James Haskell - Perfect Fit

First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Hodder & Stoughton
An Hachette UK company

Copyright James Haskell 2018

The right of James Haskell to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Design and Art Direction: Smith & Gilmour
Photographer: Andrew Burton
Shoot Producer: Ruth Ferrier
Food Stylist: Emily Jonzen
Prop Stylist: Olivia Wardle
Performance Consultant: Jake Saunders
Models: Jake Saunders, Kirby Young, Tia Lewis
Equipment Supplier: Pulse Fitness
www.pulsefitness.com

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 473 64874 6

The information contained in this book is not intended to replace the services of trained health or fitness professionals or be a substitute for medical advice. You are advised to consult a doctor on any matters relating to your health, and in particular on any matters that require diagnosis or medical attention.

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
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www.hodder.co.uk

Hello! Welcome to my book, and hopefully to the start of your new fitness journey. Its going to be fun, different and exciting. In an attempt to explain the best possible ways to fulfil your training goals, I have poured everything I have into this book. The result is a programme that can be shaped around you to find the perfect fit for your life. Within the pages of this book you will find the answers you are looking for, or at the very least some ideas on how to achieve your goals.

Its important to be honest from the start, so lets be clear there are no miracles that will help you get into shape and change things for the better. You can spend your whole life searching for the holy grail of getting fit, which for most of us hopefully means doing nothing but still achieving good results. Sadly, despite what you might have read, watched or seen a celebrity endorse, you will never find that. You could eat vegetables till the cows come home, or coat yourself in firming gel while plugged into a muscle stimulation device, and all you will achieve is a sense of frustration and probably some health complications too.

Thats really why I wrote this book to cut through the nonsense, to break down the complications of the fad-ridden fitness world and to show that anyone can get in shape.

Before I started writing, I looked at other health and fitness books on the market, and was surprised by the sheer number available. All of them offered various ways of achieving those elusive healthy living and fitness goals, and some were really very good. Many, though, were written by people who have very little idea of what it actually takes to live a healthy life. Their authors claim to have gone from super-fat to super-in-shape by doing some very weird and wonderful things. There is no mention of the hours of personal training sessions theyve had, or the dietary advice theyve received. Instead they suggest that if you drink this, or do that for 10 minutes a day, you too will look like them.

This is rubbish and a dangerous yarn to spin. Aside from getting into shape once, a large number of those writers have never trained before or since, yet they are shaping the beliefs and actions of many trusting people. The fact is that those writers have been gifted with great genes, so they look like wonderful advertisements for their wacky claims. Or they got in shape once and spent the rest of the time photoshopping images of themselves.

Genetics play a huge role in terms of body shape and how people react to different nutrition and training stimuli. I have friends with the best bodies you could wish for, yet they eat take-aways every night of the week and show no adverse effects. Its galling for the rest of us, but we each have to live with our genetic inheritance.

My aim in writing Perfect Fit was to put everything I know to be truthful and proven about fitness into one book. What I advocate in these pages, I do myself every day. My training and nutrition record is here for everyone to see. I dont have formal qualifications yet, but they are being completed as you read this. What I do have, is 14 years experience of training, using trial and error to formulate the best results. This is what I am sharing with you.

Next time you see a reality TV star or somesuch talking about detox teas or being strong (when they clearly couldnt lift their own shopping, let alone a weight), remember to do your research before adopting their technique. If it seems too good to be true, thats exactly what it is.

This book looks at every aspect of what it takes to create the body you want and the healthy lifestyle that you deserve, and it does this thoroughly and systematically. I want you to imagine your pursuit of physical excellence as like creating a magnificent building: I am going to supply you with all the tools and materials to get this structure built. Every step you make and every little bit of progression is the equivalent of laying one more brick in the foundations of that structure. As you learn more and do more, you will be placing course upon course of bricks until you have built something you are proud of. The day you look in the mirror and see what you want is the day you place a flag of triumph on top of your building.

Through this process you will improve not just your body, but your physical and mental health, and your outlook on life. Remember, your brain is a muscle too, and also benefits from workouts. I know mine does.

When you come out the other side of Perfect Fit , you will understand what it takes to change your body. You will finally, I hope, be able to see through the nonsense that bombards us every day in regard to nutrition, training, diet and self-help.

I firmly believe that if you want anything out of life, you must set yourself a goal, plan how you are going to get there, and put the work in to achieve it. You should never expect anything to be handed to you on a plate. And dont expect a magic pill or secret formula to get you into shape overnight. Like anything else thats worth achieving, it takes sacrifice, hard work and commitment.

Of course you will make mistakes and take knock-backs. I do every day of my life. The one thing that sticks with me always is something my father once said: You can lie to everyone else, but you cant lie to yourself. I totally agree with that. Only you know whether you have done all it takes to be successful; only you will know if youve worked hard enough to get what you want. And please remember hard work brings great rewards, in this case losing weight or gaining muscle and eating really good food.