Did you know the average health club exerciser quits after
just six months for one of the following reasons:
1.Not Enough Time
2.Not Seeing Results
Everybody begins an exercise program with the intention of
sticking to it faithfully. However, not seeing the desired results, clashes
with work or school schedules, boredom with your workout plan, or any number of other distractions can
quickly make us forget our goal of fitness. What can you do to stay on track? Sadly, most people become frustrated and quit
exercising before they see any real results. But it's not surprising given the
common mistakes many people make with their training programs. Are you making
these workout mistakes?
Common Reasons Your Workouts Don't Work
•All Quantity, No Quality
Most people in the gym don't plan to fail, they fail to
plan! Take a look around the gym (if you
haven't quit going yet) and see how many people are really getting a quality
workout. I'm always amazed by how many people are wandering aimlessly, walking
leisurely on a treadmill while reading a book, lifting weights so light that
not one hair moves out of place, or simply look bored. A lot of exercisers head to the gym out of
habit, and as if on automatic pilot, put in some time and head back to work or
home. If you are one of these people, ask yourself, "What do I want to get
out of this?" If you want serious results, you need to do serious
exercise. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy it and have fun. But it does means
you need to focus on what you are doing and increase the quality of every
movement. Once you start exercising with a real purpose and pushing both your
aerobic capacity and your strength you will find your workouts take half the
time and give better results.
•Overestimating Your Exercise
Most exercisers are far too generous with estimates of
exercise intensity and time, the amount of weight lifted and the frequency of
their workouts. To avoid overestimating it's helpful to keep an exercise log
and track these items. Additionally, many people mistakenly believe that if
they exercise at a moderate pace for 30 minutes they have burned lots and lots
of calories and fat. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. While exercise does
burn calories over time and consistent exercise is one of the best ways to lose
weight and keep it off, it's hard to lose body fat through exercise alone.
Which brings us to the next mistake. . .
•Underestimating Your Eating
Many people are in denial about the foods they eat and
especially the quantity consumed. Being overweight is the fine you're going to
pay for exceeding the feed limit. If you
really want to lose weight you need to be honest with yourself about what you
put into your mouth and how that helps or hinders your weight loss goals. To
get real with yourself, write it down. Tracking what you eat in a food diary
will help you break the cycle of food denial. (The iPhone and Android based
phones have some great free apps like Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker by
MyFitnessPal and online versions like
calorieking.com)
•Doing the Wrong Type of Workout
Where did you learn your current exercise routine? Watching
others at the gym (who are exercising incorrectly)? From your friends,
coworkers, the web, TV, newspaper, the latest research findings, or perhaps
your 9th grade gym teacher? What you are doing for exercise directly determines
the results you will get. To learn what you should do, there is no better place
to start then by writing down your goals and then working with a professional
trainer to design the right workout to meet those goals. Haphazard exercise
will provide haphazard results.
•Never Changing Your Workout
When you do the same thing day after day, you get very good
at it. Even if you're on the right track, you're going to get run over if you
just sit there. In exercise this is
called the principle of adaptation. It basically means that we become very
efficient by doing the same exercise over and over. This is great for sports
performance, but not that great for weight loss, strength increases or physical
fitness progression. If you always do the same workout for the same amount of
time you will eventually hit a plateau where you fail to see any additional
change. One way of overcoming this plateau is to modify your workouts every few
weeks or months. You can change the type of exercise you do, the length, the
amount of weight lifted or the number or reps. This is why professional
athletes change their program during the off-season.
•Using Incorrect Form or Technique
Learning the right way to exercise is essential to getting
results. Form does matter, especially when doing any strength training
exercise. Incorrect form or technique also sets you up for potential injuries,
pain and soreness. To learn proper technique, there is no better place to start
than with a personal trainer or coach.
•Setting Unrealistic Goals
So, what are your goals? Are they realistic for you? If your
goal is to be the next Lance Armstrong, and you only have 30 minutes a day to
train, or wanting to lose 25 pounds in a month, well, how realistic is that?
Again, it comes back to being honest with yourself about your abilities, your
level of commitment and your lifestyle. We need to set appropriate goals that
start from where we are and progress at a reasonable rate or we are sure to get
frustrated and quit. Remember, there is
no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.
•Measuring the Wrong Results
It has been said that, "If you don't know where you are
going, than any road will take you there".
Many people think their workout isn't working because they don't measure
the right things. Looking for proof in a scale is often a set-up for
disappointment because some new exercisers build muscle and lose fat, but the
scale doesn't provide information about body composition. Better ways to
measure your fitness progress include tracking your heart rate at a given pace,
measuring the distance you can cover in a certain amount of time, tracking the
amount of weight you can lift, or even writing down how you feel -- physically
-- at the end of each day. Many of the benefits from exercise are subtle and
not visible by looking into the mirror, but things such as cholesterol level,
blood pressure, and the ease with which you can do daily chores are every bit
as motivating -- if you monitor them.