Body By Design: The Complete 12-Week Plan to Transform Your Body Forever

Q: What sets Body by Design apart from other books in the fitness category?

Gethin: When I set out to create Body by Design, I soon realized I have one tool at my disposal that no other fitness book before has ever had – a community of hundreds of thousands of people who know that this stuff works. I’m the editor in chief of BodySpace, the largest fitness-focused social networking site in the world (think of it like Facebook for fitness). Every day I’m talking with our members -- giving them advice, listening to their concerns and challenges, and learning what works (and what doesn’t). In addition, I’ve been training athletes, fitness professionals, and regular people who just want to get healthy for more than a decade. I’ve seen people undergo the most amazing transformations when they use all the tools at their disposal -- the right diet, a smart exercise regimen, and the lasting mental motivation they need to stick with the program for the long term.

In Body by Design, I’m combining my own expertise with the crowd-sourced wisdom of hundreds of thousands of BodySpace members to create an utterly unique and incredibly inspiring book. The core of Body by Design is the 12-week workout plan, fully illustrated with four-color photos (and, in the enhanced eBook edition, video). I’ll also give you a simple eating plan, dozens of delicious recipes, and motivational tips you won’t find anywhere else to keep you on track. In addition, you’ll read more than 20 Transformation Stories, from people just like you who actually achieved the body of their dreams.

Q: How did you first get involved with fitness and training?

Gethin: Several years ago, I suffered a bad back injury and severe asthma – and then I transformed from an active guy to a couch potato, gaining a circle of friends who liked to party. Soon I was overweight and depressed. I knew I was too weak to change my habits on my own, so I decided to change my social network and surround myself with people who enjoyed working out and taking care of their bodies. Soon fitness was a lifestyle, not just a passing fad for me. I lost weight, eradicated my back pain, regained energy, improved my outlook on life … and then I made it my life’s work to inspire others.

Q: Why do so many people have trouble sticking to a fitness plan?

Gethin: Too many people focus on short-term goals. Trying to reach some "perfect" physique or losing weight for a big event can only motivate you for so long – then you’re right back where you started. I call these kinds of short-term goals “fixed motivation.” True motivation -- lasting motivation -- is something quite different. If you can tap into your long-term goals and create a group of friends you can relate to, you will never have to make another New Year’s resolution to lose weight, or put all of your hope in an exercise gadget from an infomercial -- and you certainly won’t find yourself going through the perpetual cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Extra support can be found online at places like BodySpace (www.bodyspace.com). When you tell yourself that you aren’t going to eat cake anymore, it’s easy to give in to temptation, especially if you are having a bad day or happen to be at a social gathering. Now imagine telling 10, 100, maybe 1,000 friends (who are supportive) that you’ve set healthier eating goals for yourself. All of a sudden, accountability takes on a whole new meaning -- it becomes Radical Accountability. You don’t have to log on to BodySpace to enjoy the benefits of Body by Design –- but it’s there if you need it!

Q: How important is diet vs. exercise in a fitness plan? And what changes should someone make in their diet to complement their workouts?

Gethin: One isn’t more important than the other. Trying to get into shape without a strategic nutrition plan, an ever-challenging exercise routine, or a support group is much like shaving off the leg from a stool – you’re going become unstable and likely to fall over. The majority of people focus on removing things from their diets, but Body by Design focuses on adding -– adding more meals to keep the metabolism firing, adding more quality calories to provide energy and recovery from the accompanying training routine, and more adding instrumental training phases to the workout routine to ensure the body doesn’t adapt and plateau.

Q: Any last words of advice?

Gethin: Be transparent with your goals -- tell as many supportive people as you can. By putting your reputation on the line and staring in the face of certain embarrassment, you are much more accountable to see your goals through, for life.