Search the Archives
I know a lot of people work out to lose weight. But the fact is, a lot of people quit. Whether you’re not seeing results, or your seeing results but you seem to have plateaued recently, workouts can be a frustrating endeavor. Hopefully these few questions and accompanying answers will help you right the ship. At the least, I hope the answers will convince you not to abandon your workout; instead, search for the problem and fix it. The results will come.
1. “I lift weights four times a week, and I jog for about an hour three days a week. I saw results initially, lost a few pounds, but I can’t seem to lose any more.”
Odds are, you’ve totally adapted to your workout plan. The entire philosophy behind exercising (and a lot of people don’t know this) is to stimulate your body with new things, whether it’s progressive resistance or different lifts, or even changing up the machine you do your cardio on. So whenever you find yourself doing the same routine week in and week out, you’re likely to plateau–sooner or later. My advice for someone suffering from this dilemma would probably be this: try to change the machine you do your cardio on from week to week, and spice up your workouts by making them harder as your body adapts. Consider incorporating circuit training into your workouts, or simply decreasing the rest periods between sets of heavy lifting (6-8 reps). And that applies to both men and women–training with low reps but short rest periods (30-60 seconds) can do wonders for your fat loss goals.
2. “I can’t run because of ——-, but I want to lose weight.”
Believe it or not, but many people have lost massive amounts of weight without running. I know jogging has become synonymous with cardiovascular exercise in our culture, but that’s really sad in a way. Because so many other great forms of cardio exist. If you prefer the treadmill, consider walking at a brisk pace on an incline for an extended period of time (30-45 minutes). As you begin to adapt, consider increase the degree of the incline and/or the time you walk for (or even the speed, if you can).
In addition, consider swimming, which is an incredibly taxing form of cardio that’s relatively easy on your joints, especially if you feel uncomfortable running on a treadmill or can’t fathom the idea of cycling. Or even consider joining your local gym’s Spin Class, which–thanks to the community atmosphere and bumping music–can make your cardio session seem to (dare I say it?) fly by.
3. “I’ve done everything–a fitness routine with accompanying cardio that gets progressively more difficult–but I still haven’t seen the results I wanted to see.”
Assuming your relatively patient and not overly-idealistic (losing weight is a gradual process, with the healthy range at about 2 pounds per week), I would probably ask you about your diet. What does it look like? Are you eating junk food? Are you starving yourself? Both are bad. You need to control your caloric intake and pay close attention to the foods you eat. Think whole grains, veggies, and lean-protein sources like turkey, fish, and chicken. Consult the FDA’s website for specific nutritional information of a wide variety of foods (including name-brands that you can buy at your local supermarket).
4. “I really want to exercise, but I can’t seem to make to the gym regularly. I’m just not motivated enough.”
Motivation and consistence is a huge factor when it comes to seeing results. Consider setting numerical goals for yourself, and taking a “before” picture that you prop up next to your mirror or on your desk. Also, consider enlisting a training partner. I’ll be honest–we all have our days when we don’t want to go to the gym. But having a training partner, someone who’s meeting you at gym X, can really motivate you to show up and get your workout done. Not only that, but it’ll also bring a sense of healthy-competitiveness to your workouts, which will help you to get motivated…and stay motivated.
5. “I used to workout, lost a lot of weight, but then I stopped and just can’t seem to get into it anymore.”
Coming back after a long time off can be discouraging, especially with that sense that you’re working towards a goal you already attained–and lost. But you can’t dwell in the past. The fact of the matter is, you’ve done it before, you can do it again–but do you want to? If anything, it should keep you motivated. Think about exercising against your ghost, consistently pushing the envelope and trying to even surpass your previous fitness level. So don’t give up!
I know I say this a lot, but these are just suggestions. I wish I could give individualized advice via blogging, but I can’t. So I hope you’ll take some of this and apply it to your workouts where you see fit, but don’t feel like you must incorporate anything I say.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
RSS 2.0
