Recently I got an email from a gentleman in his mid-40’s who had been a regular in the gym for a number of years. He reached out to me with some concerns in regards to his physique and expressed some frustration about his lack of progress, despite his long-term commitment both in the kitchen and the gym.
Between the workouts and the healthy eating, he felt as though he should be seeing better results and be further along in his physique transformation.
After we discussed his specific goal and I had a better understanding of what he wanted to achieve, I dug a little deeper to see what might be preventing him from his desired outcome. As he was explaining his current work schedule and behavior patterns, I realized that this particular gentleman did a lot of traveling for work. This presented the opportunity for me to nudge him a bit further:
“So, when you’re traveling for work, are you able to get in your usual 4-5 workouts each week?”
**brief silence**
“Well, no. Not always. I mean, I try, but I’m usually tired after being on the road all day and I don’t really have access to a decent gym.”
As it turns out, this guy was traveling, on average, 10-12 days a month. That is a lot of missed workouts which correlates to missed opportunities for progress. It was also revealed that when he’s missing his workouts, he’s less inclined to eat healthy.
Going to the grocery store to get fresh, whole foods is a lot less likely to happen when you can just hit the drive thru, slam a burger and fries, and not have to be burdened by the task of finding a healthier alternative on the fly.
Consistency
One of the major players in slow progress or halted progress altogether, can often be found in your lack of consistency.
When we think of a body transformation, it may help you to think of it like making deposits into a bank. In order to get great results, you have to bank your workouts and nutritional choices. Every time you skip or half-ass a workout or eat something that doesn’t support your goal, it’s like taking a withdrawal out of the transformation bank.
Obviously in order to achieve maximum results, you need to be banking as many workouts and adhere to healthy food choices as much as possible. The more deposits you make into your transformation bank, the better your results will be and the more skipped workouts and poor dietary choices you make, the more withdrawals and thus, the slower the progress.
Program Hopping
Another common issue that needs to be addressed is the practice of program hopping.
Just today, my client Holly and I were discussing her husband, Mike, and how he’s a creature of habit. Mike is a retired surgeon in his mid-50’s who has a long history of being an extremely active and fit guy. So much so, that he and Holly just returned after six months of hiking the Appalachian Trail (a 2,160 mile trek between Georgia and Maine). Mike, she said, has been doing the exact same workout routine since they moved into their new property several years earlier.
Literally.
He does the exact same exercises in the exact same order using the exact same rep scheme with the exact same amount of weight every single workout. For years.
For most people, that’s the very definition of insanity, but for Mike — well, i think it’s safe to say, he clearly doesn’t do well with change. And while Holly and I had a good laugh at his expense, I couldn’t help but to express how lackluster that is for his results.
Sadly, most are the extreme opposite as Mike. They have what I call, “workout or diet ADD.”
With the advent of the internet, it seems no one is capable of focusing on anything longer than a sound byte. And unfortunately, when it comes to undergoing a physique transformation, program hopping, both in workout and in nutrition, is one of the best ways to prevent yourself from making any measurable progress.
One thing I see people doing time and time again is investing their time and energy into gaining more knowledge instead of actually implementing what they already know to be true. The fact of the matter is, you will make far more progress on your physique goals if you invest that same amount of time into understanding your own body and how it’s responding to exercise and nutrition instead of researching other methods or short-cuts.
Be the detective of your own body.
There is absolutely nothing online that’s going to help you understand your own body better than trial and error. For some, they do really well on a high fat, low carb diet. For others, it may be that they do better on a low fat, high carb macronutrient breakdown.
Without actually putting these methods into practice, you will never come to understand what’s optimal for your body. And at the end of the day, what’s optimal for your body is all that matters. And you’re not going to find that in another article.
If you want superior results, you have to be willing to be consistent in both nutrition and exercise. Winging it is not good enough. Give your programs the necessary time to work for you (usually 12-16 weeks).
For most, the results won’t be immediate. Typically, you have to allow your body to acquire some momentum before you’ll actually be able to see any physical changes. Stay the course. Trust the process. And the results will come.
Accountability
For many, the missing piece of the puzzle is going to be accountability.
“Accountability is the acknowledgment of responsibility for
your actions with the obligation to report, explain,
and be responsible for the resulting consequences.”
I get it, not everyone feels like working out all of the time. Motivation ebbs and flows and can’t always be relied on during those challenging days. It’s in these moments, when our willpower is weakened, that we become susceptible to self-sabotage.
This is where accountability becomes clutch in your long-term success.
Accountability is synonymous with responsibility. When we have someone to answer to, we’re far more likely to stay consistent. Whether that’s meeting a workout partner or Personal Trainer in the gym or hiring an Online Coach, just having someone there to help keep you accountable can significantly increase your chances of success.
To put it simply: if you can’t be consistent, you can’t make progress.
And that’s why accountability is more important than having the perfect diet or the perfect workout. Because if you can’t commit to doing either one consistently, then you’ll forever be spinning your wheels. And honestly, why torture yourself when you know there’s a better way?
Don’t stay stuck. It’s never too late to start over. Do better.
And if you need help with that, let’s have a chat to help ensure you’re on the right path for your goals, your body, and your individual lifestyle.
