Day 408: Real-Time Accountability With Tom Venuto And John Bartlett!

G'day Shredders,

Another day, another workout!

Today I grinded out a "win" on Fat Loss Circuit Training by increasing my weight increments across the board by an average of 2% compared to the previous time I did this workout 3 weeks ago. This is "progressive overload" and it is vital to implement this strategy in your own workouts in order to make progress.

Day 42: Time Machine

Yesterday I went back in time on a "milestone day" for this blog which was Day 42 of Mission 1. I was on a natural high and felt very confident that this was "it".

I was also constantly programming my subconscious mind to expect success through daily visualization, up to the point where I literally couldn't get to sleep!

I also mentioned that there was another reason I was filled with such nervous energy. I asked the question and Suzette and James nailed it correctly by saying that this was the first day I went "public" with this blog, (I'm gonna have to make harder quizzes one of these days!)

Increasing The "Positive Pressure"

Yes, Day 42 was the first day anyone outside of my family knew my blog existed. I used this blog to hold myself "internally accountable" for the first 6 weeks by posting daily pics and blog entries.

I then decided to increase the "positive pressure" by holding myself "externally accountable" in real-time by joining Tom Venuto's awesome Burn The Fat Inner Circle community.

This was actually a very cool slice of "luck" as Tom Venuto had only just opened the Inner Circle in September 2006. I was very tempted to join on opening day because I knew the accountability factor would be massive with Tom and his team of experts checking out the Photo Galleries and Progress Journals where I would post my intentions.

I Couldn't "Pull The Trigger"

However, I was in a very negative mindset around that time because I was in the midst of another failed attempt at transforming my physique (documented on my "Secret Blog") and as a consequence I just couldn't "pull the trigger".

I still held hope that one day I would have the "guts" to join the Inner Circle and practice real-time accountability. I just had no idea when that day would come.

Little did I know that I would dive in head first only 3 months later! I first introduced myself in the Introduction Forum and then posted my Day 1/42 pictures in the Photo Gallery. I also stated my Mission 1 intentions and gave a brief overview of my "past life".

John Bartlett Was The First To Welcome Me!

The response from Inner Circle members was mind blowingly supportive. Actually, the first person to welcome me was John Bartlett who became a great inspiration for me to finish the job on M1 due to John's own massive 12 week physique transformation from a place similar to where I was in July 2003.

John has documented his journey in great detail at ShreddedMuscle.com and continues to raise his standards by becoming a natural bodybuilding professional and appearing in muscle magazines absolutely shredded! Learn more about John's journey by clicking the image below.


Pushing Through The Pain Barrier

Needless to say, this decision of "going public" really meant that Mission 1 was "game on" in real-time due to the fact that Tom, John and many other members knew what I was up to!

Since I committed to posting my progress pictures in the Photo Gallery every 2 weeks I harnessed this "positive pressure" during my workouts and forced myself to push through the pain barrier every single session.

Below are the 2 accountability phases of Mission 1. Real-time accountability really does work!


The Ultimate Twist Of Fate!

I can now safely say that joining the Inner Circle has transformed my life in a massive way as I also got learn so much more about burning fat inside the Inner Circle. Since this time I have gone on to write 4 exclusive articles (not published anywhere else) for the Inner Circle and became an official contributor on Day 202. How's that for a twist of fate!?

Of course, as you can see by my Mission 4 Goal Graphic the ultimate twist of fate is yet to come! I discuss this much more in depth in the coming weeks.

N.B. The full strategy behind this accountability approach was actually the subject of a 2-Part article series I wrote for the Inner Circle back on Day 206. If you'd like to read the article series you can join the Inner Circle or check out my full Inner Circle Category for more information.


Not long after I also joined other networks online like Myspace, FaceBook, BodySpace and YouTube with the intention of holding myself publicly accountable in as many places as possible.

Advice For My Fellow Shredders

My Fellow Shredders, I'd like to issue a challenge! When you feel its time to "pull the trigger" and go massive I would wholeheartedly recommend joining the Inner Circle (or another of the other social networking sites I listed above) as this will intensify the "positive pressure" on you make a full-blooded physique transformation.

Shredder Pact:

We will focus on the single daily actions that produce results.

We will "burn our bridges" and not look back.

We will never surrender.

Until tomorrow...

Eat Clean,
Shred Hard,
Think BIG!

Cheers,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT

P.S. Below are my Day 408 RTP Blog Daily pictures for December 21, 2007: Mission 4 - Day 33 of 125.