There are many reasons people get lackluster results in the gym. The nice thing is many of these things can be fixed with just a little thought. Today I just want to go over a few things I’ve seen that gets in people’s way.
1. You’re not really working all that hard. Let me ask a simple question: Do you think properly adding more weight to what you’re lifting is a punishment or a reward? If you even have to think about your answer I’ll bet you’re not working as hard as you can or think you are. Sure, there are ways to measure progress other than just lifting heavier but if your mindset is such that you think lifting heavy is a punishment, let me be clear about this:
IT IS A PRIVILEGE!
If you’re religious then you should thank whomever you pray to EVERY SINGLE DAY that you can do this. You’d better appreciate what you’ve been given or it WILL be taken away from you. In any case, don’t talk to me about results if you don’t push yourself. Sorry.
2. You’re not following the program. If someone gives you directions to get to the airport and you ignore them, what are the odds of you getting to the airport? Not good. By the same token, if you have a program but aren’t following it what are the odds of you getting the results you want? They’re about the same as you getting to the airport. It’s worse yet if you don’t even follow a program. That’s like trying to get to the airport with a blindfold on!
3. You don’t know your goals. This is a big reason many people don’t have a program. It’s hard to write a program if you don’t know what you want to get out of one. That’s like asking for directions but not knowing where you even want to go.
4. You haven’t really connected with your goals. I know you want to (insert goal here) but do you know why? No one wants to lose 10 pounds just for the heck of it. What will it do for you? Will it make you healthier? Look better? Improve your athletic performance? Why is it important to you? Figure that out and you’ll have a much better chance at hitting your goal, whatever it is.
5. You are not being honest with yourself. I’d like to win the Masters Golf Tournament. That would be pretty awesome, right? Imagine me up there getting that green jacket. What did you say? I’d have to work on my golf game hours and hours each day for years on end? Well, maybe I don’t want to win the Masters after all.
Know what you’re willing to do and what you are NOT willing to do. If you aren’t willing to change how you eat then it’s really not a goal of yours to lose weight. If you’re not willing to lift heavy weights then it’s not really a goal of yours to get stronger. By the way, these aren’t necessarily bad things. Your goals are YOUR GOALS. Not anyone else’s. Just be honest with yourself about what they really are. That way you won’t be beating yourself up for years because you haven’t dropped that 10 pounds you don’t really care that much about dropping anyway!
6. You haven’t changed your diet. I’ll put this simply:
If you don’t change your diet you won’t lose weight.
That’s it. No ifs, ands or buts.
If you don’t change your diet you won’t lose weight.
7. You compare yourself to others. Remember a few years ago when they released Michael Phelps’ training diet? It was something like 10,000-12,000 calories per day and had all sorts of stuff on it that you wouldn’t expect to see on a top athlete’s diet. Stuff like pancakes and pizza. Well, let’s boil this down. How many competitive swimmers have there been in the world? Let’s figure on the low end. Something like 10,000,000? Well, Michael Phelps is the best one ever. The best out of more than 10 million. He’s a genetic freak. Do you really think that what he eats and how he trains can really apply to us mortals? Let me help you out. It can’t.
The same goes when you see someone else at the gym. You can certainly look at them as inspiration but you probably don’t know what it took for them to look or perform that way. They may have been doing this since they were 5 and you may have started two weeks ago.
Do your best. Celebrate your gains. Look to others for inspiration but know that they may have been on a very different path to get what they are. Don’t compare your start to someone else’s middle. (I’m not sure who said that.)
8. You let things get in your way. If you want results it’s not going to be easy. That’s what makes it special. Too often I see people let things derail them. They might sprain an ankle, for example, so they take two weeks off from training. Well, we can still work your core, back, chest, arms, other leg, glutes, hamstrings and cardiovascular system can’t we? And while you “rest” that ankle what happens to the rest of you? Also, if you think you’ll wait until that ankle is 100% before you exercise again you’re going to be waiting a very long time. It won’t get back to 100% without some sort of stimulus. I hear all the time from people who’ve gotten hurt or sick or busy or something else entirely, and then spent the next several years waiting. What happens then?
Honestly take a look and see if some of what I wrote applies to you. Many times we just need to remove a small roadblock to get us exactly where we want to go. If you need help removing any roadblocks that may be getting in your way, don’t hesitate to let me know.
Have a great day!
Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Lean Eating Coach, FMS
2861 Grove Way in Castro Valley
510-754-7113
I Help People Discover Their Strength!