Attaining your Fitness Goals Parminder has been training off and on for 10 years. During this time he has been in great shape and not so great shape. But most important, he has amassed a lot of experience and knowledge about diet and training schedules. Parminder has successfully trained many people ranging in ages and body types and helped them attain their fitness goals. For questions on fitness email Parminder@mybindi.com

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In today's society most everyone wants to be FIT. But what does FIT really mean, and how much does one have to sacrifice to attain their fitness goals. Each and every person has their own fitness goals, whether they are attainable or not is a true characteristic of that person. If a male is 130lbs and wants to have a body like Salman Khan or Hrithik Roshan within 30 days, he will not achieve his goal and maybe hurt himself in the process. And on the other end of it, if a female is 160lbs and wants to come down to the size of an Aishwarya Rai and thinks she can accomplish this in under 30 days…well lets just say it won't happen.

When anybody decides to take part in any fitness activity they must make sure they know what they are doing or seek advice from those who do. I have seen a lot of males and females in the gym just walking around and wondering what do to. They watch others that are working out and copy what that person is doing, not knowing if it is right for them or not. Which brings me to the reason I have started this column.

A lot of my friends and colleagues have and do come to me for advice when it comes to weight training. I have been training off and on for about 10 years now. I have been in great shape and not so great shape throughout the years. I have amassed a lot of experience and knowledge about diet and training schedules. I have successfully trained many people ranging in ages and body types and helped them attain their fitness goals. In starting this column I am hoping that my experiences and knowledge will answer your questions and help you attain your fitness goals. Over the next few months I will post examples of beginner and intermediate training schedules as well as diet plans. One thing to keep in mind is a lot of people make excuses when it comes to carrying on a fitness regime.

My wife and I have recently had our first child, the reason I mention this is, I have been so focused on caring for my wife and ensuring that all is okay with her and our son, I stopped training. I guess this has been my excuse for the last 6-8 months, and I am going to start my training schedule all over again. I will keep a log of my successes and failures and openly share them with you. I know it will take me about 3 - 4 months to get back into shape and then another 3 - 4 months to fine tune my body to get the six pack abs and definition that I am after. My fitness goals are simple, I want to be in cardiovascular shape and have muscular definition.

In order to attain these goals, I must follow the following buckets; Diet & Nutrition, Cardio, and Weight Training, in this order. There are sometimes arguments that weight training comes before cardio in order of importance. But for my fitness goals, the latter does not hold true. If you want to look like 'The Hulk' then I would change the order of cardio and weight training. I will sum up by going over each bucket and the importance of it and how to intertwine them to achieve your fitness goals.

The following is a very acute summation of what I feel are the basics of weight training. I use these basics all the time whether I am training a beginner, intermediate or advanced client.

Diet & Nutrition - Value 70%
This is the most important bucket. Without the proper diet and nutrition your body will not be able to keep up with you. You may not consciously notice it, but you will feel tired and sleepy if you are neglecting to nourish yourself properly. No matter what your goal is, whether it is to gain weight or lose weight. You must eat right; it is as simple as that. In the next article I will talk about diet more extensively. In the meantime, think about what you put in your body is what your body will look like. Remember the saying, " You are what you eat." Everyone should be very conscious of this, if you live of McDonalds and think you can have six pack abs…you are mistaken.

Cardio - value 15%
Wow…it shocks me how many people go the gym and hit the weights and leave without doing any cardio exercise. Cardio exercise works the most important muscle in your body, your heart. Just think about. Cardio facilitates weight lost and helps in attaining definition through proper diet. There are many forms of cardio exercises, you can walk, ride, jog or use stair masters. But again, before you start doing an hour at the hardest level, make sure you know your limits and work from that point to set goals and attain them.

Weight Training - value 15%
Before you start any weight training schedule, know what your goals are and think about how realilistic they are. Don't set yourself up for failure right from the beginning. You should actually take a few minutes out of your day and think about what you want in regards to your own fitness goals. This will lay the groundwork and foundation for you to attain you fitness goals and help you come up with a schedule that compliments your lifestyle. I myself prefer training in the early a.m.; I sometimes train as early as 5:00am. Think about how many days of the week you can actually make it into the gym and spend at least an hour there. I will post a beginners training schedule in the next article.

Motivator
How you finish…is how you start…