Some fitness dude once said to me, “summer bodies are made in the winter”. I then asked him, “Then are winter bodies are made in the summer?” He responded, “ What the hell is a winter body?” I said, “What the hell is a summer body?” His leer of pure discontent still haunts me to this day. Semantics aside my muscle-bound friend was right, being healthy and fit is a year-round gig. It may be hard to find the motivation for this transformation but lucky things like protein, pre-workouts, and some of my personal tips for motivation could help get you through it.

PROTEIN 

First things first, for the readers who do not know protein powders are not just for the juice heads anymore and they are not all created equal. I do suggest getting some protein powder if you are looking to do anything other than fast until you can see your cheekbones. WARNING: do not fast your body in an attempt to see cheekbones.

But getting back on track, protein is an essential element to helping your muscles grow. For most looking to get in shape, repetition exercises will be in our future. These exercises tear down the muscle tissue and when it rebuilds it comes back harder, stronger, and bigger. Giggity. Protein helps with this because your body needs protein to rebuild the muscle.

But be careful with which protein you buy. Some of the leading protein brands can offer cheap prices for the bottle, but the amount of ACTUAL protein is laughable. So are you buying a bottle of powder or are you buying for the protein? Some of the leading brands can have half the amount of the total weight of the bottle designated to actual protein. So what is the other half you're ingesting? *scratches head* Other thing to remember is not all protein is created equal. Look for strait forward honest nutrition labels with simple ingredient lists. Just because it is a big name does not mean it is also the best.

Lastly, try not to use WHEY protein as a meal replacement. It is simply not packed with the nutrients that you will need to keep your body healthy. Try instead to eat whole foods like chicken and vegetables. It will not only be better for your whole body, but it will provide you with a substantial amount of protein. On top of that your body will have to burn more calories processing the whole food then it will the protein shake.

TL;DR take protein to build muscle faster after doing repetition exercises. Buy the best, buy Uprise Nutrition’s protein. 

PRE-WORKOUTS

This little dynamo is meant to ( among other things) ramp you up before a workout. Lack of motivation generally stems from a lack of energy. With the usual workday being right in the middle of the day, we are generally pushed to exercise prior to work in the early morning or to work out after work when we are already tired. Either way, any one person is likely to be feeling drained before they even start strenuous exercise. Thus, having this pick-me-up can be just the kick start you need to get rolling with your workout.

TL;DR Uprise Nutrition pre-workout will give you the kick in the pants that you need to go to the gym.

MOTIVATIONAL TIPS

Most of us would like to be in better shape but have trouble staying focused and motivated. I have compiled a few tips that I use and work for me and I hope they can work for you.

• Set a clear goal and measure it along the way. One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated is to see the gains in an objective sense. Weighing yourself is a great way to do this. Many say if you are weight lifting while dieting you will gain muscle while you lose fat but no one will gain muscle at the same rate you lose fat because building muscle is a much, much, much, slower process. So get on the scale once a day and weight yourself while keeping track of it over time. It will hold you accountable and let you see your results as you go. Fall off the wagon and you’ll see it, stay strict and you’ll see it as well.
  

• Plan your work and work your plan. Set out a clear schedule for yourself on when you can work out and when you can’t. In the beginning, going every day is ill-advised. It will make you incredibly sore and give a feeling of being overwhelmed. So it is only a natural feeling to want to stop. But if you set up a 4 (maybe 5) day a week workout schedule and keep to it like it is a standing Monday meeting then you will be likely to keep going in your pursuit of fitness.
  

• Watch pump up videos from those you aspire to look like. Just about every athlete nowadays has an inspiration video. Sometimes something as simple as watching one of these is enough to get you off the couch. I know it has worked for me on a couple of occasions.
  

• Most of all, keep in mind that you are just starting out. As with any new endeavor, you will not be the best at it. There will be people in the gym who are in way better shape than you. But you are still lapping those suckers on the couch. Stay true and do you.