Are you doing your thing in the gym and your nutrition is on point but still aren’t completely satisfied with your progress? Here might be why
1) You are trying to ‘tone up’
I get asked this question all the time: “how do I tone up”. Everyone’s perception of what’s ‘toned’ or desirable is different. What does ‘tone-up’ even mean? Do you want to lose fat or do you want to see muscle definition? These are two completely different goals.
If you are relatively lean but want to see abs or show off trim arms, building muscle is the answer.
In order to build muscle, there are a few considerations:
- You need to be consistently weight training 3-4 times per week and progressively getting heavier as the weights seem lighter.
- You need to be eating the correct foods and enough to assist in muscle growth and recovery. See our protein intake article here.
2) You are overdoing the cardio
Whether your main goal is to gain muscle or lose fat, you should be weight training.
Here are a few reasons why:
- Increased metabolic rate: Your metabolic rate is how many calories you burn if you were sitting still on the couch all day. An increased metabolic rate= more calories burned at rest leading to long term fat loss.
- Increased bone density: Maybe not a consideration for many, but you will thank yourself later in life. Having stronger bones protects against future osteoporosis and injury.
- Burn calories after the workout has finished: Weight training has an after-burn effect as the body has to work hard to repair muscle, which is a process in the body that burns calories.
Cardio still has its place in an exercise regime as you should have variety in their program so that you enjoy it and can see yourself sticking to it. Mix in 1-3 cardio sessions per week and 2-3 weight sessions for variety in your training and benefits of both types.
3) Thinking results only happen in the gym
A gym is where you make changes in your body but the kitchen is where you reveal those changes for the world to see.
You may be doing all the right things in the gym- a mixture of strength training and cardio, but your physique just isn’t reflecting your effort. This is when you need to look at your diet and ask yourself if you are getting in adequate protein, fruit, veggies and whole grains. A great way to quickly evaluate this is asking yourself some questions like:
- How often do you eat out?
- How many meals that you consume daily are processed? (come out of a can, container, ready to eat or ingredients that have a long shelf-life) as opposed to fresh food.
- Are you getting close to your recommended 5 serves of veggies and 2 serves of fruit daily? When trying to lose weight, we are often told to cut out fruit but fruit is packed full of vitamins, minerals and fibre so opt for berries and melons.
While you might be on the right track, making these small adjustments in your routine could produce the changes your looking for in your fitness and physique.