There is a time and a place for the BAM – the Bare Arse Minimum.

However…

I have noticed that the people who excel in any given pursuit do not settle for BAM.

Hardly.  Ever.

Let’s apply this to exercise;

Imagine the client who arrives early to their Personal Training session and jumps on the X-Trainer.  When I ask them if they’d like to start their session early they declare “Just another 3 mins and 42 seconds”.  They have their plan and they are not deviating.

This person would Never tell me they missed their planned jog but they did walk around the plaza with shopping bags for hours yesterday.  “Doesn’t that count?”

No.

Yeah, I’m in a tough love mood.

I don’t want to be Nothing Inside Cares Enough.

Because.  I.  Do.  Care.

In Anything you excel at, you kick BAM’s butt.  

So there’s no point thinking the absolute minimum possible effort with training and nutrition will get any better than minimal to zero results. 

Finished your weights session with fuel in the tank?

Awesome.  I’ve got a ‘finisher’ for you to try.  It’s designed to squeeze that little bit more outta you.  To get you sweating.  To get your heart pumping.  AND to allow your body to kept burning fat for up to 48 hours after you stop training.

Back:Chest Finisher

8 wide grip barbell rows : 8 push-ups

7 wide grip barbell rows : 7 push-ups

6 wide grip barbell rows : 6 push-ups

5 wide grip barbell rows : 5 push-ups

4 wide grip barbell rows : 4 push-ups

3 wide grip barbell rows : 3 push-ups

2 wide grip barbell rows : 2 push-ups

1 wide grip barbell row : 1 push-up

*zero rest from start to Finish and if the exercises feel ‘easier’ than they should near the end slow the speed right down.

No high-protein-low-carb-un-fried menu option on you NON-cheat meal out?

Sweet.  Ask for an adjustment to one of the meals.  Eating out and sticking to your fat loss guidelines is about 1.97 billion times easier than it used to be.  AND I don’t eat meat or fish!   If you’re polite (and not fussy about the veggies you do eat) restaurants are increasingly accommodating.  You’ve got to ask though.

Missed the bus and had to walk an extra 23 minutes?

Good on you.  That DOES NOT mean you get to skip your planned evening walk OR cut it 23 minutes short.

The BAM seeker will look to short change themselves.  To take any opportunity to do less or just spot on what they committed to.

The BAM beater will search out opportunities to go above and beyond.  To do extra core on their own.  To swap the side of chips for greens instead of having “just 3 chips”.   To pack a nutritious snack ‘just in case’ the nibbles at that birthday party are sausage rolls and pizza.

If up until now you’ve had a tendency to BAM with your health and fat loss then this post is not here to give you grief!  It’s here to get you thinking about the areas of your life where Bare Arse Minimum is simply not good enough.

Those things in which you hold yourself to super high standards.

Perhaps your career?  Your relationship?  Or you role as parent?

It’s the area(s) of your life in which you are getting out-standing results.

It’s also the perfect model for you to examine.  To learn from AND take inspiration from as you apply that same level of high standards to your fat loss goal.

Here’s to ditching BAM and embracing Best And Most Effective which will soon become Best And Most Enjoyable when the results start to show!

If you’re after some more specifics so far as Best And Most Effective check out my Fat Elimination Standards: