Every one goes to the gym with some sort of goal in mind. Trying to drop a few lbs of fat in preparation for a holiday? Trying to put on a bit of size and build some muscle? No one heads into the gym just to stay the same and make no progress.
So then why is it that some people who do go to the gym, who obviously have these goals mapped out in their head, still seem to make no progress, never getting closer to their goals? Well read on, and we’ll explore the 3 main reasons why!
#1 – Nutrition
This is the major stumbling block for most people! You can spend as long as you want in the gym, but if your nutrition isn’t in like with your goals, then I can guarantee you’ll never truly reach them!
Okay, we’re not saying that you need to each chicken, rice and broccoli 8 times a day, far from it! But gain an understanding of what your body required in order to reach your goals.
For example if you want to lose fat, you need to make sure you’re eating in a calorie deficit!
It’s okay to go out now and again and eat normal foods with friends and family and enjoy yourself, but understand and know at least 80% of what you’re putting into your body and enjoy the other 20%, and that should be enough to help you reach your goals without your nutrition taking over your life!!
The secret to success in this game is all about life balance and finding a realistic, maintainable lifestyle.
#2 – Sleep
Everyone seems to think that all the progress is made in the gym… while this is obviously a major factor, so is diet (discussed above) and sleep!
Lack of sleep can have serious detrimental effects on your progress as well as your overall health.
Lack of sleep has been shown to lead to lowered testosterone levels and lowered growth hormone levels, of which both could potentially severely hinder recover, as well as also being strongly linked with the onset of depression, that in turn directly impacts motivation levels in a negative connotation.
Everyone is different and everyone required a different amount of sleep, but a good general rule of thumb is approximately 8 hours a night, allowing for adequate recovery time for progress and overall health and well-being.
#3 – Training
This is it, the big one, the reason we even go to the gym… But are you doing it effectively? It’s all too often that people go into the gym and start training, but actually have no idea what they’re doing and just end up bouncing from machine to machine, doing half arsed reps with terrible form!
When it comes to success in terms of the gym and making progress, knowledge is key! We’re a seriously lucky generation, in regards to that we have an absolute wealth of information at our finger tips on the internet!
There’s also hours and hours worth of entertaining and informative content on YouTube alone!
Whatever your goals are, it’s highly recommended that you perform a bit of research on how to effectively reach and achieve those goals! Either that or get together with someone that already knows the ropes, and can take you through and teach you along the way!
Another point to mention on the topic of training is pushing yourself…
Many people just rock up to the gym and just go though the motions, not really giving any real effort to their workout and then wonder why they don’t see any progress.
Take any of bodybuilders/physique competitors/athletes that you aspire to be like…
How do you think they train? More likely than not they push themselves to the limit in the gym, giving every session their all! Yes, training like that may be hard work, but the rewards will be well worth it!
To conclude…
This is only a brief article, and each topic could be an entire book in it’s own right!
But taking on board the pointers mentioned in this article will give you a good solid foundation for you to set, reach for, and achieve your goals, whatever they may be!
Remember, it’s not just a destination, so enjoy the journey!!
Source: http://broscience.co/3-main-ways-people-damage-gains/
