3 Signs You're Sabotaging Your Training
In this article, I've outlined and discussed in detail THREE signs that you're sabotaging your goals, by underestimating the importance of your training. Let's do this.
Have you noticed that we idolize nutrition?
We think it's the end all be all. We pretend that it's the only thing that matters when it comes to reaching all of our health and fitness goals. Don't get me wrong, nutrition is extremely important, but because we've put nutrition on such a high pedestal, we've completely forgotten about the importance of proper training.
Don't believe me?
How many times have you heard this: Abs are made in the kitchen.
Fun fact, they're not made in the kitchen. Abs are made in the gym, but because we've assumed a great physique is only made in the kitchen, we've made training an afterthought that is unworthy of our undivided attention.
Let's fix that.
In this article, I've outlined and discussed in detail THREE signs that you're sabotaging your goals, by underestimating the importance of your training.
Let's do this.
SIGN #1: YOU'RE MOVING WEIGHTS, BUT NOT THE RIGHT WAY
Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle building, resistance training should ALWAYS be a staple in your workouts. In fact, it is the thing that you should give all of your time and attention to. Forget the rowers, bikes, stairmasters, and treadmills. You need to put all of your focus on your weight training.
Unfortunately, there are some that do prioritize resistance training, but they don't do it properly.
The reason we do resistance training is because it sends a signal to our body that we need to build strength and muscle. However, that signal only comes when a certain stimulus is applied to the body. Just because you have weights in your hand doesn't mean you're performing resistance training.
Change happens when your body is challenged and instructed to build muscle and gain strength to adapt to the stimulus it's given. The signal that your body gets from using 10 pounds for 10 reps is NOT the same as the signal that your body gets from using 50 pounds for 10 reps. We all tend to get far too focused on the amount of reps we're doing, and we complete forget that the reason we're in the gym is to challenge the abilities of our body (especially our strength). The reason we lift is to FORCE our body to change and grow. We must put the body in a situation where it has no choice but to grow, adapt, and change.
When you're training, do you focus on completing the amount of reps assigned, or do you focus on pushing your body's strength? Turns out, you can push your body's strength by using a certain amount weight for a certain amount of reps as long as the weight is challenging enough.
Repetitions are not magic numbers. It's all about the tension and stress we apply in order to tell our body to change and improve. We simply use repetitions as a tool to measure the time we apply tension to our muscles.
When you're training in the gym, think about how hard you're working. Are you pushing your tank a couple reps shy of empty, or are you just coasting with light weights just to say you did 10 reps?
Use this scale to help you.
SIGN #2: YOUR INTENTION IS POO POO
This ties in with sign number one.
I overheard a conversation the other day between a trainer and a potential client. They just got done going through a free workout, and the trainer was talking to the member about a game plan to help them get to their goals. After the trainer walked them through their ideas, the member said something that I thought was very interesting.
"That sounds nice and all, but what workout can I do to get in, get the workout over with, and get out as fast as possible?"
Thankfully, the trainer to some extra time to explain exactly why that would not be beneficial for them.
You see, those that don't see change in their health and fitness usually think in one of two ways. The first way is the "Get In and Get Out" mindset.
This person squeezes their workout in to their schedule, rather than blocking time out of their schedule to lift some weights. The two are completely different. This person does a workout just to check it off the list. It doesn't matter what weights they used, how long they rested, how good their form was, all that matters is that they got it done and could say "check" as they looked at their to-do list. This person treats training as a chore. As a result, this person does half-assed workouts and doesn't see consistent change over a long period of time.
The second way is the "Sweaty and Sore" mindset.
This person treats their workout as an absolute punishment. The workout doesn't count if they didn't drench their shirt in sweat. The workout doesn't count and wasn't good enough if they're not painfully sore the next day. This person tries to run their body completely into the ground every time they set foot in the gym.
The problem with both of these examples is that the reason for resistance training isn't behind their intention when they train.
After being in the fitness industry for years, I can tell you one thing is consistent and true. The people that easily make positive changes to their health and body time and time again are those that understand why they're going to the gym, and that "why" is behind their intention. They train to improve one thing that day, and then build from there. They train to test their body's limits in a safe and mechanically sound manner. They take proper rest between sets. They challenge themselves to get out of their comfort zone in some way each and every day. They seek to improve just a bit in every single workout. As they do those things, they learn to enjoy the process.
