The mistakes I've made throughout my five-year training journey has taught me a hell of a lot. I've trained three to six times a week, I've tried 'no carb' diets, I've tried tracking my calorie intake, and hybrids of these extremes. I am finally at the stage of my "lifting" career where I sort of lift but I’m actually making more progress than before.
The more years of training under my belt I began to realise the important issues than just giving solely advice. I can give you the best advice in the world, but if you can’t adhere to it - what’s the point? Adherence trumps all. Adherence is hard, so you should be proud that you are giving it a go. When you start to see those improvements, which you will, it will be easier. Consequently, the first part of this piece is how to improve your adherence.
Lesson 1: Aim for consistency, not perfection
The conclusions from lesson one puzzle everyone. Your goals will take a long time to achieve; so whatever your route is, it needs to be comfortable. I hate the theme on social media where "if you aren't 150000% committed you're lazy" impression. This level of commitment puts people off as they don't have the time or it is simply too daunting. Sticking to a perfect programme for a week does NOT outweigh training for years. So enjoy the ride, your small victories along the way will present sweeter rewards.
Let me illustrate this point by using an example: Raj is looking to lose weight ahead of his wedding so he can fit into a suit he had tailored to fit 2 inches tighter than it needed to be. For context, Raj works full-time, lives at home and is studying for his CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). As you can guess, Raj doesn't have much free time, probably a few hours a week. Asking Raj to workout six times a week and sticking to a meticulous diet is insane. Should Raj give up? No. Raj needs a programme which suggests training twice a week and asking him to be more mindful of his eating habits. Granted the groom-to-be will not lose weight as quickly than if he were to train six times a week. But the suggestion is sustainable and practical; both of which will help Raj achieve his goal.
Being honest with how much time you have to commit, will hone in on what goals you want to achieve. I can't be an Olympic swimmer with only three free hours to commit, but committing to those hours over six years means I can get pretty damn good.
Wrapping up Lesson 1 fits nicely to my next lesson.
Lesson 2: Have a clear goal and plan in mind
Lesson 2 is a lesson even I haven't quite mastered yet. When I ask people what they want to achieve their responses are usually to get toned, fit, lose weight or achieve them all. The definition of these terms are dependent on the individual which is why I always follow up with the question: 'What do you mean by tone?' The response I get is a much more specific description of their initial answer. Quantifying your goals will help keep you on track.
Lesson 3: Be happy
As I said earlier, achieving your fitness goals are going to take a long time, so enjoy the ride. If you are terrified of your next training session or feel its a chore; stop it. The more you enjoy it, the easier it will be. Granted there will be some days you will have to power through, but on the whole not enjoying your fitness routine is going to make it hard for you to commit. On the other end of the spectrum, a routine which confines your happiness outside of the gym should be stopped. My career and utilising my free time is more important, so I will prioritise these over the gym where I can.
Aside from these three lessons, I do want to share short gym tips which can get you that step ahead in seeing the results you want. Our gym journeys can occasionally turn into cycles which are difficult to get out of, where you are fixated in one place. The last six lessons aren’t a stone-set way of “gyming”, they are factors to consider that will help accentuate the progress you are already seeing, or help you move in the right direction if you aren’t seeing any at all.
Lesson 1: Consider individuality
We try to emulate workouts posted by chiseled Instagram models, but what they do won’t necessarily work for you. People respond differently to different exercises because their ‘mind-muscle’ connection is different, or our bodies can execute certain movements better than others.
Secondly, these Instagram models have been working out for 5+ years, so their routine will be completely different to a gym novice. Training for a long time will mean more complicated routines to achieve muscle growth than a rookie who has just started. You will lose fat and gain muscle at different rates to others, so don't judge your progress on theirs but on how far you have come.
Lesson 2: Mobilise. Mobilise. Mobilise
You may have seen people who are only capable of squatting a quarter of the way and complain about back pain. A root cause of this can be poor mobility. Your body will use other muscles to compensate for your lack of mobility, which could mean bye-bye lower back. I recommend doing yoga routines. The greater the range of motion, will lead to better results than a partial range of motion at higher weights.
Here's a descriptive blog to help you achieve the mobility you need to squat correctly, and to make them more effective.
Lesson 3: Learn how to brace
I hear gym instructors telling their clients to brace, but bracing is incredibly difficult. What is bracing, you ask? It’s easier to describe visually, but it’s breathing in enough air so you don’t break yourself and to get a six-pack.
Here's an article which helps describes the way you should be breathing when squatting and lifting weights.
Do you remember when yogis say breathe into your belly? Well you do that and make your stomach rigid, as shown in the video.
Lesson 4: Don't alienate a certain food group to lose weight
I’ve heard ‘low-carb’ diets as a means of losing weight – so. many. times. This simply isn't how it works; you have to reduce your net calorie intake. You can reduce your net calorie intake by burning more calories, but this will take ages. I'd reduce your portion sizes. Alienating certain food groups is easy to do because it is easy to identify what food groups belong to what. However, having no fat will affect your hormones and having no carbs will make you feel lethargic. Or, you can't sustainably stick to the diet you’ve set out for yourself and, in doing so, cannot achieve your goal.
Again everyone will respond differently, so the best way for you is to monitor your weight regularly. If your weight is dropping a pound or two every week you are on track, if not, you should change what you are doing. Calories are difficult to count because there is variability in measuring different food groups. A simple way for me to lose weight is to remove certain foods in my normal diet. If I have a chocolate bar regularly, I will remove it while I am dieting.
Lesson 5: You do not need to train every single day to get your dream body
I train four times a week because training any more than that will prevent me from recovery. Studies show doing the same amount of exercises as you would in fewer days lead to better results because your body can recover from your workouts. To elaborate on this point, squatting 30 reps on each of the four days will most likely be less effective than squatting 60 reps on two days. However, this again depends on your body type.
Lesson 6: Learn how to activate certain muscles
I can now use certain muscles in particular because I have developed a strong muscle memory connection. I feel a real burn in my thighs when I do lunges because I am activating the muscles in this part of my body. From my personal experience, I do movements really slowly or pauses to help me learn movements before I add on the weight.
Training isn't easy, it requires commitment which you may not have and that’s fine! And in realising that, you can compromise what you think a gym routine should be and instead develop one which is more suited to you; and as a consequence, cut yourself some slack. The goal with going to the gym is to allow your body to be as healthy as it can be, not for the gains.
About me: Having studied Chemical Engineering at university, I am now a graduate engineer in the energy industry. I enjoy going to the gym, spending time with loved ones, and helping others not make the same mistakes I did.
Life motto: “The best thing about failure is that there is an opportunity to be better than you were yesterday.”