I’m Exercising – So How Come I’m Still Not Making Progress?

LCE is pleased to present Guest Author, Kate Street. 

There’s nothing worse than finally deciding to start an exercise program (after years and years of avoiding it!) and then finding that you’re still not getting the results you want. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. But the good news is that it’s avoidable! There are many reasons that people don’t see the results they want from their exercise program – most of them just need a little tweaking. See if any of the following scenarios pertain to you:

• I walk every day–so how come I’m not seeing results? While walking is a good starting point and helps to develop an exercise habit, you’ll only see very little results from it. Our bodies are used to walking every day (we’re meant to walk) so it’s not that taxing or challenging. Unless you are speed walking or hill walking (both should make you breathless) then you’re just not pushing yourself hard enough. Walking is a great place to start, but it will only take you so far. You’ll need to supplement with weight training.
• I’m weight training – so how come I’m not seeing results? Even weight-training is not a definite unless you’re doing it right. Many women are guilty of “just-going-through-the-motions” with 3-5 pound weights. Think about it, our bodies are used to carrying around that much weight just by carrying in groceries, doing housework, and raising kids! So again, we’re not challenging ourselves enough. Women don’t give themselves enough credit for their strength. I never give my women clients a weight less than 8 pounds – and they don’t even stay there very long. Men, on the other hand, are usually guilty of only working certain parts of their bodies. They love to work their chest and arms so much that they ignore their legs and back. Such imbalanced weight training will only get you asymmetrical, injured, and lopsided. In order to get the best results from weight training, you need to work the whole body with challenging weights.
• I’ve been following an intense weight training program for months –so how come I’m not seeing results? Chances are you were seeing great results in the beginning—but after awhile those results stopped coming. That’s because even the best weight training program will stop working after awhile. Our muscles have memory, and once they start remembering what to do is exactly when you stop seeing results. It always comes back to challenging your body. Once your body gets used to your program, it’s not challenging anymore. So to keep the results coming, you need to change your program frequently. Aim to change your routine every 8-12 weeks.
• I’m running and weight training six days a week – so how come I’m not seeing results? Believe it or not, you can have too much of a good thing. Exercising too much is called overtraining. Overtraining can be very detrimental to your health and your results. This much exercise (especially without enough food to fuel it) will actually slow down your metabolism, eat away at your muscle, set you up for sickness and injury, and sabotage your greatest weight loss efforts. While we applaud the drive and dedication of such exercise enthusiasts, we also caution them that they’re really not doing their bodies any good. There is no need to work out this intensely every day. Rest and recovery is as much a part of your exercise routine as the workout itself.

Does it seem like the right exercise program is too much of a conundrum? Well, let me break it down for you so you can see how simple it actually is. To get the best results from your exercise program:

• Weight train intensely 3 days a week (you can either do total body training, or split the body parts up). Don’t spend more than an hour on your workout.
• Only weight train every other day. (Your muscles need time to recover, especially if you’re working them hard enough.)
• Do short cardio intervals 3 days a week on the days you don’t weight train. You only need to devote 20-30 minutes to cardio if you’re working intensely enough. For instance, if you’re a seasoned walker try walking for 2 minutes and jogging for 1 minute. If you’re a runner, try running for 2 minutes and sprinting for 30 seconds. This type of interval training will kick your metabolism into high gear!
• With each workout, try to challenge yourself a little more – whether you try a heavier weight or a faster speed.
• Change your weight training program every 8-12 weeks – this can be as easy as changing the order of the exercises or adding in a new piece of equipment, like a stability ball.
• Make time for rest and recovery! We encourage people to exercise most days of the week, not all days of the week. When you rest is really when you make the most progress – this is when your muscles are rebuilding themselves.
• Have fun! If you’re not enjoying your workouts, then you are missing out on half of the benefit. Find something you love and devote yourself to it.

All this being said, it’s perfectly possible that you ARE making progress and choosing not to recognize it. It’s important that we change our expectations about exercise and our results. It’s not just about the scale. When you start exercising, you’ll find that you’re sleeping better, you have more energy throughout the day, and you’re feeling better about yourself and your relationships. You may find that you’re making better choices, taking risks, and trying things you never thought you’d do. Don’t negate such important progress – this is the stuff that really matters anyway.