Those that succeed don't treat their workout as an opportunity to sweat and get sore. They don't treat it as something that needs to get checked off the list. Rather, they treat their workout as an important piece of the puzzle that will help them build and shape their dream body.
When you're in the gym doing your workout, are you thinking about how much time you have left? Are you thinking about how fast you can get to the next exercise? Or, are you thinking about one set, the set that is just ahead of you, and what you can do to improve in that one set?
Be intentional.
SIGN #3 YOUR WARM-UP IS ALSO POO POO
Sign number three also ties in with sign number two. I'm just over here tying everything together. Crazy how things workout sometimes.
Yes, warming up is a part of your intention. Ask yourself what warming up means to you. I bet that if you compare your answer to your goals, it seems silly to be warming up that way. I'm guessing most of your goals are either burn fat, build muscle, or both, and you probably said the reason you warm up is to get your heart rate up and sweat a bit before you train.
Well, that makes no sense, right?
Remember how I said that your priority should always be resistance training, no matter what your goal is? Well, maybe that means your warm up should be something that helps you perform your weight training a bit better. There are some different things that can allow you to do that, but I'll go through the two most important in my opinion.
The first is activation. Next time you're in the gym, watch someone do a row of some sort. My guess is that their shoulder blades are rolled forward and their shoulder blades are not retracting/squeezing together. I bet their arms are doing 99% of the work. Take a look next time and make observations.
Situations like that are unfortunate, because it defeats the whole purpose of the exercise. The purpose of a row is to work your upper and mid back muscles. This can't be done if your shoulder blades are rolled forward and not retracting. So, taking time before your workout to activate the muscles back there and make sure they're working will make a MASSIVE difference in your workouts and results.
Not only are most people's backs inactive, but so are their glutes. This happens from countless hours in a desk day after day. Those muscles basically go to sleep and are never used properly during a workout. This is why most people feel squats in their quads, and nothing in their glutes. For those people in this situation, doing a few sets of glute bridges and squeezing for a couple seconds at the top will allow them to activate and use the proper muscles (their sweet cheeks) during a movement, leading to more effective workouts and greater results.
The next important step to better workouts is mobility. The more mobility and stability you have in a movement, the more room there is to improve. I'll be the example for this one.
In college, our strength coach would have me squat a broomsitck every single day to practice, because I simply couldn't squat. My hips were stiff, and so were my ankles. Because of this, getting my thighs to parallel seemed harder than trying to throw a fastball 100 miles per hour. Thankfully, my coach gave me a mobility routine to do before each lifting session with the team. I'd come 15 minutes early each day, and work on my hips and ankles. Id improve my range of motion and stability in a squat by hooking a band to an anchor, resting the band around my waist, and sitting in a low squat. While sitting in the low squat, i'd do some isometric tension holds to increase stability and control in that new range of motion. I'd also do a combat stretch, working on improving the range of motion in my ankle. I'd practice bringing my knee forward without letting my heel leave the ground. Once I reached my max, i'd pull my toes up as hard as I could to create stability and control in that new range of motion. I'd do this over and over and over before every single session. Over time, my squats improved a ton, and I was able to create more strength in a greater range of motion. Because of that, my squat strength has continually progressed, and my legs have grown during each phase of my programming.
Are you able to perform a movement in a full range of motion with complete stability and control? If not, take the time to work on your mobility before and after your training session.
Get your body ready to perform the best it can during your workout.
THE TAKEAWAYS
#1: Push yourself with your weights. Use the RPE scale to gauge whether or not you're pushing your body to change for the better.
#2: Be intentional. Get your mind right. Go to the gym with a plan to make one small improvement, and build from there. Sweaty and sore is not the goal, and working out is not a chore. It is a process that is meant to be enjoyed.
#3. Activate. Don't just warm up, but prepare your body to perform the best it possibly can depending on what kind of workout you have ahead of you.
BONUS: Still not quite sure what you can be doing to make your workouts better? Let's talk. I'm here to help however I can.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.
5 Tips for Easier Fat Loss
Do a Google search for "how to lose fat." I dare you. You will find thousands upon thousands of different sources, with tons of different answers. If you took the time to compare and contrast all of those different answers, you'd find tons of similarities, and tons of differences. The problem is...
Do a Google search for "how to lose fat." I dare you.
You will find thousands upon thousands of different sources, with tons of different answers. If you took the time to compare and contrast all of those different answers, you'd find tons of similarities, and tons of differences. The problem is...
