I can give you all the health and fitness knowledge that I know, but what you do with it is up to you.
I hear it all the time, people asking why they aren’t seeing results. After all, they’re showing up, they’re working out.
What’s the problem?
Why doesn’t your body reflect the effort that you’re putting into it?
Read over these suggestions and give each some serious thought. Could this be you? And if so, what can you do about it?
5 Reasons Your Not Seeing Results From Workouts
You are training too much.
There is such a thing as overtraining, and I know because I’ve done it. Your body can’t catch up with all the exercise you’re doing and instead of losing weight and toning up it stays in a state of constant stress. Results happen while you’re not working out.
If you are working out the same muscles back to back days, or you don’t remember the last time you took time off then it’s time to re-evaluate your workout schedule.
- Make sure to give yourself at least 2 days of rest each week.
- Never work the same muscle groups within a 48 hour period. It takes that long for recover to happen.
- Don’t be afraid to cross train: do a bit of everything like cardio, strength training, and even a yoga class to help your body perform better overall.
- Listen to your body. If you feel like it’s exhausted and not into working out then put the workout off until tomorrow. You will decrease your risk of injury and will have an ever better workout the following day.
Workouts Are Too Mundane
When was the last time you did something different with your workout? I don’t mean the last time you changed your workouts from doing 3 sets of 10 reps of push-ups to 3 sets of 10 reps of bench press.
When I say change I mean change:
- Change the exercises
- Change the weight
- Change the reps you want to hit
- Change how many sets you are doing.
How often should this change happen? Every 3-4 weeks, this gives your muscles time to be challenged by one workout but not enough time to fall into a plateau. (Click to watch a video about weight loss plateaus)
You’re Training Too Little
How hard do you workout? During your exercise routine are you bringing your heart rate up, working your muscles and feeling “the burn”?
Simply walking around the block isn’t going to cut it any longer. If you’re body is used to working out then it needs that… a real bonified workout. Something that makes you sweat and at the end you say, “wow, that felt awesome”.
I see way too many women walking on the treadmill each and every day with a book in hand. If you’re able to read a novel while working out, then you might want to re-evaluate things a bit.
- Always go in with a workout planned out. Have a workout written down or printed out. Knowing what you’re suppose to do will make it more efficient of a workout and help to push you a bit more.
- Try intervals to spice up cardio. Plus they are 5 times more efficient at burning body fat than steady state cardio routines. Sprint for a few seconds, walk for a bit, and repeat. Plus the time goes by so much faster.
- Workout with a friend. If you have a friend, spouse, or co-worker that you know is really into working out ask if you can workout with them one day. They might push you to work harder than you would ever do on your own. Plus it can add some excitement to the program.
It’s All About Nutrition
Unless your name happens to be Michael Phelps, you simply can’t eat whatever you want no matter how great your workout is.
Even if you have the best workout in the world, but then walk away and grab a fast food burger or a pizza, no one will ever know.
Make sure your diet is a reflection of your workout. Eating clean, all natural foods is the key to not only feeling your best, but looking your best.
Clean eating tips:
- Eat smaller meals more frequently to keep your blood sugar stabilized, energy levels up and fat storage to a minimum
- Stick to perimeter of grocery stores, away from the processed, boxed foods.
- Don’t skip breakfast, people who eat breakfast are more likely to make smarter choices throughout the day
- Don’t avoid food groups, such as going “low fat” “low carb” or “low protein” all three are important for a balanced, healthy diet.
You Don’t Eat Enough
That might sound crazy but it’s an issue that I have found to be huge among women. We have this idea that if we can cut out calories down as much as possible then we will lose weight faster.
Believe it or not it’s quite the opposite.
When you cut calories down too low to where you can’t support your workouts and active lifestyle instead of burning body fat you go into a catabolic state where you breakdown muscle mass.
If you break down muscle mass, you directly decrease your metabolism. And of course if you’re metabolism is slowed then it’s too easy to put weight on. Instead of burning fat you hoard it.
Track your calories to make sure you are eating enough. To loose weight you only need to cut back 500 calories per day for healthy results.
- How did you do?
- Do any of these sound familiar?
If so, change your habits today so that you can start seeing a different reflection in the mirror.
Also ask yourself this:
How long have you really been working towards a new reflection? If it’s only been a week, don’t feel disappointed or as if you are failing. Changes can take up to 3 weeks to see, so keep working and moving forward.
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