ebook | 7 health & fitness...

eBook | 7 Health & Fitness Mistakes


7 Health & Fitness Mistakes

That You Need to Stop Making

by Will Owen

Disclaimer:

You're smart and you KNOW this, but...

I offer no representations, warranties or guarantees verbally, in

writing or otherwise regarding specific results. Results for each

person may significantly vary. None of the individuals

represented have been paid or otherwise compensated. None of

the case studies, testimonials or reviews have been scripted and

are true and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

Published by Travel Strong

© 2016 Travel Strong


Why You Must Fix Each of

These Mistakes Today

I'm Will Owen, and I'm the founder of Travel Strong.

You're here because you heard that I can help you lose

weight, build muscle and get healthy without letting this

fitness thing take over your entire life.

And I can.

But first you need to avoid making each of the seven

mistakes in this eBook that prevent people from ever

getting the body of their dreams.

These are the mistakes I made when I was starting out and

they sabotaged all of my efforts for close to 2 years.

But here’s the thing:

As soon I fixed them I was quickly able to turn it all around.

And fixing them has worked wonders for others too…

I help men and women from all walks of life get leaner,

stronger, fitter and healthier overall with flexible plans that


work in the REAL WORLD.

Here are the exact words from some of the people I have

worked with:

“After following Will’s recommendations and making some small

changes to my diet, I lost 10lbs in just a few weeks” – Joe Taylor

“Will’s workouts challenged me in a way that I didn’t think

bodyweight exercises could, and when I did eventually get back

in the gym I was even stronger than before!” – Stephanie Dobay

I’m sharing these stories because I want you to know that

you are not alone. Everybody tries and fails many times over

before finally breaking through and getting results.

And it’s not until they’ve fixed mistakes that they make any

real progress.

So let’s jump in…


Mistake #1

Blaming Yourself

When I was starting out, the first thing I did was google,

“how to lose weight and get abs”.

I was hoping for a straightforward solution, but instead was

met with thousands of conflicting opinions (and products).

One 'expert' would say:

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" or "low reps

are for building muscle and high reps are for toning"

...but the next would say:

"Skip breakfast everyday and fast instead" or "the only exercises

you need to do are squats and deadlifts".

Sometimes, within the first couple of weeks of trying

something, I'd lose a few pounds, or get a little stronger.

But after a month or two I'd end up right back where I

started. Each time I tried something that didn't work out it

was a huge mental setback.


Instead of thinking about my process (or whether the diet or

program I was following even worked), I'd always blame

myself:

"If only I had tried harder, it would have worked".

And then I'd try something new. Lose some weight. Put it all

back on. Hate myself. Give up and try something else.

Repeat.

Eventually, I realized that "trying harder" to force myself to

do something that I didn't enjoy wasn't working....

....and was NEVER going to.

I realized that I needed to find a way to make fitness

compliment my lifestyle (rather than ruling it), and that it

actually needed to be fun.

That was the only way it was going to be something that I

could sustain long-term.

And eventually, I found my solution.

More on that later.


Mistake #2

Program Hopping

(aka ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’)

I wasted 2 years trying to find the ‘perfect’ workout routine

and diet.

I wanted to find a program that would give me the

endurance to run a marathon, make me strong like a

powerlifter, fast like an Olympic sprinter and look like the

cover models that you see on the front of magazines.

I would start a program and stick with it for a few weeks,

and sometimes I would see some progress.

But even when I did, I would switch to a new program

before I ever gave it chance to really start working.

I had a bad case of ‘shiny object syndrome’.

The problem was that at the time I believed there was a

‘perfect’ program out there that was better than the one I

was currently doing – one that would make it a cinch to

reach all those goals I mentioned.


It was made worse by the fact that every day I would see a

‘hottest new workout’ or ‘workout of the day’ in magazines

and online. I was sucked in by the promise of amazing

results in a short amount of time.