Since you have other important things to do, I'd like to make your life a bit easier. Below is a list of 5 things you should be doing to lose fat easier. If you turn these items into habits, the fat will stay off easier, too.
LIFT WEIGHTS
Lifting weights is going to be one of the best things you can do for your health and fitness no matter what your goal is. I don't care if your goal is fat loss, muscle building, or getting out of your car without groaning. You should be lifting weights.
When we introduce something to our body, it sends a signal telling our body to adapt. If you perform endurance running, your body will receive a signal telling it to adapt by improving its energy efficiency (your metabolism will slow down). If you perform mobility and stretching consistently, your body will receive a signal telling it to adapt my improving the muscles' ability to lengthen and create stability in those lengthened positions. The same concept applies for resistance training. When you lift weights, you send a signal to your body telling it to gain strength and build muscle. As a result, you will become stronger, and carry more lean tissue. This is beneficial for fat loss for one major reason. Resistance training promotes a faster metabolism, as well as muscle building. Muscle takes a lot of energy to maintain, so your metabolism will increase as a result of your increased muscle mass as well. In short, you'll build a fast metabolism, and as you know, fat loss is much easier with a faster metabolism.
Before I move on, I want to clarify something. When I say building muscle, I specifically mean adding ANY amount of lean muscle to your body. This applies for women wanting to increase tone and definition, as well as men wanting to get jacked. Any sort of increase in lean tissue (even if it's a small increase) will lead to a faster metabolism. You'll also look great, too. So that's nice.
TRACK YOUR FOOD
Tracking your food intake is something I believe EVERYONE should do. It is the best way you can get an extremely good idea of how food affects your internal health as well as fat loss. Tracking gives you an opportunity to know what and how much you're currently intaking, and also allows you to see what tweaks you need to make in order to lose more fat. We've been trained to mindlessly eat since we were kids. You'll be astonished by what you discover when you finally decide to keep a log of your food.
Here's the thing. Fat loss and finances are similar in many ways. If you want to know how to save money, you're going to want to track your spending and create a budget in order to save more money. Similarly, if you want to lose fat, you're going to want to track your eating and create a "budget" in order to burn more energy than you consume in a day. In both scenarios, playing the guessing game is dangerous and will most likely put you in a bigger hole than you're in now. Take responsibility, get determined, and take note of what you do so you can make accurate and beneficial changes.
BOOST YOUR METABOLISM
I briefly discussed this before, but I'll go over it in more detail.
In the context of modern life, speeding up your metabolism is one of the best things you can do. It will make getting lean and staying lean much easier. Why? For starters, we are more sedentary than ever. In addition, food is more readily available than ever before. Simply put, we are moving less and eating more. So, having a faster metabolism will make it easier for you to burn more calories without sacrificing your lifestyle.
Two things you can do to boost your metabolism include eating more food and performing resistance training. If you do things the right way, you'll see your body's ability to burn through calories increase like crazy. While performing your resistance training program, slowly add volume to your workouts once your body begins to adapt. Increases in volume have been proven to enhance strength and muscle mass, which are going to help your metabolism. You can add volume to your training by adding weight, sets, reps, or a combination of the three. While tracking your nutrition, make sure you're eating enough protein, carbs, and fat for your desired outcome. The goal is to maintain your current weight week after week as you eat more food and add volume to your training.
STAY CONSISTENT
This one is simple. If you're consistent, you'll see positive change. If you're inconsistent, you won't. It is better to be 90% consistent consistently than to be 100% consistent inconsistently. Don't stress too much about the BEST workout ever. Don't stress too much about the BEST nutrition protocol ever. Instead, focus on eating well 80% of the time, and getting all your workouts in. Even if that's too much, find ONE simple change in your training and ONE simple change in your nutrition that you can be consistent with. Once those changes have turned into habits, build from there.
HAVE YOUR EYES SET ON THE LONG TERM
Can you lose 20 pounds in two weeks? Yup. But you don't want to go down that road. Short-term, get fit quick routes will lead you to hole that will take years and years to dig yourself out of. If you want to build a lean body and be able to easily maintain it down the road, have your eyes set on the long term. If you want that kind of change, you need to accept the fact that you are going to make a lifestyle change. Lifestyle changes are no joke, and they take time. Once you have your long term goal and you've accepted the fact that you're making a lifestyle change, break things down a bit. Make daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Also, it may be a good idea to create behavior-based short-term goals for your outcome-based goals. Let's say your outcome-based goal is losing 50 pounds of body fat in a healthy way over the course of the next 2 years. Your behavior-based goals can be things like getting all your workouts in, meeting your macronutrient goals each day, and getting your body composition tested every month. Whatever you choose to do, create some behavior change. Outcome-based goals are achieved far more often when there are detailed behavior-based goals to go along with them.
