4 Reasons You’re Not Getting Results

Photo by Andre Hunter

Spring time is here and we all know what that means…got to get ready for the summer beach body! Everyone is hitting the gym and working out with there personal trainer to reach their fitness goals. For those that aren’t working with a NYC personal trainer and busting their butts in the gym but aren’t getting the results they want, then these “4 reasons you’re not getting results” is the post to read 🙂 

Sweating Isn’t Enough

Fitness intensity is typically judged by how much you’re sweating, feeling the “burn”, and catching your breathe. But does this mean that you’re going to get your results based off of this definition? I can have you hold a wall squat for 5 minutes and make you do 100 burpees, but will this be the most effective way to workout? What if I had you hold your arms out for 5 minute, you’ll surely “feel the burn” in your delts, is that an effective way to workout your shoulders?

The point is that just because you’re sweating and panting doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re training correctly and efficiently. A full workout consists of pushing appreciable weights with a mix of compound (squats, deadlift, lunges, etc…) and some single joint movements (curls, tricep extension, lateral raise etc…) and some conditioning movements will safely be an effective workout.

Weights

Your body can handle a lot more than you think, the fear of pushing the intensity with heavier weights is a common misconception that many people assume with “bulky” muscles. Yet a mother will hold her 30 lb. child in one arm without a blink of an eye.

Pushing the intensity doesn’t mean that you’re grinding out a set but the weight should be challenging enough that you’re fully focused on the movement, not reading a newspaper or chit chatting away. You’ll want to take it slowly but over time the weight and intensity should increase. If you’re just starting off, maybe the 5lbs dumbbells for a goblet squat is tough but after 5 weeks that should become nothing for you :).

Consistency

I talk about this a lot but I STRONGLY believe that many people get confused with “concentrated” amounts of consistency vs. consistency. Those that do the “concentrated” consistent workouts are the ones that will hit the gym hard for x5 weeks and then fizzle out. Yea it’s great that you’re working out hard but if you burn out after x5 weeks or even x8 weeks that won’t be enough to make LASTING changing. The person that sticks with working out even twice a week for a year will be looking better from year to year vs. the person that is waving up and down from working out to not-working out.

If you’re just starting off, I understand that you want to crush the workouts and want results within a short period of time. While this MAY happen, in the long run (I’m talking years) it’s better to consistently hit a balanced diet and workout than doing bursts of a intense workouts and dieting. And this has been proven by  Dr. Arlene Hankinson at Northwestern University, in which the research confirms that CONSISTENT physical activity helps to prevent weight gain.

Focus

If you hit up the gym, whether it be a personal training gym in Manhattan or a neighborhood city gym, you’re bound to see people reading a newspaper while their on the bike or constantly chit chatting between sets and so on. If you’re truly working out you shouldn’t have much time to talk between sets. If it does happen it’s short and brief because you’re focused on your lift or your rest period is short and you shouldn’t be able to carry on a full conversation over that time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool to make gym friends but the chit chatting should be done during down periods- warm up, recovery days, stretching, or cool downs.

The bottom line is that if you’re not focused on your workout and talking during your set, then you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. I can guarantee that our personal training clients can’t talk during their working sets, which is one of many reasons why they get results!

Conclusion

In short make sure that you’re gradually increasing the weights, staying consistent ANNUALLY not weekly, focused on the task at hand, and ensuring that you’re training correctly.

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Stay strong,

Team Fusion Trained