Keep your workout results expectations realistic

You may see commercials on tv or  ads in magazines that show ripped guys who got that way in only 30 or 60 days!

"Yeah, right," you say to yourself. "But, maybe...."

I'm not Fire Marshall Bill, but LETMETELLYASUMTHIN! If you're a regular person in regular shape, it ain't gonna happen.

I have no doubt (well, I do have some doubt, but I can see how it could be true) that the people in the commercials and advertisements really did achieve the looks they display in the promised number of days. But they started the program a lot closer to that shape than you will.

Let me be clear. I am not putting down these exercise/diet programs. They do work.

I'm just saying, don't expect to go from 40 pounds overweight to washboard abs in 60 days. Or 90 days. Or 120 days.

You'll get some great abs, sure, but seeing them will be the problem. Those last 10 or 15 pounds are a bear to lose. Trust me. Been there, still doing that.

Unless you are absolutely fanatical about calorie restriction and/or doubling up your workouts, you ain't gettin' there.

Here I am 21 months into it, and I am still stuck with the fat that covers my six-pack. Now, I look great (and that is not just me being vain, I have been told this by many people, even those I don't know very well), but I am not ready to hit the runway for a pose-off anytime soon, nor do I ever expect to be that ripped.

Don't get me wrong. This is a subject of some soreness for me, because I really want to see the six-pack. But I have to be pragmatic about this. If it were my job to get ripped, I mean, if I were getting paid to get ripped, you had best believe I'd get there. That is not the case, though, so I still enjoy ingesting comestibles that keep my waist from shrinking any farther. I still enjoy taking days off from workouts that might burn those extra calories.

I am a regular human living a regular human life.

So, really, it's all good.

I'm just saying, don't get all disappointed with your program, when you don't see that muscle definition you were looking for. That's the way it is. Either work harder, eat less, or just accept the fact that you will be in great shape, but maybe not with as low a body fat percentage as you'd like.

And if you are dedicated enough to be able to put that six-pack on display ... well, good for you (you bastard!)