THE TAKEAWAY
If you want to lose fat and keep it off, make sure you implement these five things into your life.
Lift weights
Track your food
Boost your metabolism
Stay consistent
Have your eyes set on the long term
If you do these things (even on a small scale) and slowly build, you will see great change in your health and fitness.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.
5 Lessons on Fat Loss
Fat loss is one heck of a topic. It's been a major desire of many people, but it seems that only a few can make it last. So, what does it take to lose fat AND keep it off? Find out in today's 5 fat loss lessons.
Fat loss is one heck of a topic. It's been a major desire of many people, but it seems that only a few can make it last. So, what does it take to lose fat AND keep it off? Find out in today's 5 fat loss lessons.
Lesson #1: This Stuff Takes Time
If you want to do it the right way (setting yourself up to keep the fat off after you lose it), you better have your eyes on the long-term. Losing a few pounds of fat is easy at the beginning, but if you want to have each step of the entire process work properly for your body, you gotta enjoy the journey and understand that it's going to take time. Can you lose a ton of fat right away by cutting out a ton of calories and adding a ton of activity to your week? Sure, of course you can. However, it'll be much easier to put body fat on once you go back to your more enjoyable lifestyle. If you'd rather slowly lose fat, and make sure it stays off, it's a long process. Have your mind set on at least 6 months of consistent work.
Lesson #2: Know What You're Eating
If you want the best results, knowing what and how much you're putting into your body is essential. Cutting calories right of the bat only works for the first few weeks. Our bodies DO adapt and they WILL hit a plateau after they have become used to something. In order to continue making progress week after week, you must know what to adjust and how to adjust it. Tracking your food intake and tracking your workouts is a great start to understanding how your body is changing based on what it's being given. Think about saving money and building wealth. The first thing you'd most likely do in that situation is track your spending and see where your money is going, and then create a budget to optimize the way your money works for you. Tracking your food is the same. Sure, it can be a pain at first, but I believe it's a great starting point for everyone, and will most certainly help you know exactly what you need to change to reach your goal.
Lesson #3: Lift Some Freaking Weights
As mentioned above, our bodies do quite well when it comes to adapting to the environment we place it in. Ever wondered why hours of cardio doesn't work too well? Yup, because your body adapts. Time spent doing tons of cardio will teach your body to slow it's metabolism down, which will make fat loss harder and harder, especially in the context of modern life. Don't look to the treadmill when you want to lose fat. Look to the weight floor. Whether your goal is to build muscle or burn body fat, weight training must be a staple in your routine. Greater strength gains will lead to greater muscle growth. Greater muscle growth will lead to a faster metabolism that will help you lose more fat for years and years to come. If you want a solution to your fat loss problems that will promise a faster metabolism as well as a better functioning body, look no further. Weight training is the answer. Perform resistance training at least 3-4 days per week and watch your body change.
Lesson #4: Stop Eating Out So Much
People complain that eating organic and healthy is too expensive. Sure, of course it's more expensive. You're putting better food into your body, and better food is going to cost more money. But, I bet you anything that you spend more money eating out than you ever will eating organic and healthy. Try it out for size. Track your spending on eating out for a month, and see how far that money can go to fill your fridge and pantry with healthy alternatives. Additionally, eating out will make your life more difficult. It's harder to know what is actually in the food you're eating, and it's difficult to measure unless you bring a scale with you and pick each individual ingredient out and weigh it. No one wants to do that. Also, you're more likely to say "f*ck it" after you eat out and have no clue how much you ate, which can lead you down a path of 2,000 extra calories in one night. Pick healthy, simple options if you go out to eat. Other than that, use 80% of your eating out money to go toward healthy alternatives for the casa.
Lesson #5: Monitor Your Progress
Referring to Lesson #1, long term sustainable fat loss takes time. It's a lifestyle change. If you have your eyes set on the big goal that will take years and you train yourself to believe it'll come in the next month, you'll want to quit in no time. Set milestones and take note of each and every single win you have along the way. Take your big goal and break it up into monthly, maybe even weekly goals. Crush one little goal at a time, and pat yourself on the back. Before you know it, you'll be at your long term goal. Maybe even sooner that you expected. :)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.