When you find yourself hitting that plateau focus on changing one thing at a time. Take one step at a time. Celebrate small successes. Focus on changing your diet slightly. Maybe change up your workout routine for a couple of weeks. Don’t overwhelm yourself….focus on one thing at a time.
In the last week in doing some research on abesity I came across something very interesting. It said as a trainer we have to take responsibility for all that our clients do….not just the successes but the failures. I had never thought of it this way….we are always talking about personal responsibility to our clients but what about our responsibility to our client. Not only is it my job to train my clients but its my job to find the way to get them to their goal. If they are not eating the way they should how do I motivate them to make better choices. As a trainer I believe I must do everything I can to help my clients. It’s ok for them to make mistakes…it’s okay to fail as long as you are trying…..what’s not good is when we allow them to succeed at doing nothing. We need to set small goals that they can reach, take ownership of, and get excited about. Life is not about succeeding at nothing……..it’s about continuing to try even if we fail.
You are probably wondering about my title. The final R is RECOVERY!!!! In the last few weeks I have had to postpone my competition due to a hamstring injury and its no ones fault but my own. I forgot the last R. Recovery is very important. Your muscles need adequate time between workouts so they can complete the recovery process. A good rule to go by is you should not exercise the same muscle group 2 days in a row and no more than 3 times per week. If you do not allow recovery you end up overtraining and prone to injury…..which is what happened to me. I was working glutes and hams way too much and it finally just gave out. It’s kind of the same thing as when you let life get too busy God will make you slow down….well if you overtrain your muscles your body will make you stop and it’s usually when you don’t want it too. I knew all this yet I didn’t pay attention and I paid the price. So that’s why I said, “do as I say not as I do.” I can guarantee I will be doing more of what I say!!!!!
We spend way to much time worrying about what everyone else wants us to be. We worry about fitting in and being someone in the world……when all we need is to focus on who God wants us to be. Are you living for God or for the world?
There is something to be said for the time you take between each set of repetitions. In order to function at near full capacity a muscle needs to rest 2-4 minutes. After a set of repetitions the muscles supply of adenosine triphosphate or ATP and phosphocreatine or PC will be depleted. It takes about 2 minutes for this to be replenished. This is your muscles’ energy for contraction. So make sure you are getting plenty of rest between sets!!!!!!
The number of reps you should do when working out depends on what the goals are that you have set for yourself. What results do you want? Are you wanting to gain strength? Anaerobic strength endurance! Aerobic strength endurance? If strength is the goal, lower reps (3-8) would be what you want to do. 10-20 reps will yield anaerobic strength endurance and high reps (20 and above) will yield aerobic strength endurance. A regular person wanting to add a little muscle mass (aka toning and definition) would want to fall in the medium range. I recommend 10-15 reps. If you can comfortably do 15 reps its time to increase the amount of weight you are doing. The last 3-5 reps should be difficult but you should be able to use proper form.
One of the most favorite parts of my faith is that I have a loving Saviour who loves me so much that no matter how many times I screw p he forgives me and continues to love me. 70×7 or for infinity……..forever!!!!
I love applying this concept to myself, my profession, and my clients. As long as you are breathing you have an unlimited number of second chances. No matter how many times you have a cheat meal or miss a workout you have the opportunity to start over……that is unless you decide to give up and quit. DON’T!!!!! Take advantage of infinity!!!!! As I’ve said before you only fail if you quit. Your health is to important for those who you care about and those who care about you!!!!
This quote is so true!!!! I realize I only have so many hours in a day, but I can only do what I can do. I try to make sure I always give my best whatever it is…..then I give myself grace for the rest.
“A man can do only what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day.” Albert Schweitzer
Did you ever wear one of these? Gotta love the workout attire of the 80’s!
I have so many people argue that they don’t need resistance in their training program. I hear all the time “running is my thing”. Don’t get me wrong, running is great cardiovascular exercise. I can guarantee you that same runner will be asking why they can’t seem to get tone or why they seem to be flabby. The answer is there is no resistance training. Resistance is weight moved. It is the training that produces muscle tone (building muscle, not toning fat). The weight must be small enough to perform an exercise through the full range of motion with proper form yet heavy enough that it makes the muscle tired or taxed for the desired number of repetitions. Without resistance you can’t build or tone muscle. So…….pick up those weights!!!!!!