Whilst being into fitness I’ve discovered through personal experiences and through my clients that you’ll come across various problems and obstacles when trying to make gains. Here are MY 5 things to expect…
1 – Be prepared to put in the hours!
For some reason people try put the least amount of hours in to get the most benefit. You have to accept that the process isn’t a part time affair and that you’ll have to carve out time each day around your busy lifestyle to make things happen. After all if you don’t work hard on a consistent basis then things won’t ever change.
2 – Understand this shit can be tough!
Before you get started you gain momentum about how exciting it is to start making gains, most of the time it a run of events that you see and then there is a ”lightbulb moment” when you think YES I’m going to start getting fit. It’s so easy to visualise positive things when everything is going to plan but the real test is when everything comes crashing down, problems with your family, job, friends, money…scales start to go back up and fitness starts to fade. It’s in the time of adversity that you’ll either quit or step up and get back on track. In my opinion from what I’ve witnessed this is where most people quit.
3 – Train smarter….not harder!
Day by day I’m seeing a lot of people in the gym every day but making no changes, doing the same weight, same exercises which logically would mean they look the SAME. It’s great that you turn up on a consistent basis but you have to also execute well in the time you spend in the gym. Train relevant to the goal, if you need to drop body fat introduce cardio, if you want to put weight on introduce compound lifts. Smashing the gym doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve been productive.
Quick example – If you went to the gym and did 1000 bicep curls with 5kg without rest your arms would be exhausted…would this benefit you in anyway? nope.
4 – Expect a bumpy ride!
Like most things in life you have to take the rough with the smooth and same applies to fitness, you will get set backs like injuries, illnesses and all those fun things. THAT’S LIFE. But it’s how you bounce back that make’s the difference. Don’t write the week off because you had a bad start to the week, writing off 5 days instead of training is straight up mind boggling to me.
5 – This shit takes time!
Although a lot can change in a short period of time it can also take time to adapt to a different lifestyle, you can’t expect to walk into a new job and know everything, it’s the same with fitness. Small victories mean a lot more than just trying to understand everything at once, improving nutrition and training is a good place to start before worrying about supplements, macros, carb cycling, strength cycles etc. Nail the basics before trying to take on the world.
Play the long game. Step up in hard times. Enjoy the ride.
Matt x
