. Your body simply doesn't have time to heal the micro-tears in the muscles caused by the strain and to counteract the inflammation-promoting processes that sport brings with it. Therefore, sleep seven to nine hours every day. Really rest on your recovery days.

2. eat to lose weight

If you want to lose body fat, you don't have to starve yourself. You still need to consume plenty of calories to fuel your energy levels and maintain your muscle tissue. While you significantly reduce your carbohydrate intake, your focus should be on the right amount of protein. A slightly increased protein intake - around 40 grams per meal or snack - will help your body to limit the catabolic effects of fat burning on muscle tissue.

3. track your progress

Be honest with yourself when you look in the mirror. Don't be afraid to pinch yourself. Praise yourself when you notice changes in your body that make you happy. Avoid giving yourself unjustified compliments. That would be pure self-deception. Photos are an effective way of counteracting such mistakes. Take photos of your body regions so that you can make real comparisons. This will give you additional motivation. People who take photos of their progress are usually more successful in the long term. It's a pleasure to see the positive changes to your body in the pictures. This will spur you on to keep going. In addition to the photos, it is also advisable to regularly check your body fat percentage, your weight and certain body measurements (e.g. waist, chest, biceps and thighs). Through these measures you will know exactly if and how your hard work is bearing fruit. The measurable changes are not only motivating. They also show you to what extent a type of training and diet is working for you.

4. fuel your body before and after training

Pre- and post-workout meals and special nutritional supplements (e.g. BCAA) provide you with the energy you need to make your training more productive. They also improve your performance and the effect of recovery. In addition to a wholefood diet, the new Bio-Active-Peptides ("BAP" for short) can help you. These supplements can promote your muscle growth. If your battery is empty again, simply add BAP to your protein shake.

5. step on the gas in the studio

When you're in the weight room, you're in the weight room. Everything else no longer matters. Stick to the rest periods prescribed in your training program. Don't be distracted by other people's chatter, crowded weight areas or ringing cell phones. Stick to your pace. Navigate your way through your training session in a controlled manner. Concentrate on the next exercise. Don't take too long breaks. Firstly, this reduces the fat-burning effect and secondly, you are more likely to be distracted by the factors mentioned. Long breaks hinder your progress. You will notice every wasted second in the gym later.

6. don't overdo it with the assessments of your progress

It takes 48 to 72 hours for your body to process the stimuli of training and nutrition. It therefore makes no sense to wait for changes every day. Panicked "corrections" will only disappoint you. Your weight is affected daily by a number of factors - including water weight, stomach and intestinal contents and time of day. Stay on track, but don't obsess. Check yourself every one to two weeks.

7. plan your cheat meals

Cheat meals are helpful for "nutrition beginners" and professionals alike. They help your mind more than they harm your body. In some ways, these "I can eat anything" meals can also help the body, but that's a different discussion and doesn't belong here. To avoid temptation and cheating yourself with cheat meals, plan them carefully. It's smart to plan them for events where you can't really control your diet anyway. For example, a wedding reception would be the ideal time for a cheat meal.

8. first weights, then cardio

If you are faced with the choice of strength or cardio training, you should always choose strength training over cardio. Lifting weights will have the biggest positive effects on your changes, although cardio is also helpful. Incorporate one or two sessions of high-intensity interval training (HIIT for short) per week into your training plan. HIIT has been proven to accelerate your progress. It efficiently supports fat loss, but it also causes the greatest strain on your central nervous system. You should therefore always do strength training before cardio units. Continuous endurance training without intervals is ideal for restful sleep and improves recovery. There is room for both types of cardio in your training plan. Whichever form you use, it must support your goals and not hinder your strength training.

9. respect the break times between exercises

Give your body enough time to recover both outside the gym and between sets. Don't train too much so that your muscles don't over-acidify and you don't collapse during the exercises. Once you have made your first progress, you will develop a feeling for what you can handle. Your body will get stronger and your training will improve. The fairy tale of the hare and the hedgehog fits well here: what goes around comes around. If you do too much at once, you will inevitably have less success or even fail completely.

10. tell yourself that you can do it

Changes to the body are lengthy processes. The workouts don't get any easier, and motivation comes and goes. You will hit the wall a few times, but with a positive mindset you will master this long and difficult journey. A healthier lifestyle awaits you and those around you will be infected by your positive attitude. Accept the challenge and never tell yourself you can't do something until you've tried it.