The most difficult part of getting healthy is not the goblet squats or the planks.

The toughest part is not whether you do strength training or metabolic conditioning.

Do you know the hardest part?

If you can master this area, you’re pretty much guaranteed success.

And to be honest, it's why most people fail on their own.

Unsuccessful folks jump from one shiny thing to the next.

They think that the space-age bike in the basement is going to work wonders, especially when you wear the virtual-reality goggles during your sweat session.

And guess what?

These fancy gadgets likely will do the trick, as long as you do the work.

For most over-40 men and women, who just want to get sweaty doing general fitness, it doesn’t really matter about what type of exercise you do.

There, I said it.

If your main goal is to get your sweat on, well, you can do nearly any activity.

You might enjoy a group-cycling class.

There's pulsing techno music and neon purple strobe lights.

Candy, your wacky spinning instructor, embraces the 1980s vibe with pink leg warmers and a color-coordinated unitard.

Candy cracks you up. She even hung a disco ball in the spin room, just for fun.

Remember that one time, after class, when you asked her if you needed to eat chicken to get muscles?

Candy laughed heartily and yelled, “No whey! Get it? No w-h-e-y!”

Honestly, if your goal is telling jokes and breaking a sweat, Candy's Super-Fun Spin Class is for you.

Let me explain.

Sure, we could split hairs.

There's a ton of research that supports how progressive resistance training is efficient at building bone and strengthening your muscles.

And more muscle means you'll burn more calories. Resistance training slows aging too.

But it all works. If you work. If you show up.

And that’s the hardest part. You have to show up.

You have to walk down into your musty basement and get on the futuristic bike or stand in front of that mirror trainer (so weird).

And nobody really knows or cares if you do or don’t show up… because it's just you.

And that’s the difference.

Who's On Your Team?

John C. Maxwell, an author of numerous self-help books, once stated that to achieve growth, you should change BOTH your environment and yourself.

• Change yourself but not your environment - growth will be slow and difficult.
• Change your environment but not yourself - growth will be slow and less difficult.
• Change your environment and yourself - growth will be faster and more successful.

In other words, changing only one of these aspects could result in slow progress, if any.

It's indeed possible to make big changes in your health, your mindset, and your relationships; however, you'll need mentors, accountability partners, and support every step of the way.

You also need the right environment to grow.

After 25+ years running an award-winning fitness-and-nutrition coaching program, I've noticed a trend in my most successful clients.

And industry data supports my observation.

Adherence to anything self-directed, like working out at home with little-to-no accountability, or going to an open-access gym with no coaching, is extremely high in the beginning because it’s new.

Problem is, the long-term success of self-directed exercise is terrible.

I may be so bold to say there's a correlation between poor adherence to exercise and the obesity epidemic.

What's my point?

It's very predictable: As soon as the "shiny object syndrome" wears off, you lose interest.

Now, if you are eternally self driven, and have success on your own, great.

However, over the long term, most over-40 men and women fail when it comes to self-directed fitness and nutrition.

Mainly because any self-directed coaching-and-accountability program lacks, well, it lacks coaching and accountability!

When you're on your own, you just show up and do the workout.

Whether the plan is appropriate for you, or you are doing the exercises correctly is a whole other conversation.

If you show up, you won.

But the hardest part is showing up, day after day.

We run the best online personal trainer because we focus on three fundamental things.

1. Confident coaching

If you want to create the best version of yourself, you need to train smart, practice mindful nutrition, manage stress, and get quality sleep.

There's a method to the madness is all I'm saying.

Invest in a professional coach who's used to delivering results versus some here-today-gone-tomorrow hobbyist.

2. Daily accountability

Hopefully you are not the laziest person alive.

But even if you are, we'll encourage you to show up.

And we’ll help get you back on track when (not if) you fall out of your routine.

3. A community that inspires you

"We're on the same team."

This is my mantra and I believe it can solve many problems.

Are you having a disagreement with a family member?

Maybe you're not seeing eye-to-eye with co-worker?

It's helpful to remember that you're on the same team.