So instead of sticking to a program for a few months and

then re-evaluating, I was switching programs week-to-week.

And guess what?

I made no real progress whatsoever.

But then, after almost 2 years of spinning my wheels, a

friend and I decided to follow a program we both liked the

look of and see what happened.

The results were incredible. In just under 6 months I got

leaner and stronger than I had in the entire 2 years before.

What made all the difference?

That I stuck to the plan.

The real reason that so many people fail to reach their goals

is that they lack consistency.

I was program hopping because I believed that a ‘perfect’

workout existed. It was like chasing a carrot on a stick.


Other people lose motivation when they don’t see

immediate results. Some end up program hopping because

doing the same workouts for months on end sounds boring.

Maybe it does to you too. But here’s the thing:

It won’t seem boring when you’re steadily getting leaner and

stronger, while everybody else is going round in circles.

It won’t seem boring when you experience the confidence

boost you get from looking your best and feeling fit.

And it won’t seem boring when, rather than wasting your

time and money on the latest trends, gimmicks and fads,

you’re avoiding stress and getting your life back.

Obviously, for all that to happen you need a good plan.

Being consistent is one thing, but without the right plan

you will be wasting your time.

How do you get the right plan?

I’ll talk more about that later. For now, let’s take a look at the

third mistake…


Mistake #3

Doing ‘Toning’ Exercises

(aka ‘Spot Reduction’)

For a lot of people, this is going to be a tough pill to swallow,

but here goes:

‘Toning exercises’ don’t exist.

Of course, you can look ‘toned’. But targeting a particular

muscle with ‘toning exercises’ is a waste of time.

In other words: doing ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups

won’t help you get a flat stomach. Nor will special arm

exercises get rid of a set of jiggly bingo wings.

Now, I know that might come as a shock. But don’t beat

yourself up; I used to believe it too.

But it just doesn’t work that way.

Why not?

Simply put, you can’t turn fat into muscle.


Fat and muscle are two completely different tissue types

and exist independently of each other.

One can’t magically turn into the other.

So while doing hundreds of sit-ups each day can strengthen

your abs, if they’re covered by a layer of fat they still won’t

be visible.

And that fat isn’t going anywhere: the idea that you can

remove fat from a particular area of your body with toning

exercises – often called ‘spot reduction’ – is a myth.

Research has shown that you can only lose fat if you

burn more calories than you consume. Unfortunately,

you can’t choose where the fat you lose comes from.

On a side note: the last place men lose fat from is their belly

and lower back, and for women it’s the hips and thighs.

Now of course, you can look ‘toned’.

But the process of getting that look is very different to what

you might think.

To shed some light on the matter, let’s take a look at the

next mistake…


Mistake #4

Believing That Lifting Weights

Will Make You Bulky

I did a lot of running when I started out.

I figured that it would definitely help me lose weight and

probably help me build some muscle too.

But running doesn’t build muscle. You only need to look as

far as a marathon runner to see what I mean.

So while I did lose weight, I still didn’t look the way I

wanted to. I was skinny, but somehow still wasn’t lean.

This is a look that is sometimes called ‘skinny-fat’.

Side note: I’m still a fan of running. But, from an aesthetic

standpoint, it isn’t the most efficient form of exercise.

It was only when I started lifting weights that I started to see

real progress.


‘Lifting weights’ is sort of an umbrella term for anything that

involves barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, or anything

else that has mass, including your own body.

And I’m not talking about pink dumbbells or so-called ‘girl

push-ups’ here, either.

I’m talking about using substantial weights or doing

bodyweight exercises that are genuinely challenging.

It’s this type of exercise that people usually associate with

getting big and bulky – not with getting slender and toned.

It’s a line of thinking that originates with the myth that ‘lifting

weights will make you bulky’.

Unfortunately, this is one of the most pervasive myths in the

fitness industry, and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

The truth is that muscle grows incredibly slowly.

