| If you are finding that you are not getting the | | | | much of a good thing can be bad for you. |
| results that you would like, maybe it’s due to | | | | Exercise is no different. Training too hard, too |
| one (or more) of the reasons below. | | | | often can actually hinder your ability to make |
| 1. You don’t have a specific goal | | | | progress. When training in the gym, you put your |
| We all go to the gym for a reason. Common | | | | body under a lot of stress (good stress). When |
| reasons include “To lose weight”, “To | | | | weightlifting you actually damage your muscles |
| get fitter/stronger” or “To build more | | | | and make micro-tears in them. When you are |
| muscle”. If you are serious about getting | | | | resting, the muscles repair and rebuild bigger and |
| results, these goals are not specific enough. Give | | | | stronger so in actual fact, you don’t get |
| yourself a deadline. For example, if your aim is | | | | bigger and stronger in the gym, you get bigger |
| to change your body weight, make it specific by | | | | and stronger when you are resting. This means if |
| saying “I want to gain/lose ×kgs in the next | | | | you don’t rest enough, you don’t give |
| 6 weeks” | | | | your muscles enough time to repair and recover |
| 2. You don’t keep a training journal | | | | which leaves you prone to injury and can make |
| A training journal is your roadmap to results. If | | | | you smaller and weaker! Even when you train |
| you don’t keep one, you don’t know | | | | different body parts each day, it still taxes your |
| where you’re going or how fast you are | | | | body as a whole so it still needs time to recover. |
| getting there. A training journal can be a program | | | | The same can be said for cardio training. When |
| sheet written up by a trainer or your own gym | | | | putting in a hard cardio session, it taxes your |
| diary. You need to fill this out every session. Write | | | | whole body. Among other things, your immune |
| down what exercises you did, how many sets, | | | | system becomes suppressed as all your |
| reps and the weight lifted. For cardio sessions, | | | | body’s resources are trying to help you |
| depending on the machine you use, write down | | | | recover from the intense exercise. This really |
| the time, speed , distance , incline or resistance. | | | | isn’t a big problem as your body returns to |
| Because you are documenting your sessions, you | | | | its normal state after time but if you continually |
| know exactly what you have done in each | | | | put your body under intense stress and don’t |
| workout and therefore, can try and improve each | | | | allow for sufficient recovery time, you will |
| session. | | | | gradually run yourself into the ground and |
| 3. You undo all your good work by not eating well | | | | exercise will become less productive and less |
| So many people sweat it out in the gym and give | | | | enjoyable! I even take a whole week off from |
| it their all but then go and sabotage themselves | | | | training every 8- 12 weeks. I find I come back |
| by eating badly. The most common problem is | | | | more motivated and stronger as I’ve let my |
| with those trying lose weight. If you come to the | | | | body fully rest and recover! |
| gym and work hard, but then leave the gym only | | | | 7. You’re not pushing yourself hard enough |
| to continue on with your poor diet, sure the | | | | As with everything in life, if you want to truly |
| exercise might help a little but if you are still | | | | succeed you need to get out of your comfort |
| making poor nutritional choices and eating WAY | | | | zone. It’s no different in the gym. If you |
| too much, chances are your weight will stay the | | | | want to see results, you must challenge your |
| same or even continue to rise! The worst part is, | | | | body and give it a reason to change! Now with |
| not only do some people not change their diet, | | | | that said, I don’t want you to train so hard |
| but because they are working so hard in the gym | | | | that you are at the point of literal exhaustion. |
| they feel the need to reward themselves with a | | | | That’s just dangerous and actually has |
| little treat in the form of fast food, chocolate, | | | | adverse effects on your body. Chances are when |
| cake, alcohol etc. Chances are this “little | | | | you think you are working your hardest, you are |
| treat” is a calorie bomb which has more | | | | actually nowhere near your maximum potential. |
| calories than they actually burn in the gym | | | | The reason you think you couldn’t possibly |
| (possibly in the whole week!) which more than | | | | put anymore effort in is because you’ve |
| counteracts all the hard work they do in the gym. | | | | never tried to! Next time you are exercising, put |
| 4. You’re doing the same workout you were | | | | the treadmill up an extra 0.5km/h or go for |
| doing 2 months ago | | | | another 30 seconds. When weight training and you |
| Insanity is doing the same thing over and over | | | | think you’re done try squeezing another one |
| and expecting a different result- It’s an old | | | | or two reps out. Dig deep! You might surprise |
| adage that’s been beaten to death but is still | | | | yourself. |
| relevant. You may not realise it but our bodies are | | | | 8. You’re weightlifting with your ego, not your |
| smart and lazy machines. If you do the same | | | | brain. |
| exercises repeatedly, the body will find the most | | | | Ever notice that the biggest guys in the gym or |
| efficient way of completing them. This is bad | | | | those with the best muscle tone don’t lift the |
| news because it means when our bodies become | | | | heaviest weights? That’s because they lift |
| more efficient it will be harder to lose weight or | | | | smart and target the right muscles. In general, |
| gain muscle, strength, and cardiovascular fitness. | | | | most people who lift weights do so with the |
| Keep your body guessing by starting a new | | | | intention of improving their lean muscle mass. |
| program or even doing your program in the | | | | Unfortunately, it is an all too frequent occurrence |
| opposite order. If you do 30 mins on the | | | | that people let their ego get in the way and get |
| treadmill, do 25 mins at a higher speed or use a | | | | caught up in worrying more about the amount of |
| different machine altogether! | | | | weight they are lifting rather than the technique |
| 5. You’re not consistent with your training | | | | they use. When lifting with bad technique you |
| It’s not about what you do SOME of the | | | | usually bring other muscles into the movement |
| time, it’s what you do MOST of the time. | | | | which then takes all the stress off the desired |
| Missing a rare session here and there is OK but | | | | muscles. For example, if someone is doing a bicep |
| when you start to miss sessions every week, | | | | curl with too much weight, they will usually swing |
| you are seriously hindering your ability to make | | | | their upper body and bring the shoulders into the |
| progress. Let’s do some quick math here- | | | | movement. This means that the muscles in the |
| There are twenty-four hours in a day. Yes? OK, | | | | back and the deltoids (shoulder muscles) are doing |
| so if there are seven days in a week that’s a | | | | a lot of the work rather than the biceps. |
| total of one hundred and sixty-eight hours. Still | | | | You’ll get better results lifting a lighter weight |
| following? Good. Doing three- one hour session a | | | | with good form that really targets the desired |
| week is a whopping 1.78% of your whole week. | | | | muscles than a heavier weight with bad form. |
| Is that too much to spare? | | | | Remember- it’s not how much you lift, |
| 6. You’re exercising too much | | | | it’s how much you look like you can lift! |
| Here’s the opposite of #5. They say too | | | | |