You know the power of being around like-minded people, and being a part of something bigger than yourself.

It becomes much easier to show up when you know your team is counting on you to be there on time (no matter if it’s a virtual appointment or in person).

You will be more successful knowing your coach is waiting for you, your community members are excited to see you, and you’ll get a gentle nudge if you don’t show up.

And, not to get all Sigmund Freud on you; however, you need to figure out what’s getting in the way if you’re consistently not showing up.

And I don’t mean time management or logistics, I mean "showing up" mentally and emotionally.

Do you see the difference?

One is a shiny product, the other is actual results-based coaching.

No matter what your goal is, make sure you have coaching, accountability, and community in your life.

It will help you show up more.

No matter what physical activities you choose, make sure that you have coaching and accountability in your life to help you show up (the hardest part).

Question: Can you stay fit all year long?  

Answer: Yes, you can with a winning team.  

So many over-40 mean and women stay lean and strong... but it takes work.  

And a simple system to follow.  

To do anything in life, you need the time, the energy and the inclination.  

If you don’t, well, it just won’t get done.  

Here’s the deal.  

If you want to do anything, you have to dedicate the time.  

There's only 24 hours in a day.  

So, technically, you can't "make" more time.  

Really you need to prioritize the existing 24 hours.  

That last concept is worth repeating.  

We all have the same 24 hours available to us, but those who get stuff done are those who maximize their time.  

They make wise choices and dedicate the time.  

It’s as simple as that.  

In addition, you have to generate your own energy.  

No one tells the great athletes to train four times per week.  

They just hit the gym on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays... bright and early.

You can’t rely on others to motivate you, you have to motivate yourself.  

(I'd say that motivation is really self discipline in disguise.)  

You can’t wait until you feel excited about doing something, you have to find a way to drive yourself to take action, understanding that the energy often comes after you start, not before.

To put it bluntly... if you really want something enough, the time and energy will look after itself.  

My question today is, do you want it badly enough?  

Will you make the time?  

Will you generate your own energy?

Now, you may be thinking:  

"Coach Joe, I have two kids in high school and two kids in college..." 

"Coach Joe, I'm a busy executive responsible for 500 employees..." 

"Coach Joe, I commute two hours to work. And then two hours home..." 

Hey, I get it... you're busy with many grownup responsibilities  

A mistake that we all seem to make somewhere along the way is thinking that if some is good, more is better.  

More items on the to-do list.  

More ideas and projects.  

More hours worked.  

But the reality is that things don’t work that way.  

The law of diminishing returns kicks in and your appetite for opportunity gets the best of your ability to accomplish.  

But the good things about this is that the whole "overdoing it" thing is self-imposed.  

I'm sure you know of a busy professional that leads a number of businesses simultaneously.  

Individually, I bet they are all promising opportunities…  

...but with each of them getting 20% of the required efforts, none will reach their potential.  

See, having the right strategy is more about what you say "no" to versus what you say yes to.  

There are a number of things that you could do that would likely move you toward your goals…  

...but the only thing that matters is what you actually do and do well.  

That’s why I both practice and teach the approach of having roughly:  

⭐️ Three key things that you want to accomplish each week and  

⭐️ Three primary action items you want to tackle each day.  

Sure, you can do more, but ONLY after you’ve allocated the necessary time and energy to accomplish those.  

What’s so great about this approach is that you’re identifying what it takes to "Win" each week and "Win" each day…  

...so you’ve got a simple way to enjoy accountability, gain a sense of accomplishment and move forward in a significant way each and every week.  

And avoid overwhelm in the process.  

So, if you’re overdoing it, my suggestion is to please stop.  

Do fewer things better and watch your results (and happiness) skyrocket.

To your success,

Coach Joe

Joseph Arangio helps 40+ men and women get leaner, stronger, and happier. He's delivered over 100,000 transformation programs to satisfied clients around the globe. If you want to lose weight from home, with the best online personal trainer, or you want to visit the best personal trainer in the Lehigh Valley, you can take a free 14-day trial.