I have worked with quite a few people since 2001. I can say, without a doubt, the transformation process is more mental than physical. Today I am going to touch on a few mindsets that are preventing people from reaching their fitness goals. If you have said any of these things send over an email to info@
“If I don’t lose 20 pounds in the next 28 days I will stop!”— Have some patience! If you think this we need to set up a goal setting session. Everything happens over time.
“I was not sore from the workout so it did nothing” — When you start a new program or do something different there will usually be some soreness. Your muscles should feel like they worked (Your joints should not!) Some people are more susceptible to soreness than others. Your training program is not better than the next person because you are more sore. If you are sore all the time you might have some other issues you have to deal with when it comes to recovery. There is no correlation between getting rahbdo from your workout and reaching your goals. The programs that take it to that level are not good programs to follow.
“I am all in!”— All in usually means you will be “all out” at some point. “All out” is the worst thing possible for progress. If someone who has not worked out in 5 years sets a goal of working out 7 days next week it’s not a good thing. It creates a mindset where 3 workouts next week equals failure in your mind. If someone who has been eating Mcdonalds 7 days a week decides that Monday is the day they will start the new Paleovegangrapefruitsweetpotatonofat diet it will end up as an epic fail! One. day. at. a. time! Remember that a huge part of losing the weight is………
KEEPING IT OFF!!!!!!!!!!!
“I will fight through the pain!”— You will, and then you will get hurt even more. Not much more to say about this other than it’s not smart. I will make an exception if you make millions of dollars off your body, and there is a championship on the line, tomorrow. If you don’t fall under that category then you are better off working with a professional to see what you can do without pain.
“If 3 days work, then I will do 8 days next week to speed up progress!” — People that view exercise as “just” burning calories will always fail with fat loss. You are NEVER going to out train a bad diet, never! The people that stand a shot of out training a bad diet are the people already in amazing shape( like Michael Phelps and 2 other people) If you don’t fall into that category (or have 8 hours per day to workout) then you have to train smart also. The more is better people will burn out and get hurt. The more is better people are also the ones who start and stop over and over again.
“I am just going to do cardio” — Outside of diet, strength training is the most important thing for LONG TERM fat loss. If you lose muscle your metabolism will go down the drain. If you lose muscle, while losing fat, your scale victory is not going to be a mirror victory. It is possible to lose weight and look worse. Are you taking in the same calories as 5 years back and all of a sudden putting on weight? You probably lost some muscle. If your goal is to age gracefully and still be able to do the things you did 10 to 20 years back then focus on strength training. Doing a few exercise machines for strength is not doing much. Hire a professional to find the right program for you.
“Let me add 50lbs to my (enter exercise) this week!— These people are guaranteed to get injured while training. Slow consistent progress is always better. Learn to master your bodyweight before adding more weight. On the other end of the spectrum are the people who will use the same weight for 5 years and wonder why nothing happened. They might say I just want to be “toned” or believe in the myth that strength training will make them bulky!
“All this foam rolling, mobility, and flexibility work you are doing with me is not going to help me lose weight! — Getting injured is not going to help you lose weight either! It really hurts (literally) when it comes to being consistent with your exercise plan! People come to me to look better and feel better. My job is to find the bottleneck in your fitness plan. If you can’t move without pain then we have to address this before moving more. It also allow us to increase your exercise pool and a get more out of your workouts. No matter how good you look its not cool if you cant move without pain!
“I don’t have time!” — Check your priorities. If you have 20 to 30 minutes then I can write a program for you that is effective. A SAFE metabolic conditioning workout will allow you to improve strength and cardiovascular health at the same time. I can also help you set movement goals. There is more to exercise than showing up to the gym. Just move!!
“I am waiting for the right time”– The time will never be perfect, therefore it’s always perfect. I have seen people transform their lives by simply having some faith and taking one small action TODAY. And another small step tomorrow. I have seen some people waste years and decades with a million excuses. Yes, there will be times where it’s hard. Maybe it’s just a period where you have to maintain and not go backwards. This is fine. Doing nothing hurts progress. Just don’t let yourself turn into this person…
I have young kids.
I have kids in school.
I am going to wait until they go back to school.
I have kids in college.
I have grandkids now. They keep me busy.
I have some vacation time, so I will wait until after this.
It’s the holidays, so I am going to wait until the new year.
It’s stressful at my job right now, so I am going to wait.
It’s the middle of the week.
It’s the middle of the month.
The weather is nice, so later.
The weather is bad, so later.
I have to get in shape first. Then I will call you.
I am going to start after we get this Halloween candy out of the house.
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Detric Smith, CSCS, ACSM EP-C, 49ers fan