Why your gains died
The way you’re training sucks and is killing your gains
WHY you are wasting your time in the gym. We all start somewhere, some of us want to tone, get shredded, get jacked, or just feel and look better naked. Where do you start, should you start with cardio or weights? Setting yourself up from the get-go is hard but the best decision for your gains. It's sticky, you don't really know what to do and it all seems like too much. you just haven’t found yourself yet.
What type of cardio? Isn’t the bike better than the treadmill? Wait, how about HIIT?. That gets my heart pumping so it must be good, right? Time for weights, every gym you walk into will have machine variations for similar exercises, dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells, how do you know which to use, better yet how to use them. It can be overwhelming and leave you feeling confused with no idea what to do.
We have all been there, going into the gym a few times a week, by ourselves or with our best friend, promising to keep each other motivated. You go in, pick your favourite muscle to train, usually chest and arms for the bro and glutes for the girls. Walk around, no idea what you are doing, trying random machines and really “pushing” ourselves hoping for some sort of outcome, not knowing what machines or exercises work what muscles or even how to do them. Or you found a sick workout on Instagram and just keep hammering yourself, not actually getting anywhere. You think you are ticking all the boxes and smashing your workouts all day every day, in reality, you are just working towards nothing, lost in a sea of information. I know how you feel, I have been there too, looking for the next “hot tip” to shred or build muscle, then being frustrated that it didn’t work and quiting.
Doing what’s right for you
We have all heard that you need to do new exercises each session because switching things up every session “shocks the muscle” so it does not know what is coming which maximises your results. Truth be told, this is not right, doing this is almost wasting your efforts
I know you have listened to old mate at the gym and have done exercises that make you “feel the burn” so it must be good right? You leave the gym feeling battered and ready for a 3-day nap.
Why are you lost in the gym and feeling anxious? Are you just training for the sake of it to fuel your ego, to say you train, neglecting body parts, doing what influencers say, doing extreme challenges. Going all out, losing motivation, Stopping, going 1 step forwards then 5 back? Bingeing then repeating. I have been there, you think you are ticking all the boxes and getting nothing in return. You end up not progressing, not overloading, spinning the wheels and wasting your time and energy. You are much better off sticking to a particular schedule of exercises and ensuring you get better weekly, it is a competition against yourself.
How many reps and sets should you be doing for your goals? You have heard it all, from friends, old mate at the gym, your uncle Barry and even your favourite Instagram celebrities. High reps burn and define the muscle more but will not make you bulky and heavy weights with lower reps is only to bulk not toning. Girls, I know this is a hard pill to swallow, lifting heavy weights will not turn you into John Cena. Building muscle takes a long time, patience, good form, an appropriate program, overload, adequate recovery, high stimuli and enough recovery. What if I told you that your training program should not really change, irrespective if you are trying to build muscle, drop fat, tone, lose your love handles, shred for summer or get juicy. That is where our food and programming come in. That is a whole other conversion we can have another time. Within a structured program based on your goals and specific areas you are aiming to improve there should be a range of reps to be taking your muscles through, usually between 6–15+ is ideal for building muscle, as long as we get close to failure. Yes, girls that is for you too, if you want to grow that peach, train them through all rep ranges within close proximity to failure. I mean really push yourself, empty the tank
Alright sweet, I’ve smashed my weights, now let’s do some cardio. You are wanting to tone and drop your love handles. Should I use the treadmill, bike, rower, or stepper? How about that machine over there? But your cousin tells you that she does 10 minutes of HIIT each day and the weight just melted away. Firstly do you need cardio? Does it align with your goals and are you doing it for the right reasons? Let me guess, you enjoyed an amazing meal out with friends and now you feeling guilty, so you are trying to “burn it off” so you do not gain weight and bruise your ego. If that sounds like you, stop doing this. You are just pushing yourself deeper into the yo-yo effect of eating and training. Again just killing your gains.
You are sick of endless cardio with no progress in sight, despite cardio being the best for fat loss, you are lost and it is fine, I have been there, but we are giving you direction to move forward and get the results you deserve.
What is your WHY
Why do you go to the gym and train? Is it for your health? Physical and mental growth, your goals? Do you even have goals? What are your goals, what do they mean to you? Do they align with your values? What are your life values? If you do not have goals or values set for your life that carry over into your training you are just chasing your own tail and hoping for the best. Finding your motives gives you a sense of direction and purpose to your training. I recommend you begin consistently following a goal-specific program and measuring your progress weekly, if you are unsure how, do yourself a favour and seek help.
How will you feel once you achieve it? How will you feel in 6 months from now if you do not take any action and are in the same position? If we are honest, probably shit. Be specific, is it an arm size, jean size, or a weight on the bar, make sure it is something you can tick off. This will minimise your feeling of being lost in the gym dramatically because you have something your working towards. It feels great, putting your efforts towards a specific outcome rather than flipping a coin and chasing that burn. The next factor to mitigate your anxiety, give you the power to smash your sessions and own the gym is having a program for you based on your body, your goals and the way you move. Having a tailored program, maximises your results for your goals, knowing what each exercise is for, not because Ms.Verified on Instagram said it works for her #fitspo. Training with intent will fuel your goals instead of your ego.
Now, it's your time to shine
Imagine walking into the gym, knowing what exercises you are doing on that particular day, in what order with the exact amount of reps, sets and rest for each. You now feel like a boss, smashing it daily, moving forwards, getting closer to your goals and most importantly have a sense of direction and no longer feel lost in the gym. You now no longer have to YouTube “best ab workouts” and you have never had more success in the gym.
Knowing your why and following a program for you, knowing the correct technique, reps and sets that are best suited for your goals killsanxiety in the gym and allows you to come in guns blazing, ready to smash effective workouts without confusion. No confusion, no feeling lost or anxious, just progress, success and gains. Own your shit. Go get what is yours.
