I recently went to a local (budget) old iron gym for the first time to enjoy a classic old iron strength training. I personally loved it! That's where my personal training story started. But it also made me realize why 95% probably won't achieve their long-term goal.
We choose a beautiful final destination that we will drive to by car and then spend our holiday there. What do we do then? We take a route description to ensure that we end up at point B. What else do we need to do to get there on time? Make sure the car isn't broken down, we don't drive recklessly, don't go too slow or we won't get there on time, put the right gasoline in the car to keep driving, etc etc etc..
So what I saw was that a lot of people don't know how to get to point B and they don't know it clearly. They want to, but they don't look at the route planner, they think that a highway is just a highway and that it will take you to all destinations.
I'm going to give you tips that you can use like a straight line thread to get the most results in the long term.
1. Take advantage of your status as a “beginner”
Why do we want that? As a beginner you can make the greatest progress with very little effort and more training is often completely unnecessary. You don't have to train 4-5 times a week. Keep It Simple!
2. Maintain a regular routine of exercises
Do not choose 10 different exercises for, for example, your legs during the week, your body is still getting used to it and can improve if you repeat the exercises and learn the movement. Just an example of what I did myself, I was doing the same schedule for about 19 weeks and still made nice linear progress. This is still quite extreme, but proves that repetition (albeit with a slightly higher load) actually ensures progression.
3. Focus on your movement patterns and not on completing reps
The classic gym bros will say “Feel the mind muscle connection” i.e. feel your muscles working. That is admittedly a bit surprising because you do not have to feel a muscle hard during training to activate it.
What I want to say is be aware of the exercise you do. Watch your execution.
Something I regularly hear is that someone has been injured during, for example, Crossfit because they have to do an x number of repetitions within an x amount of time under a load as quickly as possible. I have no problem with CrossFit or slowing down during a workout, but I do have a problem if it is done under the wrong circumstances and or if you have not yet consciously taught yourself how to perform an exercise.
4. Micro steps
Today I saw a video of an Olympic weightlifter who took 16 years to win the gold medal. This shows how something becomes a lifestyle rather than a “pathway”. Your body is not a sprinter but an endurance runner. You will not live for 1 year, but you may already be 110. Be patient, a body that has lived an unhealthy life for 10 years must also be given some time to get back into shape.
The steps you make will be small, but you want them to be consistent. SO WHAT if you could only lose 1 KG more this week than 2 weeks ago or if you only lost 0.5 kg in 1.5 weeks. As long as you don't go backwards, you don't want to worry. A significant drop of, for example, 3kg in a week... wow, then you should start worrying because then something is not going well.
5. Log your progress
If you know what you did last time and what you are doing now, you automatically know whether you are making progress. Even if you use your weight as a benchmark, you can see whether you need to adjust something or not.
Now don't start thinking that if little or nothing happens for 1 week that you will not make any progress. Of course, circumstances always play a role. Be consistent and make sure you persevere. Getting rich takes a long time, but spending money is easy.
Quinten Aarts
Enforce Franchisee & Master Trainer
quinten@enforce.nl
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