It's a new year and you've probably promised yourself you'll get in shape. We all do it.
But why settle for less? Why go after half-arsed results? Why not make 2016 the year that you earned your best body ever?
If you're going to do a proper body transformation with magazine-standard results you've got to be serious.
This was a vow I made for myself in 2015 - and I had to grind it out in the gym every single day to win one of
Britain's top physique contests - the Miami Pro.
So I've put together some solid advice so you can work towards the best body you've ever had too...
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Get coaching
If you want a next-level body transformation, you need people with knowledge behind you. Those Davina McCall fitness DVDs just won't cut it.
Find a coach that is going to help you. A coach can provide just a diet plan right up to a full training plan and round-the-clock support.
The first thing to consider is what it is you want from the coach. Do you want full support with all your training and diet looked after or do you just want a typical training plan you can download off the Internet and follow?
If you're really serious about a body transformation and you want it done properly I would say pay a bit extra and get someone that will give you the complete service.
Ask around, look at their work, look at their results, check their social media for their client transformations - it will be obvious who the right coach is for you.
Diet plan
Transforming your body means big changes to your diet. That daily pie and chips isn't going to be part of it.
The most important thing a coach will provide you with is your diet plan. What they are going to do is ask for some stats like your weight, height and the foods you eat.
Then they will go away and set up a diet plan for you. It will generally be a week-by-week thing and every week of the programme you're will be sent a diet plan to follow.
At the end of the week you often ‘check in’ with your coach by sending them over your current body weight and some progress pictures.
Then your coach may make some changes to the diet plan for the following week. This approach gets the best results compared to some generic, off-the-shelf diet you'll see around at this time of year.
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Training
A coach can provide a training plan. But if you're confident you're going to be able to programme your own training and you've got a good idea of what muscles you're going to train on which days, how often you'll train in a week and at what times, then that's great.
Then make sure your gym membership is in place, obviously.
From the moment you start this transformation, your training and your diet is the priority. You're in a transformation now. You've got to make sure you're planning how you're going to fit your training in around your busy work schedule.
Thinking ahead - plan what days to train, what muscle groups, whether you train before or after work - or at lunchtime.
Food
It's not the sexiest part of training, but start thinking about your weekly food budget. With your diet plan you are most probably going to be eating foods that are new to you and therefore your shopping list is going to look a lot different.
You're going to have to spend more money on food - so start to thing about how to allow for a bigger weekly food budget or look at where you can get good value by buying in bulk
You're going to be eating lean meats (unless you're veggie) and good carbs. You can find places online that sell in bulk rather than going and spending a shed load of cash every day at the supermarket.
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Measure up
One thing that you've probably never done before is weighing and measuring your food - this is called 'food prep'. You'll probably think 'oh bloody hell' at first!
But it's a big part of it. When you get your diet plan they will tell you exact measurements of food you're going to be eating. This comes down to every single part of each meal.
You wake up in the morning and your breakfast plan might be oats, protein powder and fruit. That will be broken down into grams per ingredient.
You might think this will take you absolutely ages, but it wont. You just have to get into the routine.
Make sure you get digital kitchen weighing scales for best accuracy - and try and get used to using them before you start your transformation.
Food preparation
This is a life-saver! When you get your diet plan, you'll notice a lot of your meals will be the same sort of thing...and as I said everything will have measurements that need weighing out. But this doesn't have to take you ages every day.
The trick is to do food preparation. For example on the Sunday before work you'd have a big food cooking session where you can prep up to three days' worth of meals.
It might take you 60 minutes, but in that time you could cook your meals for the next three days, box them up and take them with you in a little cool bag.
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Cardio
You're going to be doing a lot more cardio training than you're used to. The best and most efficient way to burn fat is by doing fasted cardio – which means getting it done before you've had your breakfast. There are different ways to perform cardio such as running, cycling, rowing etc. Find what technique suits you or consult with your coach.
Where is going to be best to do this? If you can get down the gym early or get out running in a local park then great. But I found the best thing for me was buying a second-hand treadmill from eBay and stuck it in my extension.
I just rolled out of bed and did my cardio every morning with no fuss. You can find a decent second hand treadmill, elliptical or exercise bike on eBay or Gumtree.
If fasted cardio is not an option for you then fitting in your cardio in at the end of your weights sessions (post workout) is fine.
Training
Your weight training is going to be stepped up from what you're doing now. If you want results, you have to hit it harder. You're probably going to be in the gym around five times a week, covering all you muscle groups.
That's not five days of chest - it means back, arms, shoulders and legs. Definitely legs.
It has to be consistent week in and week out - consistency brings results. This is
how I trained to win the Miami Pro last year and it got me ridiculous results.
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Rest days and cheat meals
Rest days are essential. If you are hitting the gym five times a week, then you need to be resting up the other two days. Rest days will give your body a chance to recover, and grow. That last bit is absolutely key. I usually take Wednesdays and Sundays off the gym.
Along with rest days you will be having weekly re-feeds sometimes known as a 'cheat meals' which boost your metabolism back up and replenish your body. This is the fun part! Your coach will advise you on when and what to eat for your cheat meals. Generally junk food is allowed - my choice was always a large stuffed crust chicken supreme from Pizza Hut.
Stick with it
The first couple of weeks are the hardest. It's going to be a shock to the system - new routine, you're still working, you might feel run down, food going to change drastically - so all those nice things you used to eat are going to be taken out of your diet.
But with any sort of training if you're not used to it it's going to be horrible at the start. But after three weeks it's going to become a habit.
Your mind will adapt to your new schedule. If you get over that initial period where it's so bad you feel like giving up, you'll start enjoying it and start seeing results!
You can see more of Joel's expert fitness and training advice here.
Image credit: Christopher Bailey and Simon Howard