To give you an idea of just how slowly, check out the table

on the next page from Lyle McDonald (one of the smartest

trainers in the industry).

Pay close attention to the absolute maximum amount of

muscle you can build in a month.


Years of Training Potential Rate of Muscle Growth Per Year

1 20-25 pounds (2 pounds per month)

2 10-12 pounds (1 pound per month)

3 5-6 pounds (0.5 pounds per month)

4+ 2-3 pounds (not worth calculating)

While it doesn’t take long to see a significant difference in

your physique (providing you are a beginner following a

smart training plan), you are never going to wake up one

day looking like The Incredible Hulk.

It just isn’t going to happen.

Now, you may be thinking, “if that’s true then what’s the deal

with bodybuilders?”

The answer is simple:

Both male and female bodybuilders openly use

performance-enhancing drugs (aka steroids) that make it

possible for them to build unnatural amounts of muscle.

To put the level of steroid usage into perspective, there are

special ‘natural’ bodybuilding competitions for people who

don’t want to use steroids.

In the ‘normal’ bodybuilding competitions, steroid usage is

permitted.


Moving on…

Not only can resistance training build muscle, giving you the

shape your muscles need to appear strong and toned, but it

also burns fat.

In fact, the right kind of resistance training (the kind I use

with my private clients and in the Member’s Area) burns up

to 35% more fat than traditional methods of cardio.

And that’s not even the best part…

Muscle needs energy to survive. So the more muscle you

build, the more calories you can (and need to) consume.

That means that – done right – resistance training builds

muscle, burns fat and lets you eat more of the foods you

love, all at the same time.

If you’re wondering what sort of workouts and exercises you

should be doing, don’t fret. I’ll talk about that more later.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at mistake #5…


Mistake #5

Trying to Outrun your Fork

This is a mistake that most people know about and yet one

that I see people making all the time.

People decide they want to change something about their

physique so they start working out. Maybe they go to the

gym, go running, or start doing fitness classes.

They might start out slowly, but before long they are

exercising almost every day, often for hours at a time.

Assuming they don’t burn out or lose motivation first, they’ll

start asking questions like:

“What’s the best exercise to get rid of love handles?”

“Should I do interval training at the end of my workouts?”

“How can I tone my thighs?”

They keep adding more and more to their workouts, but

they aren’t fixing the underlying problem: their diet.

It’s like trying to build a house on an unstable foundation.


Hopefully, you remember from Mistake #3 that targeted

exercises to remove fat from a certain part of your body

don’t work. They are a myth.

To reiterate: you can only lose fat if you burn more

calories than you consume. Likewise, if you consume

more calories than you burn then you will gain weight.

This is a deceptively simple rule. Have you ever really

stopped to think about how easy it is to eat 100 calories and

how hard it is to burn 100?

Take a look at this chart…

Let’s look at an example:

You eat two donuts for breakfast, hit up Domino’s for lunch,

grab some fries and a drink from McDonald’s on the way


home, and then eat a Taco Bell Fiesta Salad before bed. That

adds up to roughly 3500 calories.

Factoring in your BMR (which is how many calories your

body burns just to stay alive) – let’s say 2000 calories a day –

you would need to run a half marathon to even things out.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time or

desire to run a half-marathon every day just to prevent

excess weight gain.

And fortunately, I don’t have to.

It’s much easier to simply focus on my diet instead.

Yes, exercise is important and certain workouts (like those in

the Member’s Area) will dramatically speed up the process

and allow you to eat more.

But, if your diet isn’t on point, then you will never reach

your goals (whether that’s to lose fat or build muscle).

Of course, knowing that you need to clean up your diet and

knowing how to do it are two very different matters…

But when you know the system that has worked for myself

and countless others you won’t have to guess.


It’s something I’ll cover later in this 7-day challenge, but for

now, let’s take a look at the sixth mistake…

Mistake #6

Saying: “I don’t have time”

The first gym I ever signed up to had a special offer where

they gave you a free hour with one of their in-house

personal trainers.

