Are You Challenging Yourself Enough?

When was the last time you increased you weight /resistance at the gym? To continue to improve (get stronger / burn more fat / etc.) you must challenge your body with heavier weights and/or new exercises. Our bodies adapt. Doing the same exercises, at the same weight / resistance, for the same number of reps will not result in significant changes to your body.

But remember, it's not about the actual weight. A 5 pound dumbbell may be challenging on some exercises for some people (at least at first) but way too light for someone else or for you after a few workouts.

Are You Stuck In A Rut?

One reason people fail to get the results they want from their exercise routine is that they continue to do the same thing over and over and over. They do the same machine circuit, they jog the same route, they use the same DVD, they always do the elliptical because that's their favorite, etc.

It's very tempting to do. You have your habit and it's comfortable. You know you're capable of doing these things because that's what you always do.

At the end of the workout, you can feel you accomplished something. You completed 45 minutes on the stationary bike; you jogged 3 miles; you did 12 reps of each strength training exercise. Whatever you did, you finished the task.

Change is hard for most people. You can't go into autopilot. You have a learning curve when you're doing something different. You might "fail" to master a new exercise on the first try or you  might "only" make it through 15 minutes of cardio because you switched to intervals and that's all your body could handle.

The problem is that our bodies adapt to the stresses we place upon them so if you always do the same thing, your body won't get leaner or stronger. It doesn't need to. It has figured out the most efficient way of doing whatever you're doing so that you'll even burn fewer calories than when you first started.

Even if you regularly increase your weights or walk faster (and sooner or later, you won't physically be able to walk faster), your body won't work as hard or burn as many calories as when you change your routine regularly.

Now, I'm not suggesting you start just switching things up willy-nilly. Work with a trainer or get a program from a respected fitness coach like Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training or Alwyn Cosgrove's  The New Rules of Lifting for Abs: A Myth-Busting Fitness Plan for Men and Women Who Want a Strong Core and a Pain-Free Back . (Despite the title, it's an all around fitness book, not just an abs/core program.)

You can do it...

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Why You're Not Getting The Results You Want, Part 5

Let's say that your nutrition is good, your exercise program includes strength training and was properly designed. Could there be another reason why your results aren't great?

Yes.

Reason #5: You're not challenging yourself.

Your body adapts to the physical stress you place on it. It's a survival mechanism. If any of you ever had a physical job- roofing, farming, old school factory work- the first few days you probably got pretty sore. After that you quickly got used to the demands of the job - your body adapted.

It's the same with exercise.

I once worked at a gym where I'd see the same group of ladies during the day. Most of them had been members for many years and coming to the gym was a habit, which was great. Unfortunately, the instruction and service at that gym were terrible.

These ladies would perform rep after rep of exercises at the same weight they'd been using since they started. I'd see lots of bicep curls with 3 or 5 pound dumbbells. They'd stand around holding conversations while mindlessly pumping out 25 or 30 reps (at least) of whatever exercise they were doing.



This women is older than most, if not all, of those women. Check her out. She's using a weighted bar AND added band resistance. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself, regardless of your age. That's how you get results.




I'm glad the gym ladies weren't sitting on their butts watching game shows or playing Bingo. And yes, any activity is better than none but that kind of "workout" did little to strengthen their bones and muscles and keep them independent as they aged.

You need to challenge your body to get optimum results. To drop fat, to get stronger and more fit, to burn more calories - you need to push yourself.

Here's a simple guideline to follow regarding strength training. When you can do 12 repetitions of an exercise with good form, raise the weight slightly. If you're using 3 pound dumbbells go to 5s; if you're currently using 8s, try 10s. On a machine (and you're only using one or two of those, if any, right?), increase by 5 pounds.

You should be able to complete at least 8 reps at the new, heavier weight. Now your goal is to increase your reps back up to 12. Try to do a little more each workout. When you reach 12 reps, increase the weight again.

You should always be trying to increase the resistance or do more reps...but only with good form. Nine perfect reps is better than 12 sloppy ones.

Be honest. Have you just been going through the motions at the gym? Start challenging yourself and you'll get better and faster results.

You can find all the previous articles here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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Why You're Not Getting The Results You Want, Part 4

I think you'd agree that someone might be able to get to a destination just by getting in his :-) car and driving but that he'd get there faster if you he had directions.

The same holds true for fitness.

Reason #4: You're winging it.

Why waste time cobbling together a routine from magazine articles or internet websites?

First of all, just because something's been published somewhere doesn't make it correct or up-to-date or right for your goals.

Second, do you know which exercises are most effective? Do you know how to make sure your opposing muscle groups are balanced? Do you even know which muscles oppose one another? Probably not and why would you?

Third, on the off chance that you did put together a balanced and effective program, are you sure you know how to perform all the exercises correctly?

Would you defend yourself in court, install your own roof or pull your own infected tooth? Most of us would not. So, why do the majority of people insist on winging their exercise program rather than having a workout routine designed specifically for them by a qualified fitness coach?

You don't have to work with a trainer all the time. You can just get a program and go through it as many times as you need to be sure you're doing the exercises correctly.

It's definitely a safer and more effective option than winging it.

In case you missed any of them, here are the previous parts of Why You're Not Getting The Results You Want...

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

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Why You Aren't Getting Results - Top 10 Gym Mistakes

I couldn't have said it better myself so I won't. :-) If you're not getting maximum results from your exercise program, check out this excellent article from Coach Robert dos Remedios.

Top 10 things I see most people do wrong in Gyms today by Robert dos Remedios

Do You Want A "Bargain" or Do You Want Results?

