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There's one technique I started using prior to my first bodybuilding competition and it was so effective for helping me nail my physical peak condition on the one day that counts, that I have done it ever since, through 28 competitions. I have recommended it to thousands of my clients and readers who have also used it as a motivational tool with tremendous success.
Whether you're a competitor or a recreational health and fitness enthusiast, if you have goals and you know when you want to achieve them, then this method, "The countdown calendar," might become your most effective strategy for getting super lean, even though it's also one of the simplest strategies.
Create Your Calendar
Here's how it works: Get a wall or desk calendar - the type that shows each week stretching horizontally across the page with an open block of space for each day. Alternately, you can create your own chart on a computer in a word processor or spreadsheet. Extend the calendar to match the length of time you have for reaching your goal.
If you're working on a 12 week goal, that's 84 days. If you're competing in our Burn The Fat Holiday fitness challenge, that's 7 weeks (49 days) and if you're taking on our summer challenge, that's 14 weeks (98 days).
Circle the goal deadline or competition date on the calendar and mark that as day one. The end of that day - midnight - will be "zero hour." In each of the boxes, start counting backwards from the present day: T-minus 84 days… T-minus 83 days…T-minus 82 days. This will program your unconscious mind to bring you in for a perfect landing on your deadline date.
Set Your Deadlines
Someone once said that the deadline is the greatest invention in human history. That might be true, considering that almost nothing gets done without:
1. Urgency 2. Placing the utmost value on the finite amount of time you have If you don't have impending deadlines to give you a twinge in your stomach that screams, "Take action now, or else!" then you'll find it easier to say, "I have plenty of time, so one cheat meal or skipped workout doesn't matter." It matters. And it matters most when: a. There's little time to spare b. There's competition Most people get near to their deadline realizing that they're behind schedule. If you realize you don't have time after all, you tend to panic and engage in last minute scrambling behaviors or you resort to extreme methods and quick fixes. Last minute scrambling is stressful and last minute fixes can be dangerous, or even deadly, as in the case of diuretic abuse. Unlike having a single goal deadline date, the countdown method makes you acutely aware of how much time you have left on a daily basis, and every day, you see that the amount is shrinking and your window of opportunity is closing. You'll get more consciously focused and more motivated with each passing day as you see the deadline getting closer and closer and the urgency to get the job done increases with each passing day. Using a countdown calendar makes you realize that every day counts. If you're in a competition, and you're "in it to win it," the countdown method also makes you realize that every day you don't take advantage of fully, your competition takes one step ahead of you. Put Your Unconscious to Work and Peak on the Day That Counts This technique works on the unconscious level in a remarkable way. As the deadline date is repeatedly communicated to your brain every day, you are sending an unmistakable set of instructions to your subconscious mind, not only to get in shape, but to get in peak shape on a specific date. If you think about it, it's an incredible achievement to hit your peak on a single day of the year, especially the way bodybuilding, fitness and figure competitors do it. Arguably, it's too monumental of a task for the conscious mind to pull off on its own. But your unconscious mind has the power to change your daily behaviors in a subtle but significant way that will adjust your course to make a perfect landing like an F-14 on an aircraft carrier. If you're behind schedule, you may start working a little harder in the gym or you may eat a little less without even realizing it consciously. That's your unconscious guidance mechanism at work, which you have activated by setting a goal with a deadline and reinforcing the urgency of the deadline on a daily basis. Peak Your Physique With the "Streak Technique"! Another benefit of the countdown calendar is the momentum you build with every day in a row you successfully complete your daily goals. In addition to counting backwards on your calendar, you can also add up the number of days in a row that you've had spot-on compliance to your plan. You may find that the longer your string of successful days, the more motivation you have to keep your streak going and not miss a day. If you're a sports fan, this concept will be familiar. When you look at the standings each week for the NFL or other teams you see a weekly stat for "streak" which says something like "won 5" or "lost 3" and so on. The difference is, I recommend only keeping track of your wins. You do have to be cautious about becoming obsessive over streaks or it can backfire on you. The way the streak technique works, if you miss a day, you start your streak count over again. Because it's so frustrating to go back to zero, this is why tracking the streak is so motivating for some people. However, in the case of fitness and health benefits, you DON'T go back to zero physically by missing a day and you don't ruin an entire program by having an off day. Many people believe that if they miss a single day, it ruins their entire program (ie, "I messed up today, so I ruined my entire 12 week cut"). Of course this isn't true, but this type of perfectionistic attitude is common, the same way people may think an entire day is blown if they messed up one meal. Remember, if you allow yourself free meals or include a compliance rule such as, "90% of all meals will be on schedule and consist of the recommended foods," then 90% compliance is 100% success isn't it? While I am a fan of setting long term goals and being consistent for months and years on end, I don't believe it's always wise to pursue very long streaks. It's arguably smarter to know when to take breaks and recover. I know a man who ran every day for 11 years without missing a day. On many occasions he ran inside the hallways of hotel rooms, if necessary. When he started having knee pain, he continued to run through the pain for fear of blowing his streak. The pain got worse and eventually he had to stop running. When he did, the day he blew his 11 year streak was more painful emotionally to him than physically and he got very depressed. In other cases, after a long streak, nothing goes wrong physically, but the mere pressure of continued success and perfection builds up and causes someone to choke. Or consider the case of the fighter who is undefeated and then everyone then wants to knock him out, and off the top of the heap. Parting Advice... In conclusion, I recommend you use the countdown calendar method every time you have an important short term goal. If it suits your personality, use the streak technique for short term goals if you know you won't get obsessive about it over the long term. You may already be realizing that you can also use this technique in many other areas of your life as well. For fitness and physique goals - especially bodybuilding, fitness, figure or transformation contests - I assure you, the countdown calendar will become one of your secret weapons. If you've ever tried to reach your peak condition on a certain date, but you fell short and found that you were behind schedule and still carrying too much body fat, then this technique is the answer to your prayers. To download your 7 week (49-day)Countdown Calendar Click Here To download your 14 week (98-day) Countdown Calendar Click Here
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To discuss the contest countdown calendar technique in the Burn The Fat Inner Circle forums, CLICK HERE! (members only)
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