Motivation Success in Workouts

Being an avid gym member for the past 4 years, I have seen all kinds of people, of all shapes and sizes, doing any kind of workout you can imagine. I have seen top-heavy dudes with enough back hair to cover the Amazon yelling while pushing up that last rep on a bench press; super skinny dudes running at mach 8 on a treadmill at the biggest incline the machine allows; beautiful women walking out of the yoga room grabbing that little bit of love handle left above their waistlines and complaining about it to friends (by the way, I happen to like that little bit of love handle left there); and happy couples unhappily working to remove some of the post-marriage-add-ons from their bodies.

One thing I have seen time and time again is that those same people from four years ago, although making some changes along the way, are still basically holding the same body contours they started with 1460 days ago. Day after day, I can see the frustration in everybody’s face as they step on that scale, push the little weights around, and droop their head when given their unsatisfactory result.

I can’t get to everybody, and I wish I could. I’m not a genius, but I know how to help. I’ve thought and thought about how best to go about this, and an online set of installments seems to be the best bet.

I have already covered the facts about a positive attitude (which is the most important thing because your mind is WAY more powerful than your body), and the importance of water, H20, agua, and Adam’s ale consumption. Oh, by the by, all those clever little words mean water… I checked my thesaurus.

Now I’m moving to exercise. The only problem with this is that it is so difficult to make a change in ones life. However, without constant change, the body stops changing.

Your body is way, way, way smarter than you give it credit for. You can put yourself on Atkins, or South Beach, or whatever other fad hits the front cover of a magazine, but if that plan does not call for constant change, your body will not constantly change. Everybody’s body wants to run like clockwork, and the body will constantly struggle to find a happy medium in anything we do. Because of this, Your body will start picking up patterns-Have you ever accidentally skipped a meal (*this question is for those who eat the suggested 6-7 times a day), and ended up feeling pretty empty after a couple of hours? Well you felt empty because your body has become used to that food, and was expecting it. Your body had a plan on what to do with that food, and how it was going to be used to fuel you until your next bit of nutrition. Without it, your body is a bit confused, so it tires, it gurgles, it hurts, it does anything it needs to in order for you to realize you have got to put something in it.

Incredibly, your body does the same thing with workouts. Do the same workout, at the same time every other day, and your body will make small changes, until it starts waiting for that workout, and expecting it. Once that happens, your results slow down, and can potentially stop because you have trained your body to be used to that workout.

How long will it take for your body to figure out what you are doing? Studies show it takes about six weeks.

So what’s the fix, you ask? It’s simple, actually: Constant change.

Switch up what you are doing every few weeks, and give your body a reason to keep changing. Your body doesn’t change for the simple reason of you burning more calories than you consume. There is a science behind that phenomenon that is still baffling people today. What has been figured out from the incredible home chemistry set that is your body, is that your body changes to fit your daily life. At the same time, it doesn’t like to lose anything it already has, so it tries to find that happy medium.

Simply switching up your cardio/weight sessions every couple of weeks will be sufficient enough for you to keep the changes coming. For a couple of weeks, start off with some cardio, then do some stretching, then hit the weights with all the other sweaty people. Then switch it up: go into the gym, start with stretches, then do your lifting, then switch to cardio. Do shorter cardio circuits this time.

Also, change the way you are lifting every now and then. You don’t have to be the person trying lift the entire stack of plates, plus every small child in the area. Lift lighter, and lift slowly: 4 seconds up, pause, and 4 seconds down. Go to failure. 2 weeks later, lift heavier, and only lift what allows you no more than 15 reps.

If you are unfamiliar with the weight equipment, ask a trainer how to use the isolating machines. These machines are designed so you can lift weights on a cable connected to the weight stack, and this reduces the chance of injury (WEIGHT LIFTING CAN BE INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS IF DONE INAPPROPRIATELY, so make sure you know what you are doing first).

Another change you can give is the amount of time you spend at the gym. Every now and then, make your trips shorter, or cut lifting out for a week just to focus on cardio, or vice versa. When going on your treadmill run, don’t focus on the distance you go. Focus more on running comfortably and keeping good posture. Keeping your minds set on distance can cause your brain to take over what happens, and if you are let down by your final results, your brain will tell your body to release hormones into your body that can actually make you gain fat!

So change, change and change some more. In every way, make some change. Don’t make the workouts harder in every sense. Never put yourself in a situation you are not comfortable with, but always feel free to ask questions. Fellow gym-goers are typically pretty good about lending a hand when called upon, and will probably appreciate you for wanting to use the equipment properly so that someone else may get on the machine sooner.

Also, workout buddies are good, but be careful. Time and time again I see people toting around the gym in pairs or groups, and instead of working out to break a sweat, they stand around – OR WORSE: sit around on the equipment – while having conversations about their rude boss and his mistake of wearing horizontal stripes on his 300 lb orb. AVIS GYM MEMBERS HATE THIS!

Get to the gym, and take care of business. Procrastination is what causes the body to wait on changing. Get out there, and make your body happy. The gym can be a great place to let go of the stresses of the day in a physical way.

If you aren’t feeling like joining a gym, or aren’t into going on a certain day, then don’t force yourself. Remember when you were a kid, and the word “Fitness” had never presented itself to you? You just woke up, and had fun with your friends, right? That is what your workout should be. The “clank” of weights and whining of cardiovascular machines isn’t for everybody, but there is something for everyone. Find what is fun for you, and go for it! You will love how it makes you feel, and that in turn, lets your brain give off little sparks of information to your body to continue changing.

If you do like the gym, but want to keep to yourself, get an iPod. Those little things are the handiest gadgets to come along since Edwin Budding replaced livestock with the lawnmower (that’s a stretch, I know, but now you have a little fact to quiz someone on).

Apple’s iPod’s start at about $70 for the “Shuffle” which holds about 250 songs, and go all the way up to a $250 model which allows 40,000 songs. Not only that, but you can opt the songs out, and put audiobooks on instead. Now you can get your workout in, and learn how David Copperfield finally found his true love.

Basically, give your body constant change, but keep your mind happy in it. Otherwise, the routine of working out will turn into another thing to complain to that buddy about while he sits on the Iso-Lateral-Bench-Press, and I eyeball him from across the gym while waiting for his butt to move off of it.

That’s the end of this one. I’ll get more into the different types of lifting associated with fat loss and muscle gain later on. Right now, I want to get the gym and tell one of those gorgeous girls to keep that little bit of love handle on her. If you are a woman, I give you the same advice: there is a point of being too thin, just keep yourself healthy, that’s what really matters.