There are many reasons why you might working hard toward those goals you to achieve but you’re not be getting the results you want. What is going on, right?!
The best advice I can give you is this: listen to your body. It’s perfectly possible – and very common – to be doing all the right things, and yet still get no results.
So why would this be?
Cardio days need variation.
Most people like to stick to one machine for cardio, but I want you to change your mindset. To reach your fitness goals, you have to change it up. And let’s face it — eventually, you’ll need more than one cardio option. One day, the weather may be cold, rainy or windy for your liking for your usual run outdoors, or all the elliptical machines may be in use at your gym, or your bike has a flat tire. This calls for being flexible, and I don’t mean practicing Yoga. If you only have a treadmill to work with, you can still switch up your workout by performing run-jog intervals in quarter-mile bursts, or walking on an incline. You can also try different fitness class in your neighborhood or pop in a cardio DVD program, there are countless ways to consider changing your cardio workout from week to week. You just have to commit to making it happen and making the small changes to change your body.
Your body adapts to any type of exercise.
The first time you go run a mile, it is probably going to be rough. But by the 20th time you run a mile, it’s a lot easier, right? As you get used to a type of exercise, it becomes less challenging and, as a result, less effective. That’s why it’s so important to mix it up. Alternate the amount of weight you lift — go heavy one week with fewer reps and lighter the next with more reps. Change the type of exercise you do for each muscle. One week, do different types of push-ups, then incline chest press and flies, then flat bench chest press and flies. You get the point. They all work the same part of your body, but in very different ways.
You can either perform a full body workout where you work out the entire body in an hour workout (but making sure you change it up weekly), which is like my Shredded Bliss Workout’s on my online program.
Or a split routine that changes up your workout on a day-to-day basis. A split routine focuses on different muscle groups during different workouts. This is the type of fitness training I use on my online training program, Shredded Bliss Express, because it prevents overtraining, all while achieving maximum calorie burn. A split routine trains muscles based on their functions and relations to other muscles. One way to split your strength training routine is to focus on muscles on the front of your body one day, and the muscles on the back of your body the next. You should always train your lower body — no matter which split day you’re on — because it is the most effective way to elevate your heart rate and burn calories. Always remember to train your muscles from largest to smallest to prevent fatigue.
Not Taking Rest Days.
As we work out, we place greater strain on our muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones and joints. Our immune system is activated when there are muscle tears or joint strains, but if the body doesn’t come out of continual practice, this system doesn’t have the time to catch up and start patching everything back up. Thus, if you’re building muscle, you should take a day off from lifting the same region so the body has time to repair the muscles you’re working. And, if you decide to not have a rest day, you have a great greater risk of injury. Say you take part in a high-impact sport such as running; running puts stress on your joints and lower extremities to a level that has the ability to crack bones and tighten muscles (this has happened to me back in the day, and had too many injuries to count). When you don’t take a day off here and there, your tight calf muscles or tendons of the feet can lead to bone spurs, shin splints, muscle tears, tendon shearing and so much more. So to be safe and injury free you NEED to have rest days. This is a lesson from me, give your body love and attention and know that even the best athletes takes rest days.
Take your day of rest to reflect on how far you’ve already come and acknowledge and be grateful for your body, willpower and dedication.
Lack of Sleep and Too Much Stress.
I’m all up on this one, after having my 2nd child, sleeping has got me stressed because I’m not getting the sleep! To me getting sleep helps me feel relaxed! So if you are like me and you feel tired and stress let me fill you in on a little information…
Sleep deprivation causes the release of cortisol (hello, belly fat), the fight-or-flight hormone that catabolizes muscle and promotes the storage of fat. As a significant amount of muscle repair occurs during deep sleep, so if you can, try to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Inadequate amounts of shut-eye hinder your ability to recover from exercise, making plateaus more likely.
Stress comes in many forms, but all sources of it cause the body to produce cortisol and increase your chances of “emotional eating,” which also happens when you are not getting enough sleep. Best thing to do is seek out ways to reduce stress like short walks throughout the day (preferable outside) and practicing yoga, or meditation.
Too many Calories or Not Enough.
Weight loss plateaus are related to “calorie sneak”, or eating more calories than you think you are eating. Tracking your calories in a food journal is a surefire way to avoid this problem; there are many journals online and phone apps available to track calorie consumption on-the-go, one of my favorites is MyFitnessPal and even more so you can add friends to help keep you more accountable.
Some of the chatter I hear from people are people that think if they eat less than a 1,000 calories a day they will start losing weight. Which is VERY misleading and not great for your body, when you decrease your calorie intake your metabolism slows down. The reason behind this is because your body enters “starvation mode” and spares fat along for survival. Never eat less than 1,200 calories per day, as your body requires at least that much to function normally. To keep your metabolism steady and to remain feeling satiated longer, eat six small meals per day, eating every 2-3 hours and increase your water consumption.
I hope this article has given you some insights onto why you have been training hard, but not seeing the changes you want! If you have further questions feel free to reach out to me!
Happy Training!