Three Months To Physical Transformation: Why You Should Create A Timeline to Achieve your Fitness Goals

The Importance of Specificity

 Systematic progression creates the basis of development. Whether you are building a house, starting a business, studying to earn a degree or building a stronger, healthier body; the ability to make progress incrementally over a period of time is the primary driving force of growth and development. Your ideas, concepts, the plans that you have laid out and your vision for what you want to achieve cannot be effectively implemented without first laying out a solid foundation; that is to incrementally progress towards achieving your goal over a set period of time. More often than not, when we decide to make that change in building a healthier body; we do so haphazardly; without a plan, without setting deadlines on when you want to lose that 10lbs of fat, build that 5lbs of muscle; add 30-40 pounds to your lifts or a combination of the three. The result of this is that we progress....temporarily; before you know it you lose track of your goals and enter a state that you find yourself constantly renewing your gym membership to work like a hamster running a wheel. 

We force ourselves in a state of stagnation because there is little specificity in going in the gym and performing the same routines year in and year out; while adhering to the same eating principles you have followed since day 1. Most people fail to achieve their long term fitness goals for the sole reason that don't set reasonable short term goals. Setting short term goals and working according to a  timeline allow us to become more reasonable and realistic in what we want to achieve in the long term. That is because the culmination of short term goals WILL lead to further achieving long term goals. This also allows us to be more specific in what we do in order to achieve those goals within the set time frame. We then eliminate unnecessary methods and incorporate strategies that are advantageous to better able us to achieve those goals within the established timeline.

Defining Goals

There is a huge disparity between what can be achieved with 2-6 months as opposed to 3-5 years. The more specific and objective you are in what you want to achieve within that 3-5 year time span, the easier it will be to establish short term goals. It is essential that short term goals interact with long term goals.  It is realistic for someone who has just started out to progress from being able to perform 1 pushup into being able to do 15-20 within a 2-3 month timeline; however it is not possible for that person to progress from 1 to 100 within that time frame. Therefore, being able to perform 100 consecutive pushups is a long term goal; while working up to 15-20 is achievable within the short term. Over periods of 2-3 month intervals this person may slowly progress from being able to perform 15-20 pushups to 40-50, eventually 60-70, 80-90 and finally; 100 pushups. 

Using a progressive approach, you are able to achieve any goal as long as you are clear and objective in what you want to achieve in the long term. It is also important to note that the more clear and vivid your mental imagery is of you achieving a specific goal; the more realistic it is and the more likely you are to achieve it. If you can clearly see yourself losing 3 inches off your waist in the next three months following a specific dietary strategy; the more likely you are to do so. The less you wish, and the more you want will reflect how achievable a goal is. If you can clearly visualize and articulate the processes required for you achieve your goals within a specified time frame, the more reasonable and realistic it is as a goal.

Why Three Months Is a Reasonable Time Frame To Elicit Significant Progress

Most total body transformations take as long as 12 weeks. The participants are often able to make radical and lasting changes to their physiques within the dedicated time span. Some are able to drop up to 15-25 pounds of bodyfat while also adding noticeable lean body mass in the process. While some may be going to the gym for years; they often never see this type of progress. In fact a lot of gym goers remain the same since the day they started. Listed below are some of the reasons why body transformations are successful within a three month time frame:

Objectivity: This is often an overlooked factor in that most fitness goals are vague and off point. If you are to participate in a transformation program lasting three months, you will know exactly what you need to do in order to meet your goals at the end of the timeline. This then forces you to work towards more reasonable and achievable goals.

Consistency: Knowing that you have 12 week time limit to achieve your goal, you will be inclined not to miss even a single workout as that may push you behind schedule. People who participate in transformation programs are required to meet their deadlines; as such every effort to show up is mandatory. The casual gym goer may not be faced with this type of pressure; thus it allows for some degree of inconsistency.

Time Period: Twelve weeks is a reasonable time period to achieve most goals. Most people; especially starting out are able to develop adequate adaptation to their workouts; thus allowing them to progress more rapidly within the realm of specificity. As illustrated previously; an individual can progress from performing just 1 pushup to being able to do 15-20 consecutively. The same concept can be applied to body composition. For a beginner to add 6-7lbs of muscle while losing 10-12lbs of fat within the first three months of consistent, progress driven training is possible.