So you've done 6 work outs this week and beasted yourself at everyone one.
You finish the sessions out of breath, body aching and sweaty.
You look in the mirror at home, in the morning, before your shower and after your workout trying to see a change that just isn't coming.
I know exactly how demotivating it is when you've worked so hard with your training just to see that 'nothing' has really happened with your body.
The thing is a lot of people train very hard. However, what if I told you that although important in the journey of weight loss, exercise is only a portion of the pie.
There are 5 KEY MISTAKES lots of people are making and are still expecting to see results.
STOP DOING THESE, and watch your body transform:
Not Monitoring Your Food Exercise is only roughly 20% of the full picture. "ONLY 20%?!?!" Now I know that seems like a small amount, but that 20% has a massive impact on how the body will look in the long run. Nonetheless, exercise and energy output is not something that we can measure accurately without serious lab tests. (Say bye bye to your apple watches). To lose weight, we must monitor the variables we CAN measure and control. Like food! Food is the energy input to our body, and is a lot more easily measurable because all the brands we buy our foods from, have done all the scientific research for us! How to measure and monitor your food: - Keep a food diary (what, when and how much) - Using a food tracking app (MyFitnessPal is my choice) - Take pictures of all your meals Don't forget, it is not only solid food that provides energy to the body but also liquids. So, be sure to monitor your drink and alcohol intake too.
Not Exercising At The Right Intensity Are you used to using 1-2kg dumbbells for your squats and arms? Or using a light weight and doing loads of reps? Have you found yourself using the same amount of weight for a while? Not progressing in that department? Do you feel like you actually come away from the sessions fatigued? Or do you have some left in the tank? Did you know that the moment your brain starts to feel something is difficult, and wants to give up, you are at around 40% of your capacity for that exercise. From personal experience, I know it is common to use low load and do high reps, and that is something that was falsely pushed in the media for a long time. That then leads to no or little progress and means that you actually are NOT burning the calories you need to be, or COULD be from the exercise session you are doing! So what does your body need and what you need to do to hit the intensity sweet spot?: - Mechanical Tension: When using the correct weight load, the weight creates tension in the muscle due to the muscle tensing and contracting. This is what causes the muscle fibres to tear, and recover leading to more growth, strength and muscle toning. In addition, the heavier a weight is, the more energy your body needs to lift it, meaning the more calories you will burn. - Volume: On top of muscle tension, to see progress you need to do the correct amount of sets and reps. 1 set of exercising is not optimal to see the best changes to your muscles, and means you'll burn less calories. - Time Under Tension (TUT): Do not RUSH your movements! If you have to rush, your body lacks the muscle control it needs for the movement, and weights may be too light or too heavy. Take time to go through the movement of the exercise. This will allow for greater muscle contraction, growth, tone and repair as well as burn more calories. - Progressive Overload: Over time, the exercises and weights that were previously difficult will get easier. If we do not change or progress these, with exercise progressions or heavier weights, your bodies reaction to them will stagnate. Be sure to regularly progress the weight you use once they start to feel easier and your strength improves! How to measure the 'right' intensity: - Reps In Reserve: RIR is essentially, how many reps of an exercise you have left in the tank. If you are aiming for 10 reps, achieve it and reckon you could have done 2 more. You guessed it, thats 2 Reps In Reserve. - RPE Scale (Used for Aerobic and Resistance training) The RPE scale is more commonly used, and is used for both aerobic and resistance based training. In basic terms, on a scale of 1-10 how hard was it. 1 being very easy, albeit some more exertion than watching tv. 10 being I could not physically do any more.
Not Monitoring Water Intake Water is essential for life, but also essential in fat loss. To break down fat, the body undergoes a process known as lipolysis. (lipo = fat, lysis = break down) Lipolysis is only possible in the presence of water, as it a key element in the first step of fat breakdown. Furthermore, increasing your water intake can increase your metabolism calorie burning through the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). TEF is the body producing heat energy whilst digesting food, and requires food and calories to do so.
Not Moving Enough There are 23 other hours in the day, if you train 1 hour per day. Sitting sedentary for the rest of the day is definitely not the most ideal way to burn calories and lose weight. Depending on what and how much you do, moving more, could potentially burn a greater amount of calories out of session than in your training session. How to increase your movement: - Walk more/ Increase your daily steps - Do more house work - Travel on foot or bike when necessary - Take stretch breaks from the desk - Do small exercises throughout the day
Not Enough Sleep A lack of sleep can effect the body in a number of ways, mainly through the body's hormones and neurotransmitters. Research has shown that those who have less sleep, produce greater amounts of Ghrelin, AKA the 'Hunger Hormone'. Ghrelin regulates how hungry you are, therefore potentially leading you to eat more calories than necessary. Additionally, a lack of sleep leads to less production of leptin: The 'I'm Full" hormone. Again, the reduction in leptin produced can lead to over eating of food. And you know that groggy feeling after a rubbish sleep? When you feel like that, you're less likely to move about and burn calories. So how much sleep should you get? How much sleep an individual needs can vary per person, however optimal is between 7 and 9 hours. Want to know how to get a regular good nights sleep? Look at this link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWrBD5UMs1s/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Comments