Are you working hard in the gym and eating properly but not getting the results you desire? The problem for the majority of trainees is not a matter of effort. Most gym goers want to work hard and they want to get results. They train earnestly, but have little to show for it. If you are not aware of the subtleties that make up an effective training program, you will have difficulty achieving the results you want. Below are the most common mistakes I find that even the most experienced trainees tend to make.
1. You are very passionate about fitness and as a result you are performing random workouts with everything from a kettlebell to a bosu ball. Or perhaps you get bored easily and when a program doesn’t pay off in the first week, you hop along to the next one. If your goal is to get lean and add muscle mass, the solution is to find a program to perform in 4-6 week phases that adds progressive resistance and primarily contains multi-joint exercises that train the entire body.
2. You are lifting light weights and performing way too many reps. Your focus needs to be on getting stronger. When you are training with low to moderate weights you leave out a whole section of muscle fibres that are not getting trained. Within a muscle there are a number of motor units–some respond to lighter loads and others to near maximal loads. The heavier the weight, the more motor units get called upon, so more muscle ends up being worked. If you are trying to improve your body composition, lifting near maximal loads in the 1 to 5 repetition range from time to time is imperative.
3. You are not recovering from one session to the next. In order to get the results that you desire, you need to put in a lot of hard work. You also need to work equally hard at your recovery. That means getting adequate sleep (a minimum of 7 hours and preferably more), stress reduction, proper nutrition and believing that what you are doing will pay off. Protein shakes, stretching, meditation, hot and cold baths are all proven modes of recovery and they require time and patience. Make the effort, be strong in your convictions and your hard work will pay off.
4. You are using cardiovascular activity as your primary mode of calorie burning. Cardio is an aerobic form of activity that uses different pathways in the cells than lifting weights, and this will directly interfere with muscle growth. Trainees who perform long steady state cardiovascular activity in concert with weight training don’t get the results that they expect. Instead, try performing a heavy weight training session with loads at 75% of your 1 rep maximum and throw in some interval training for 10 to 20 minutes at the end of your session. You can perform intervals on a treadmill, stationary bike, use body weight exercises like jumping jacks, mountain climbers, etc. Try performing 30 seconds at an all out sprint, followed by 30 seconds of recovery for 8 intervals and I think you will like the results.
5. You are comparing yourself to others. There will always be people who are leaner, stronger and more muscular than you, no matter how hard you work. When we continually compare ourselves to others we are setting ourselves up for failure. Make it a competition with yourself. Keep a log book of your progress and try to beat the numbers you hit from your previous session. Follow this approach and I think you will be pleased by how quickly you progress.