Fitness RESULT Roadblocks: Why Your Workout ISNT working.

Caroline Jordan, Fitness, Fitness Tips, Nutrition Tips, Wellness Articles
April 1, 2012
carichic

HAPPY April and SPRING to you!! How are your 2012 fitness goals coming?

It’s four months since New Years and the gym is half as crowded as it once was. Why the ghost town? Sadly, the average health club exerciser quits after just a few months for one of the following reasons:

  • Not Enough Time
  • Not Seeing Results

Most people become frustrated and stop before they see get to see any real results from their efforts. But it’s not surprising given the common mistakes many make with their training programs. What are the obstacles that come between exercisers and their health goals? Here are some of the common roadblocks that prevent many from lasting fitness results and my top tips for overcoming each one so you can successfully reach ALL your goals.

Fitness Result ROADBLOCKS. Reasons Workouts Don’t Work



All Quantity, No Quality

Take the time to look around the gym and you might notice how many people are really getting a quality workout. You might be surprised to see many people coasting, walking leisurely on a treadmill while reading, lifting light weights without a drop of sweat, or bored to tears. A lot of exercisers head to the gym out of habit, operate on automatic pilot, put in some time and head back to work or home. If you want serious results, you need to do the WORK. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun when you train. It just means you need to focus on what you are doing and increase the quality of every movement. When it comes to your workout, ask yourself, “What do I want to get out of this?”. Once you start exercising with a purpose, challenging your  aerobic capacity and strength, you will find your workouts take half the time and provide better results.

 

Overestimating Exercise 

Sad but true. Many people believe that if they exercise at a moderate pace for 30 minutes they have burned loads of calories and fat. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Overly generous estimates of exercise intensity, time,  and frequency of workouts will prevent results. To avoid this roadblock, you have to get REAL and get the details on what you are actually doing when you sweat. To get the specifics, it can be helpful to keep an exercise log to track your workouts. Better yet, investing in a heart rate monitor, NIKE fuel band, or Fit Bit can provide a detailed summary of your daily output (workout and lifestyle activities all included). It’s important to note, that while exercise does burn calories and consistent exercise is one of the best ways to maintain weight loss, it’s hard to lose body fat on exercise alone. Which brings us to the next roadblock. . .
Underestimating what you Eat

Nutrition is the key component to getting the lean and fit body you want. Even if you do everything right with your exercise program (adding variety, monitoring intensity, being consistent, etc) you’ll never benefit without a healthy, well-balanced diet. Poor eating habits prevent your body from reaching its full potential. Unfortunately, exercising wont make you invincible from the negative effects of eating JUNK. Unhealthy eating will stunt your progress and make it incredibly difficult to achieve your goals.
In order get the results you want for your body you must get a grip on how you FUEL it. To understand what exactly is going IN, it can be helpful to keep track of everything you consume, even water. A nutrition journal can be a crucial improvement to your life and help you achieve lasting results when it comes to your fitness. You’ll be more aware of what you eat and how you think about eating. Remember, If you put GOOD in – GREAT will come out. Here are my tips on keeping a food journal and learning how best to FUEL yourself.  Eat well, watch your portion sizes, and give your nutrition (and body) a boost!
Doing the Wrong Type of Workout

Where did you learn your current exercise routine? Watching others at the gym? From friends, coworkers, the web, tv, newspaper, the latest research findings, or perhaps your 7th grade gym teacher? What you are doing for exercise directly affects the results you will get from it. To figure out what workouts are RIGHT for you, there is no better place to start than by writing down your goals and working with a professional trainer to design fitness plan appropriate for YOU. Haphazard exercise will provide haphazard results. Get quality support and EDUCATE yourself on the workouts you should do to meet your fitness goals and achieve the results YOU want.
Never Changing Your Workout 

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve ALWAYS got”. When you do the same workout routine week after week, you get very good at it. This is known as the principle of adaptation:  we become efficient by doing the same exercise over and over. This can be helpful for some sports training,  but terrible for weight loss, strength increases or physical fitness progression. If you tend to stick to the same weekly workout routine, you will eventually hit a plateau and fail to see any additional change. And when you’re no longer seeing results, it’s too easy to become bored with your workouts and it can eventually be the reason you to give up on the gym. Here are a few simple tips to help you BREAK THROUGH the dreaded plateau, so you’ll always be able to benefit reap the benefits and rewards of regular physical activity. Change creates change. Anything you can do to spice things up will help you benefit from your workouts and get the results you want.
Incorrect Form or Technique

Learning the right way to exercise is essential to getting results. Form does matter, especially when doing any strength training exercise. Incorrect form or technique can set you up for potential injuries, pain, soreness, and frustration. To learn proper technique, there is no better place to start than with a personal trainer or coach. Even one session for basic tips and education can be helpful when it comes to learning proper movement patterns. Take the time to learn what good form looks and feels like, you’ll achieve incredible results ALL your life.
Setting Unrealistic Goals

So, what are your goals? Are they realistic for you? If you want to lose 25 pounds in a month or be the next Lance Armstrong with only 30 minutes of exercise a day, you might need to give your goals a REALITY check. It all comes down to being honest with yourself about your abilities, your commitment level, and your lifestyle. Set appropriate goals that start from where YOU are and progress at a reasonable rate to avoid frustration or burnout. Not sure how to create a goal that fits? Work with a coach or personal trainer to develop a custom-made goals for YOU.
Measuring the Wrong Results
Many people think their workout isn’t working because they don’t measure the right things. The scale is not a good place to measure your fitness accomplishments or track your progress as your body changes. Heres a great article on why the scale lies if you’re not quite ready to break up with it yet. Better ways to measure your fitness progress include tracking your heart rate at a given pace, measuring the distance you can cover in a certain amount of time, tracking the amount of weight you can lift, or even writing down how you feel — physically and mentally– at the end of each day. The many of the benefits of exercise are often subtle and not visible by looking into the mirror. Things such as cholesterol level, blood pressure, and the ease of daily life can be motivating to work towards if you monitor them. Choose to focus on a few specific measurable accomplishments when working towards improving your fitness. Be patient, work hard, and you’ll see improvements.
Have any of the above roadblocks prevented you from seeing fitness results? What strategies did you use to move past them and move onward towards your goals?
Looking for more on fitness myths and guidance when it comes to getting RESULTS? Check out these articles:
Armed with the tips above I am positive you will be able to do what you need to accomplish all your goals. It takes WORK to make your time in the gym COUNT, but remember: what doesnt kill you makes you…. STRONGER. I believe in YOU. Blast past roadblocks, GO FOR IT, and get the results YOU want!
Heres to you living stronger and being unstoppable. Till next time, keep smiling!
Caroline
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