on looking ripped and getting a 6-pack

Do you really need to?

Does it really matter that much?

What do you think is going to change? Why do you want to get into the shape that Instagram tells us is all around us, the shape that magazine cover models and celebrities look like?

Is it going to make you a better parent? Is it going to make you a better friend? Are you going to be a better sibling? Are you going to be a better boss or employee?

Not really.

Being in good health, being in reasonably good shape (lesser abdominal fat, reasonable waist:height ratio), being StrongEnough are all worthwhile goals and we should certainly aim to be there.

Being in good health will definitely make you work better, as you are mentally sharper. It can make you a better person, coz you are feeling physically and mentally better. You have more energy, sure.

But beyond that, do we really need to go the extra mile (or as you will realise the extra 100 miles)?

What's a few extra kilos or inches in your waistline going to do to you, if your cholesterol is great (and whatever other markers we need to keep an eye on), you have the luxury of a beer with your mates when you want to, cake with your family when you want to, and indulge sensibly in all the things that you want to?

Enough is enough.

All of us should be 80% or thereabouts. You should be lifting weights regularly, you should be eating vegetables and all of that, sleeping well - at least 80% of the time.

A few weeks of the year, you can dial it up.

A few weeks of the year, you can dial it down if you need. But you might not need to.

For some of you with great genetics, the 80% is often enough to get you to looking ripped. For most of you, it will be enough to get you into a better waistline, into those clothes you want to fit into.

For most of you, that's enough.

Happiness is not found at the end of this when you get your 6-pack.

Do you think more time at the gym, more time restricting your eating, more time being obsessed about a goal that you are not entirely sure of what it adds to your life is going to get you to be happier? Or more time with your friends or family? Or being happy with where your current body is compared to where it was? Or more importantly, being happier with the choices you are making compared to what you were making?

I am not advocating being out of shape (or rather, unhealthy). I am simply telling you that being in shape versus looking ripped and having a 6-pack are not the same thing at all.

I think a lot of us fail at our health and fitness goals because we mistake our end-goal.

Think about it.