Are you trying to lose weight but feel like you've hit a plateau? Have you lost weight in the past only to put it back on and maybe some more? Although this might be frustrating at the time, it's part of the journey that everyone must go through.
What got you result in the past will not continue to get you the same results in the future.
Working out or dieting harder will not help you. In most cases, it does more harm than good. This game of transformation takes time and playing by a different set a rules won't help you win the game.
When it comes to getting results, there has to be a target in mind. If you want to get leaner, and build lean muscle - you have to start training with a more focused approach.
Going harder or turning on the beast mode won't help get better results.
Being tired at the end of the workout doesn’t mean you’ve had an effective workout.
It just means your tired!
Sometimes it's important to work hard. But it's also more important to work on the things that will really determine our success.
It's common to feel that we need to be dripping in sweat, muscles sore to the touch or we didn’t work hard enough to reach our goals. That is the message we see in marketing, on social media and in popular transformation TV shows.
In the age of high intensity boot camps, hot yoga, spin studios and new fitness concepts popping up each day – it’s easy to believe that more cardio is going to be the answer.
As a Coach, I’ve seen so many good people start with the best intentions only to burn out or give up completely. Why is it that we have more people with gym memberships than ever before yet, our obesity rate continues to sky rocket?
Because we are sold that if you are not working out like a maniac you won’t be successful.
Ask any fitness coach, how they got where they are. They will tell you by focusing on strength training, eating well and being consistent.
Yes, metabolic training and higher intensity workouts serve a purpose in your overall goal.
Just because Advil has proven to help alleviate pain and headaches, doesn’t mean we should take an entire bottle at the first sign of congestion.
Cutting calories and adding in more workouts, specifically more cardio won't work long term. It's not sustainable and eventually you will hit a wall. Eventually you get sick or your body will break down overtime from over training.
Over training happens a lot in the athletic community when Athletes are training at high volumes and usually under a lot of stress to perform.
If you compare athletes with us, we are under a lot of stress and on top of that trying to diet our way to a flat stomach, ripped arms and staying as lean as can be.
What should we be doing to reach our fitness goals?
Step 1: Get Stronger & Focus More on Building Lean Muscle Mass
Focus on building lean muscle. You will stay healthier longer and be able to push your body without getting hurt in the process. You will also burn more fat each day just by having more muscle on your body.
Here’s why strong people can stay so lean. They are burning a ton more calories each day also allowing them to eat more food.
Although trainers post high intensity workouts that you can do from home, they did not get their physique by doing those types of workouts. Once you put on lean muscle it’s hard to lose it. So, once you set a solid foundation you can pretty much live in maintenance.
Focus on strength training 2-3 days per week.
If your goal is to burn fat focus on do higher rep counts like 12 to 15.
If your goal is to build size, work in the 8 to 10 range.
If your goal is to build strength, work in the 5-8 rep ranges.
Adding in conditioning or cardio is great if you want to burn a few extra calories. You will burn much more with a good strength session however and burn calories while your body recovers over the next few days.
We recommend doing 1-2 days of moderate to higher intensity. A lot of people undervalue low intensity work like hiking, paddle boarding or walking. Things like these will help most people versus doing another 30-minute HIIT Workout.
Step 2: Clean Up Your Nutritional Habits & Stop Trying to Diet Yourself Lean
Too many people focus on burning the extra 300 calories in that workout to balance out their overall calorie intake. Instead of working to burn 300 calories, focus on eliminating 300 calories per day. It’s not that hard if you just do a simple tracking of the things you eat each day and look to swap them out for better choices.
Here Are Some Ideas to Get You Started
Using an oil-based salad dressing vs a creamier one
Subbing out the bun on your burger and making it a salad
Measuring your olive oil when you cook (easy to over shoot)
Switching to Diet Soda or Seltzer vs Regular Soda
Having your alcohol with soda water and citrus
Many people believe that you must eat less calories to lose weight. There is truth to that statement. But you can easily decrease your overall calories by eliminating a lot of junk and replacing it with better foods.
Focus on Increasing Foods from These Categories
Lean Meats & Proteins – Whole eggs, Poultry, fish grass fed meats
Green Vegetables – Broccoli, Spinach, asparagus, green beans etc.
Minimally Processed Carbs & Starchy Veggies – Squash, potatoes, rice, beans and lentils
Healthy Fats – Fatty Fish, Avocado, Coconut Oil, Seeds and Nut (Nut Butters)
Fruits – Apples, Pears, Berries & Citrus (lemon and limes)
If you need help with what foods you should be eating, you can download our Quick Start Nutrition Guide Here.
Step 3: Follow A Strength Training Program & Not Just Random Workouts
It’s important not to confuse a Training Program vs random workout. Most workouts we see today don’t follow any real reason. Most of them are put together with one goal in mind. To make you tired.
It requires no real training expertise to do that. To quote Martin Rooney “Anyone can make you tired, but not everyone can make you better.”
A good training program is looking at the next 12 Weeks and having a specific goal or outcome. You want to lose 15 pounds of body fat while getting lean and tone.
Now that we have a goal, we must select the right path to get there.
Intensity – Weight, Reps, Sets, & Tempos
Progressive Overload – When to increase resistance or add things like bands and chains
De-loading – When to lower intensity so that their body can recover properly
Exercise Selection – Which exercise to pick for the program based on mobility, flexibility and training history
From there it is broken down into 3 phases that last for 30 Days. In each phase you have a specific training focus. Build up core strength or improve technique and mobility.
Each phase stacks on to the next like Legos until you reach the goal. Don't leave your goals up to chance. If you have a serious goal than it’s, important that you have a plan to get you there.
Random Workouts = Random Results
If you don’t know how to write your own, find a trusted Coach or Fitness program that has experience with program design. Usually you will find this more in a Private Gym setting much like Impact Performance & Fitness.
In a private gym, client pay for results.
Private gyms must be able to deliver results on demand for their clients or they wouldn't have them. There is a science to training and losing fat. Putting on muscle is difficult and requires attention to your training, nutrition and recovery. We have been helping our members achieve their goals for 8 years now.
By giving them training programs that help them get stronger, move better and most importantly - we help our feel better about themselves.
Fitness is more than just the number on the scale. It's creating balance and living a healthy lifestyle that invigorates you to be the best version of yourself.
If you're interested in reclaiming your health and fitness and would like to know how you should be eating and training to get results, fill out the application to book a Free Strategy Session Below.