The difference between shredding and exercising

Next week I will be 44 years old. What comes with that is a lot of wisdom that I could never have obtained without going through the fire that I have. What also comes with age is that spare tire that constantly rears its ugly head in the shape of a muffin.

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to marry a sexy girl 13 years younger than me, forcing me to find new ways to play my game and get it right. The problem was, it was getting harder and harder to fight the bulge. I swear I was not a slug. I exercised every day and ate healthier than my average counterpart. But, I still felt like an old man in his forties, always having to suck my guts on the beach.

I decided to participate in a fitness competition to change things. It did exactly what I expected it to do. It made me thin and strong. But, I got to thinking; What was the difference 25 pounds makes?

So I exercised. I exercise now. I ate at that time. Like right now. What is the difference? As Shakespeare said “let me count the roads”. The differences are so subtle that you would completely miss them if you weren’t looking.

Subtle Differences 101:

1. My training back then hardly ever changed. Now, my training changes every week in some way (reps, weight, exercises, etc.). I literally mean every week.

2. My diet back then may have been fine, but it never changed much. I never would have thought that changing your diet was important. Now my diet changes from week to week. Protein up this week. Low carbs that week. Increase your water intake this week. Water intake dropped that week. All for different reasons, which to be honest, are beyond my understanding. Another thing, I eat more food now than ever!

3. My cardio back then was 40 minutes a day until I exploded. Now my cardio is only a few times a week with a heart monitor dictating when to increase my intensity. This is all based on what my muscle looks like. In other words, assess whether cardio is making me lose muscle mass or not. Which, I had no idea what cardio training could do.

4. The biggest change and honestly the point of this is to add a coach to this equation. I didn’t have a coach then. I also didn’t think it was necessary to do more than diet, cardio, and exercise. The truth is, there’s no way I would have intellectually understood these subtle differences in diet, exercise, and cardio without one. More than anything, having a weekly check-in with the coach, with the photos to prove your success or failure, definitely keeps you honest.

It worked for me. It worked for Kim. It will work for you.