He was showing me around the machines, and I remember

asking about how much time I was going need to spend at

the gym to get the results I wanted.

He told me:

"At least an hour each day, 5-6 days a week".

I didn't know any better, so I believed him.

I started spending an hour exercising almost every day of

the week.

I kept it up for around a month, but in the end, I gave up.


Honestly, I just had other, more important, things to do.

“How you spend your time is a reflection of your priorities”,

some might say. If you’re spending hours in front of the TV

every day and say you don’t have time to exercise - then I

agree - you probably need to get your priorities straight.

But more so than ever, our lives are filled with non-

negotiable obligations: working long hours, multiple jobs,

looking after kids, running errands etc.

And there are other things that are simply more important

to you than spending hours in the gym.

There’s NOTHING wrong with that.

But here’s the thing:

You don’t need to find hours each day to get leaner,

stronger and fitter.

You don’t even need 30 minutes.

Most people believe that they have to spend hours in the

gym or go for long, boring runs to get the body of their

dreams.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth, and I’ll show you

why in the next couple of days.


Mistake #7

Making it Harder than it

Needs to be

If anybody ever tells you that getting in shape is easy, you

should run in the opposite direction.

Not only are they wrong, but they are lying to you…

…because the truth is that getting in shape is hard.

If you’ve ever wondered why it’s so difficult, it’s because the

world is set up to make you fail.

It might sound like I’m exaggerating, but think about it:

All the most convenient and delicious food is bad for us. Our

bodies are hardwired to want high-calorie foods and

manufacturers capitalize on that fact.

Friends and family (the very people who should be

supporting us) criticize our healthy choices because they

themselves feel guilty.


The health and fitness industry – the place we turn to for

advice – couldn’t be more confusing. It’s filled with ‘gurus’

and companies whose priority is to make a quick buck, not

to help us reach our goals (there are of course also good

people in the industry, but they are a minority).

With so much working against us, the last thing we want to

do is make things even more difficult...

…and yet, that’s what 99% of people do.

They go from doing absolutely nothing, to doing everything.

One day you’re sitting on the couch eating chocolate and

watching TV. The next you’re trying to run 5 miles, eating

carrot sticks, and preparing a salad for lunch the next day.

And you know what? I get it. You want results, and you want

them now. The logic is that the more you do the sooner they

will come. I used to think that way too.

But you are setting yourself up to fail.

Sooner or later, you will get injured, lose motivation, or get

so hungry that you end up going on a massive binge.

Eventually, you end up right back where you started.


That may sound harsh, but I want to highlight the fact that

short-term, all-or-nothing approaches do not work.

Instead, you need to focus on creating change that lasts. Not

just for a few weeks, but for months, years… your entire life.

(that’s why the Travel Strong 7-day challenge is focused on

small, actionable steps you can take one day at a time)

After all, aren’t you always going to want to be fit,

healthy and in great shape?

We all know that change isn’t easy.

It takes time, dedication, and hard work.

But with the right system and continued support, it

suddenly seems much easier.

That’s exactly what I give to everyone I work with.

But right now, if you want to get fit and healthy, you

need to stop wasting time and money on fads and

gimmicks, and instead commit to long-term change.


What to do Instead

Most health and fitness plans focus on long, boring

workouts, restrictive dieting, and short-term solutions.

People buy into them because they believe that punishing

themselves is the only way to get fit and healthy.

That’s why these mistakes are so easy to make.

But the truth is that you can lose fat and build muscle

with short, intense workouts that you can do anywhere.

Not only that, but you don’t need to give up the foods you

love either (seriously).

Get started today by eliminating each of the health & fitness

mistakes I revealed in this eBook, and look out for more

emails from me in the coming days.

I’m going to show you how to lose fat while eating the foods

you already love, and build an incredible physique with

workouts that can be as short as 10 minutes.

Talk soon,

Will

ebook | 7 health & fitness...

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