The new year is here and already I feel the wave coming.

Girls wants to lose a little fat (or a lot), guys want to put on muscle, and both want to sport some sign of ab definition.

This desire to look good? It’s as natural as a ball of clay (and I am right there with you).

I know better though.

I learned long ago what happens when we overly focus on appearance and bodybuilding. There is price we pay when we put all our eggs in this one basket and it’s not pretty.

The Bad

When you really want those abs, so bad that they are on our mind frequently and our life decisions are based around them, this is what we become:

1. Neurotic (weighing food and weighing yourself everyday)
2. Easily scammed (by trainers with 6 packs and pill companies that promise them)
3. Guilty (because you ate something not on your “meal plan”)
4. Overtrained (it’s easy to train everyday when the metric is “calories burned” or “the pump”)
5. Bored (with the routines and with the lifestyle)

It should be no surprise that most people opt out of their physical goals fairly early in the year.

If not because of the limiting lifestyle, then because their health has gone south (like I talk about here). When this happens, it becomes much easier to actually end up fatter than before.

Unless you’re a professional bodybuilder, you shouldn’t go this route.

Instead, learn how to attach your aesthetic goals to a performance standard.

The Good

We’ve been led to believe that if we want something, we have to focus tremendously hard to get it. Not only is this bogus, but in some cases it takes us further away (like with meditation).

What is more likely the case is that we need equal parts of Focus and Unfocus (or what I call “distraction”).

Chasing performance is how we unfocus (and see the forest from the trees).

Because “6 pack abs” is a very long arduous road, you will need something to carry you week-to-week, month-to-month, and maybe even year-to-year as you inch closer.

Performance, being a short-term and middle-term goal, allows for this.

Why It Works

1. Form follows Function.

Said another way, how you perform dictates how you are built. Look at Marathonners, Powerlifters, and Crossfitters. They all look different and it’s for a reason (which has more do with the hormones sent through their training than calories consumed).

2. Performance is “Systems” thinking

You cannot set a personal best off 4 hours of sleep nor can you expect to destroy your “Fran” time on a 1000 calorie deficit. Improving in your all-around physical abilities requires health and paying attention to the many variables that affect it (like managing stress).

In contrast, bodybuilding is more “details” which makes it easy to become lost in what’s really important (like being able to have the body you want year round).

What To Do

Okay, so hopefully by now some lights are going off and you’re ready to take a whack at this super hero thing.

Here’s a general outline of what you should do:

1. For Fat Loss

Pick workouts or a fitness discipline where the focus is on doing things faster. Walking, Sprinting, Crossfit, Obstacle Courses, and Strongman are my favorites here.

2. For Muscle Gain

Pick workouts or a fitness discipline where the focus is on doing more work. Simply coming back each workout and doing more pushups and chinups will be enough for the at-home warrior while Powerlifting will benefit the Gym crowd.

3. For 6 Pack Abs

Do both but sleep more (simple advice but not easy).

Final Word

Take the focus off your love handles and put it on a number.

• So you can run one lap in 55 seconds. Can you you run it in under 50 seconds next workout?
• You can do 11 pushups. Can you do 20 by the end of the month?
• You’re best is a 1 minute plank. Can you triple that by the end of winter?

This takes the focus off our “deficiencies” and what we have to do correct them and instead shines light on something more positive:

WHAT CAN WE DO?

The answer may surprise you.