Three reasons you’re not seeing progress.

1. You’re deviating from the plan...

SOO I'm going to paint the picture for you and you can decide in your head if this speaks to you......

Situation: You are somewhat knowledgeable about health and fitness but just need accountability, so you get a personal trainer/fitness coach to create a personalized workout plan for you.

You spend money on a plan and invest in a fitness coach that you believe will push you to be successful and motivate you toward your goals.

Week one you are exhausted and start to doubt the plan but stick to it…..

Week two you start to pick parts you don't like and eliminate them without consulting your trainer.

Your diet goes the same way...

Week one you are going strong and by week two you slowly start to revert to old habits. By the end of week three, you come to the conclusion that you are not seeing progress and it’s your workout plans fault..

Analysis: The issue that arises here is, people either they stray away from the workout plan/meal plan that was specifically created for them or they stop doing it all together. Just because you made the initial investment doesn't mean the work is going to sporadically pay off without effort and you will be at the physique you want.

What you have to understand is p a t i e n c e is key. The term Rome wasn’t built in one day is in full effect here. Whether you create a plan yourself or hire somebody to do it for you STICK to it and be patient. The positive to having someone make a work out plan for you, is that the likelihood of you being pushed to your max potential is increased. When you have an outside source create a plan for you, you’re able to incorporate and learn new exercises. Sticking to what you know may be the very issue that has you unmotivated or straight up plateauing.

When the plan gets hard or incorporates something that you don’t like, it’s not your cue to stop doing it all together, there’s a reason that your programming was done a specific way if your plan is personalized. Now it’s understandable if you do a certain fitness challenge or general workout plan that isn’t specifically programed for you, to stop or modify, but I’m specifically speaking to the people who pay for personalized plan and stray after three days or so.

CONCLUSION: Part of investing in yourself is trusting the process even when you can’t see the progress immediately.

STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF... I know I will get a lot of shit for saying that.. but that’s just how I operate, especially for people who are fairly new to working out. PROGRESS PICS WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND IN THE MOTIVATION DEPARTMENT.

Stick to your plan and trust the process! The reason why I say not to weigh yourself is because it’s hard to trust the process when you are obsessing over a number that you're fixated on. Strive for FEELING better over LOOKING better..

If you feel better you will look better. Stop trying to spot treat and work on overall health and fitness.

2. Your Sleep and Hydration is Jacked.

Situation: You have the motivation, but you lack the knowledge to create a workout plan so you hire a coach or purchase a plan/challenge. You are slammed at work and stressed out but are dedicated to the plan you spent money on. You have zero energy but proceed to partake in the daily exercise on the plan. You are very dehydrated and lack time to hydrate before a workout but manage to make it through.

Analysis:

First off, while the dedication to a plan no matter what is admirable, proceeding to do a vigorous workout, without having a proper sleep regimen could end up being counterproductive, especially for beginners. Your body needs time to rest and recover in order to efficiently grow muscle.

By all means it is great to push through and finish a workout when you are tired. However, if you had 3 hours of sleep the night prior and think you are fine to knock out a 45 minute high intensity workout, you’re not taking into account that lack of sleep can slow down your metabolism leaving you with little energy to work out, giving you a disadvantage even before you begin.

Second off, being properly hydrated is another step that is necessary to be prepared for a workout. Hydration is often taken lightly, until you are in the gym pushing tons of weight wondering why you are dizzy beyond measure. You want to ensure you are properly hydrated to regulate your body temperature, especially during a ridiculously hard work out.

What most people forget to be aware of is, in addition to regulating your body temperature, water will lubricates your joints!!! DRINK UP SO YOUR BODY FEELS BETTER AFTER THROWING YOUR BODY AROUND. I know that’s probably obvious but the more you know!

Conclusion:

Part of having a healthy routine is ensuring you are hydrated and rested. Once you have a good sleep and hydration schedule established you will notice how much more energy you have. The more energy you have, the more motivated you will be to rock your workout instead of dreading it. SOOO GET YOUR ASS TO BED AND DRINK YOUR WATER PEOPLE.

3. You are Half-Assing your workouts…

Situation:

You are going through the motions and don’t know what you’re doing OR you are not putting all your effort into the lift or circuit.

Analysis:

If you are ever given a plan with an exercise you don’t understand, it is important to ask your trainer/coach to show you proper form and explain what part of the muscle you are targeting. If your coach isn’t physically with you they have no way to know if you are completing the workout effectively. If you ask for videos or have an idea of which part of the muscle you are supposed to focus on you are able to establish a mind muscle connection.

Also if you know what muscles your targeting you are able to know which weights are appropriate for your skill level. This is a huge one for people who say, “the workout wasn’t hard enough.” Nine times out of ten it’s because you aren’t scaling your weights correctly for your skill level.

You can do a bicep curl all you want, but if you’re banging your joints and thinking about legs your workout won’t be very effective. When you are constantly banging joints during workouts, more than likely do not have the correct weight for the current exercise.

Conclusion:

Just because you are looking for support and hire a coach or trainer doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take initiative to research why your coach is having you do certain things.

If you plan ahead and know exactly what to do and what your form is supposed to be, your confidence and motivation will be sky high.

Do your research, come prepared, come confident.. kill the workout, and in turn you will find yourself progressing physically and mentally everyday