Posted on 15 January 2010.
Over the years I’ve produced a lot of success stories. Most clients have been able to transform their bodies with astonishing results. They feel and look incredible. But sometimes it doesn’t work. Sometimes they fail. Miserably.
Oops I did it again
And it happens a lot more than you think. If I had to calculate the average success rate of someone who tries to transform their body it’d be lower than K-Fed’s IQ (I’m thinking single digits). With January in full swing, we are in the season of change and thousands of new gym goers will try to begin their journey into a better them…only to fail. Call it lack of will power, determination or two Smores for $1.39 at Mcdonalds but people fail more times than they succeed. Despite setting out with the best intentions, they don’t reach the finish line (or sometimes they don’t even finish tying their shoe laces!).
Don’t let this be you. Find out what pitfalls you need to avoid to get the body you want. I`ve learnt many of these lessons before getting it right myself. I made all the mistakes so you don`t have to.
I`ve made the mistakes first hand (12 weeks)
You don’t go to the gym (and if you do its not enough times!)
This is obvious but it should be repeated. Unless you exercise roughly five hours a week, you shouldn’t expect phenomenal results. Going to the gym on Monday (like everyone) and maybe Wednesday won’t cut it. Doing “a little bit of Chest, cardio and calves” won’t build you the body of your dreams (it will however make me throw a weight plate at you at disgust).
I know. You want to go, you really do….but you just can’t motivate yourself to work out. You bought the new running shoes, gym membership, personal trainer, and full $300 Lululemon outfit but just can’t seem to get your mojo going in the gym. You would like to lose the weight but… its hard! Its not like it seems in the TV ads, there is no “Just Sit and Get Fit” machine that will melt the fat for you. Something is missing.
Something is missing (Like the self-respect of the Shamwow guy)
You have to figure out whats holding you back (the right work out environment, or group, lack of planning, lack of motivation, etc) and fix it. We often have mini-barriers in our way and unless we remove them, they become huge road blocks and they derail our journey. Stay the journey and reap the rewards!
Your diet sucks.
It seriously does. And I mean this about everyone. From the crowd who chronically under eats (the “I ate a piece of celery and looked at an apple” group) to the weekend bingers and emotional eaters, we all have poor eating habits that we’ve either developed, adopted, or mistakenly use.
The eat the ice cream out of a bowl wearing a wife beater habit
I’ll admit as a trainer a lot of it is not your fault. Magazines are confusing (low-carb or Zone, “whats my Zone, am I in the Zone?”), nutrition labels are misleading, and the average expert has a two dollar certification.
The first step (sounds like AA) is to change your perception of eating so you aren’t “dieting”. You are eating the way your body is meant to. Diets implies you are restricting or limiting yourself. Really? You mean preventing yourself from gorging your face full of twinkies is a feat of will power? Forget all the fads, what you’ve read in the magazines, seen on TV or what your sister’s boyfriend’s dog did to drop 10 pounds. There are some universal rules about eating healthy and they should be followed at all times!
You pick the wrong exercises.
When I or my clients work out, we never have to wait for equipment yet we are the only ones getting a serious sweat in the gym. Do you see the problem? You most likely are picking the easiest exercises rather than the most effective (and the only exercise flirting with the receptionist gives you is an exercise in rejection). I’ve devised a little poem to help you figure out whats right for you (careful for my ego, I`m sensitive):
No cardio, no machines,
If you want to get real lean
Use free weights and get a sweat,
You’ll look great, I’ll bet!
Copyright Omar Isuf 2010 (Can you see a budding poetry career?)
Focus on big compound movements that save you time and burn more calories. I’m talking squats, lunges, deadlifts, chin-ups, dips, and rows. Don’t pick the easiest machines (in fact unless you are injured STOP using them). Remember, compound movements over isolated machines, squats over leg curls, HIIT over cardio and Prince over Michael.
Prince won
You don’t have enough time to work out.
Yeah I’ve heard it before. It can range anywhere from “I have two kids, am a single mom and work 60 hours a week” to “But…the Lost re-run is on!”.
Bullshit. You are reading this. You have to make yourself a priority. I’ve had clients who are single parents with kids and two full time jobs who’ve managed to exercise six hours a week and see phenomenal progress. Its all about the order of your priorities and finding out who got kicked out of Dancing with the Stars doesn’t count. Make time for what is important. And this is important right? Ditch the all-day Seinfeld marathon (spoiler alert: nothing happens!) for an actual marathon and you`ll not only feel better, but look better too.
Hopefully you have more important things to do
You don’t plan out what you`ll do properly
You sort of have an idea of what you are doing. You have a plan. I mean, you’ll work out four days a week and eat right, simple no? Wrong. This is not a plan. This is a hypothetical scenario that will never play out. The saboteur? Life. Without setting up a plan for success (what will you do on those work out days, when will you work out, what will you eat, etc), you are just winging it. And unless you are Maverick, you`re screwed.
I`ll be your wingman Maverick…just don`t make me join Scientology
Prepare your meals (enter your new nick name…the Tupperware Titan!), write down your work outs (and schedule your day around them), ensure adequate sleep and manage social settings (do not go hungry to a dinner party). Its a lot easier to resist all the daily temptations (from the bagels at the coffee shops, the work cafeteria, or your mom’s lasagne) when you have a plan in place. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Those are but five of countless reasons for failed body transformations. In Part 2, I`ll share some of the other most common reasons. What about you? What have you found that limits you? Please share your thoughts below!
Omar Isuf is a highly regarded Personal Trainer and is dedicated to your fitness success. To stay ahead of the pack and get the results you want make sure to subscribe (go here!).
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