Avoid these 8 obstacles that stall your fitness goals
So you’ve thought about heading back to the gym to join in the Vancouver fitness training scene for a while now? Do you want to lose those extra 10-15 COVID pounds that snuck on? Plan to firm up your body and increase your energy? Maybe you’ve been reaching for those goals for the last few months but somehow, it’s just not working. If this sounds familiar, keep reading.
Why listen to me? Let’s start with me being in the fitness industry as a Vancouver trainer for more than a decade and in that time I’ve put in more than 15000 hours on the gym floor. I’ve seen people join a gym in January only to quit by February. I’ve seen people train religiously for 3-5 days a week for the past 10 years yet see zero physical change. Seeing this made me think, why do some people reach their desired fitness goals after only 6-8 months of training while others never get there, or quit within a few weeks.
You are not alone in your fitness quest and here’s how you can avoid or overcome the biggest barriers to your fitness training success.
Let’s focus on the first 4 of the 8 most common reasons that might stop you from achieving your fitness goals:
LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
I see this all the time. New members join and start wandering around the gym attempting random exercises. They jump from machine to machine without any plan or system in place. Six months down the road (if they stay that long), they look back and wonder why they see absolutely zero improvement. Worse, the person who started two months ago has way better results and noticeable changes.
What have I got to say to this? That there is a scientific formula that applies for weight loss, increasing muscle mass, stamina, endurance and getting in the best shape of your life!
Unless you’re that gym nerd or have years of experience in the fitness industry, both of which give you solid knowledge of what to do and how to do it, then I’d suggest that you hire a professional to guide you.
Invest in a personal trainer or a nutrition coach. It’s a worthwhile decision that will save you a lot of grief, time, energy and injuries (and probably money) in the future.
LACK OF ACTION TO GET YOU STARTED
The best training program will mean absolutely nothing, until you put it into action. Let me repeat.
The best training program means absolutely nothing until you put it into action.
So let’s take the example that in the last 6 month you’ve been thinking about losing those extra 15lbs but you have yet to get started.
What have I got to say to this? The first thing I want you to do after finishing reading this article is to join the most convenient gym to you. Action leads to more action. Success leads to success.
Let’s say that you have been going to a gym for the last two years but see no results yet. It could be that your knowledge or one of the other points mentioned in this post, is your weak link. If so, hire a professional and save yourself the unnecessary grief and stress.
Take action! Only action will get you to the goals you want to reach and nothing else. Remember, the best training program means absolutely nothing, until you put it into action.
LACK OF PATIENCE (You want it NOW!)
We get it. You are excited to get started, to commit. But you want it all right now, right? Hey you just got started. We know it takes all of nine months to make a human. Doesn’t matter how much you rush it, stress it or force it, it’ll still take nine months. (Unless that baby is premature baby, but that’s a different story)
The same applies to your fitness goals. It takes time…
What have I got to say to this? You’ll need to keep two things in mind:
1st: Great things take time. This also applies to your body transformation. You’ll need to honour the body’s rate of growth and recovery and start looking at the big picture. See it through to the end goal with a calm, patient and confident mindset. It’s easy to beat yourself up if your progress isn’t going as fast as you hoped, but if you keep your eyes on the end goal, you’ll stay on track.
2nd: Focus on doing that little bit better at the next session. Focus on micro improvement. How can you squeeze an extra rep, do another set or eat a little bit cleaner? It might not feel as if you accomplishing that much in the beginning, but week after week, real change does start to happen! And in 6, 8, 12 or 16 months, you’ll be rewarded with a great transformation.
Having asked you to consider knowledge, action and patience, let’s spend a moment on what happens when you put action into overdrive – to conclude your first four big barriers to achieving your goals.
Plan to avoid this threat to your success:
THE ALL OR NOTHING MINDSET
Yes, you decided to get healthy and fit and now you’re committed. You are all in! Wonderful!
You are training 3-5 days a week, eating clean, dedicated and have a great recovery routine.
You see some early visible results and you are excited. That’s amazing!
Six weeks into your fitness journey, you go out on Saturday night with the boys/or the girls and you end up over eating and having too many drinks. Sunday comes. You join the same friends for a greasy brunch and soon your training program doesn’t factor in this new activity equation.
Monday comes. You look back at your weekend and you think that you totally screwed up. You’ll never get fit and in shape, so you choose to slide more and skip your gym sessions and the clean eating. This is exactly what I call the ‘all or nothing approach’.
Sadly, this approach never works. We know sometimes life gets the better of us – social life, work deadlines or family commitments and that’s ok.
What have I got to say to this? When it happens, your first step should be to adopt is “it happens…so what” approach. It happens and that’s OK! The right thing to do next is to get back on the horse. Monday comes and you get back to your training schedule and clean up your diet.
Why not shift how you look at your behaviours from good and bad or black and white to a much wider spectrum. Your aim should be to move your attitude and actions from the “I don’t care” end of the spectrum to the “I really care” end. In the big picture, aim to do a little better each week and you’ll see a long-lasting improvement and real results.
So, I’ve asked you to; join a gym that is convenient and with an atmosphere that appeals to you.
Talk to a professional such as a personal trainer or a nutrition coach that will service you with evidence based knowledge and you’ll be more accountable in the process.
You are now ready to take real action steps and to be mindful of both patience in the process and avoiding the deadly all and nothing mindset to prevent setbacks.
In part two of this post, we’ll look at four more power keys to do and to avoid, to guarantee your success in the fitness arena you are stepping into. One of these is a support system we’ll discuss.
For now, please know that I’m here to help you and support you through your fitness journey, call or email today to get started on a fitness program!
Stay tuned for part 2 or join our mailing list and you’ll get an alert when that post is up.
Supporting Your Healthy and Active Life Sam Jabarin
Canfitpro Personal Trainer
ISSA Nutrition Coach
3dfvancouver.com
Info@3dfitnessvancouver.com
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