I've written about this before but considering the phone calls I've received in the last week or so, it obviously needs repeating.

Your el cheapo gym membership is no bargain if you are not getting results.

Call #1 came from a woman who's been faithfully attending her discount gym but seeing no results. She had received no direction and they have no personal trainers.

I designed a program for her. She's been amazed at how much faster and more challenging her workouts are now. Instead of wasting hours on the cardio equipment, she's doing far more productive but shorter workouts.

Call #2 was from a woman who's been attending the same cut rate gym as #1 for a year and a half and isn't happy with her results. There's no one there who can give her knowledgeable advice so she'll be coming in to speak with me.

Previously, I had worked with the husband of a Body & Soul member because his entire "orientation" to his new gym (the same one as above) consisted of some pathetic group machine demonstration.

Yes, it's come to the point where some of these gyms don't even give newbies a basic circuit workout and make sure they're set up with the proper seat positions. People are basically on their own.

As someone who has worked in this field for 13 years and really cares about people getting fit, this kind of "service" really ticks me off. I think most of those new to exercise would expect to get at least a minimal level of instruction when they join a gym. I believe that's reasonable.

On the other hand, I don't cut the same slack to those who are previous exercisers. You should be asking what kind of new member orientation the facility offers.

Will you get an individualized routine? If not, will you get taken through some basic workout that incorporates all the major muscles of the body? If it's a circuit workout, will you be properly set up on each piece of equipment by a knowledgeable staff member? Will you get a workout card listing your exercises, seat positions on machines, starting weights, etc.?

If you base your decision on which gym is the cheapest, don't be surprised if you don't get the results you want.

Now, if you're a fitness junkie who is really knowledgeable about exercise and knows the real experts from the pretty boy/girl just out to make a quick buck, that type of gym may be fine for you. That description, of course, doesn't apply to most people.

So, is the cut-rate gym really a bargain ...

* if you spend hour after hour at the gym when you don't have too? What's more valuable than time?

* if you don't get results?

* if you injure yourself due to lack of instruction?

Remember, you get what you pay for.

Can You Handle the Truth?

There are a few exercise-related forums where I post and I sometimes wonder why. One message board in particular has a few fitness pros scattered about and you would think that people would appreciate a knowledgeable response to their questions.

Some do, of course, but others seem only interested in comments that validate their own beliefs or wishful thinking. So, instead of believing the personal trainer who is telling them to concentrate on compound exercises and cardio intervals, they listen to the poster who tells them that Tricep Kickbacks and biking around the neighborhood made all the difference for them.

How many times can a person read that you can't spot reduce and still start a thread asking for exercises to get rid of saddlebags, bat wings, "stomach", butt, etc.?

Yesterday, I saw a poster tell a fitness pro to "Chill out!" because she didn't appreciate his continued insistence that "light weight to tone" is a waste of time. Why get snarky with someone who is only trying to help you get the best results for your effort?

Regardless of how many times some of us stress the importance of strength training for weight loss, there are still people who spend hours doing mindless cardio and then start a thread asking why they're not seeing results or why their fat loss has stalled. Today, I saw a thread asking for routines that only included cardio and ab work.

Hey, if you want to spend your time using 2 pound pink dumbbells and doing hour-long elliptical sessions, be my guest. At least you're not sitting on the couch watching TV. But when you're unhappy with your results, try being open to the people who aren't just telling you what you want to hear.

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The Fat Sucking Machine by Alwyn Cosgrove

Alwyn's posted this on his blog again recently, which is great, because it definitely bears repeating. It's the perfect response to people who get hung up on the number registering on the scale.


The Fat sucking machine...

Q: This weekend I got on a scale at a friend's house (I don't own one) and much to my disappointment, the numbers haven't budged all that much since my last weigh in several months ago. Now, my clothes fit better, I'm in better shape than I've perhaps EVER been in, I know muscle weighs more than fat, I look GREAT, etc...but those numbers scream overweight to me. They make me feel like I've made no progress at all.

A: First off - your clothes "fit better", you're "in better shape than you've ever been in" and you "look GREAT"... but you're disappointed solely because the bathroom scale didn't go down "All that much"

Here's something we tell clients (thanks to Chris Shugart for the inspiration):

If we had a magic fat loss machine -- that you stepped in and pushed a button and you came out looking EXACTLY how you've always dreamed of looking and feeling - the exact dress or pant size you wanted, with the definition and muscle tone you want, at the bodyfat percentage you want - you can see your abs (if that's what you want) etc etc.

Would you be interested? Of course you would!!

But what if the side effect of the fat loss machine is that it increased bone density and muscle density by 100%. So while you looked and felt better than you've ever felt before -- the scale is 50lbs higher than it's ever been. So for example a 150lb-er would come out looking amazing, but weighing 200lbs...

Would that number on the scale make you not want the other results?

Now what if the machine did the reverse - you look exactly the same as you've always done, but you'd weigh 50lbs less? Would you be happy with that? Probably not right?

Just understand that how you look and feel, and how much you weigh are not necessarily related at all.

The picture on the left shows the difference in size between five pounds of fat (top) and five pounds of muscle (bottom). You can see that it's a pretty big size difference.

If you add ten pounds of muscle and lose ten pounds of fat -- you're going to look like you lost at least 20lbs.

But the scale won't move.

AC
http://AlwynCosgrove.com

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Top 10 Reasons to Hire a Personal Trainer

Top 10 Reasons to Hire a Personal Trainer

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