The process of every “body’s” training is a meticulous balancing act. Whether you are training for a triathlon, or just trying to lose a few pounds, every action that you take affects your performance, and your level of performance is directly related to your results. Being thorough with your observations is your only weapon against losing your challenge, because it is in looking for the weakest link, in whichever practice, that you will find the key to your success.

Log, record, and write down everything about your training, nutrition and rest. If, for example, you identify your rest to be a weak link, then make it your new goal to get eight to nine hours of sleep a night. Implement the change for two weeks and record the results. Detail the differences that it made in terms of the quality of your energy, workouts, eating patterns, etc. Draw up a list with as many different parameters as possible and track these. After two weeks, make note of your observations in terms of concrete results like your tape measures (waist, hips, chest, arms, legs), your photos, your scale weight, your strength, endurance, distances, etc.

You can take this same approach with any aspect of your present fitness and health programme where you are dissatisfied with the results, and you will see the changes happening right before your eyes. You will not immediately know what information is useful, so record everything. As well, only make one change at a time so it becomes easier to see which change you made that gave you the best response. For example, if you lose three pounds, you want to be able to see if that was during the two weeks you reduced your carb intake later in the day or when you upped your intake of protein. Always write down your actions, good or bad as they may be. Don’t guess. Let the results guide you.

Every action causes a reaction. Lack of sleep affects your training performance and increases stress. Poor nutrition can affect your exercise, not exercising prevents you from managing stress which can affect your sleep, and so on. Find the weakest link and take note of its effects on the whole picture.

The next thing that you can look at is where your training and your physical fitness goals fall in your list of priorities. Question how low or high it is on your totem pole of things to take seriously and also your value system around your body, your health, your goals and yourself. Think about it: You wouldn’t not feed your kids. You wouldn’t give them a cardboard box to eat either. Your choices for feeding your children are carefully planned out and thought about, because in your value system they are prioritised, and those priorities are not ever questioned or moved around in rank on your list. But think about how flippantly you give up on your training, or eat something that does not fit in with your plan for your goals. It is an area in which your values are ambivalent at best, and this is a good opportunity for you to observe the occasions when you pull the rug out from underneath yourself.

You will learn a lot about your health and how to improve it by following these five steps.

1. Know what the end result that you want is. Be very specific and clear about your goal. Don’t just say “lose a few pounds” or “tone up”. You might say ‘I want to lose nine pounds by June 1, but lose no muscle mass’. This is very specific, it has a time component and puts restrictions of the type of weight loss allowed. Your training and nutritional parameters will follow directly from the exact result that you are looking for. If your goal is swimming 500 metres by June 10, then you can plan your training programme backwards from the goal of 500 metres on June 10, 490 metres on June 3, and so on.

2. Keep a record of your activities related to nutrition, exercise and sleep.

3. Look at what you are currently doing and if you are not 100% happy with the results, then raise the bar. Identify what you are currently doing related to your plan and then make changes accordingly.

4. Implement small changes one at a time for two weeks and then re-assess your results.

5. Keep placing yourself high up on your value priority system and always observe when and why you let your “self” value slip.

I rather like a common-sense approach to things. One thing that always makes sense to me is to use a scientific approach to discovery and problem solving. Rather than letting spontaneous decisions or random occurrences account for the results we achieve, it is much more efficient and effective to plan out and have some control over our health. Take yourself seriously today, make YOU a priority, and go experiment with your BEST SELF ever.