This article has been featured on : Modern Brown Girl and Daily Vitamina. 

 

Everyone has a fitness goal.

Whether it’s running a marathon, trying to fit into a wedding dress, or being able to do a pull-up, most people want to do something active.

 

During my years of training I’ve met hundreds of people who have expressed their dissatisfaction with jiggly things here and there, clothes not fitting, high blood pressure, inability to do a push up , getting tired going up the stairs etc.  I’ve also  heard a million and one excuses.  

Related:  Ten Things That Annoy Personal Trainers

 

 

 

These are the Ten Reasons Why You’re Not Reaching Your Fitness Goals:

 

 

1.You Don’t know what you are doing

Eighty percent of injuries occur in new members of a gym. Why? Because people don’t know what they are doing.

 

They pick up a barbell or KB,  try and snatch it over their head with no prior experience, welp  there goes your rotator cuff. and guess what? You signed a liability waiver.

 

Those introductory personal training sessions that you were offered upon joining aren’t for nothing after all.

 

There has been a spike in a number of fitness professionals within the recent years, but this doesn’t mean that everyone who works out or you see in the gym knows what they are doing.

 

It takes years of doing something to get good at it, just like with anything else.  Related: Five Types of Personal Trainers You Must Avoid

 

I often tell clients that working out and learning how to work out is like going to school.

 

For example, you attend school for years in order to get really good at something. Same thing applies with working out. You can’t just take one Body Pump class and all of a sudden become an expert.

 

So if you need help,

do your research,  hire a Personal Trainer or pay for a program to follow that teaches you how to properly workout.  

 

I know I’m biased because I work in the fitness Industry,  but like I said before, some of the best money I have spent has been on multiple trainers and I have learned a lot. If you don’t want to hire a personal trainer I suggest looking online at credible resources (being an IFBB Pro or Bikini Diva doesn’t automatically make someone credible) for what programs they offer.

 

There are a lot of resources online of workout videos and programs you can follow. If you are a newbie I strongly suggest following something that has videos accompanied with it, as laying proper foundations will be instrumental and will greatly impact your success, and prevent you from getting injured.

 

2. You’ve been doing the same thing forever

I honestly think this is a cultural thing. People like comfort. They found a routine online like three years ago that they’ve gotten really good at and now that’s all they do. I get it, it’s cool to be good at something and it feels great.

 

But usually once you’ve been good at something in the gym for a while, let’s say its pretty easy  for you to bicep curl those 20’s for 12 reps, it’s time to reevaluate your program. It’s also pretty likely you’ve also hit a plateau as well.

Try these workouts if you need some ideas

 

This is Why You Should Switch it up

If you’ve been doing the same thing for a while youve been doing  what’s called maintenance. Why would you want to waste your time doing something that’s not challenging or changing you? Think about how many hours you’ve spent in the gym doing the same workout routine forever. If you workout 5 days a week at 1 hour per workout for a year, that’s 260 hours of your year that you have spent doing something that is not conducive to your success.

 

 

3. Your workouts Aren’t varied enough

You’re either a cardio queen, meathead or devout yogi. You should aspire to be all of the above.  

 

The Mayo Clinic  suggests,

Fitness training balances five elements of good health. Make sure your routine includes aerobic fitness, strength training, core exercises, balance training, flexibility and stretching.

 

Stay away from doing one type of exercise.

 

I know it’s cool to meet your fitness besties at your scheduled Soul Cycle class every week, but doing the same type of workout is not only bad for your goals but it can also lead to injury.

Related: What I did to get In Shape

 

 

CATCH UP ON ALL OF MY PERSONAL TRAINING POSTS:

1. Five Types of Personal Trainers You Should Avoid
2. The One Thing I Will Never Do As a Personal Trainer
3. Ten Things About Fitness That Make Personal Trainers Cringe
4. The Gigantic Mistake You’re Making When Choosing a Personal Trainer
5. Three Major Ways to Make Money Personal Training

 

 

4. Form is incorrect

Form is everything. That is all.

Related: Why Form is essential to Personal Training

 

5. Not eating enough

People have this notion that when you start a workout program that you need to keep eating really small portions.  If you are currently inactive I would probably still keep eating tiny portions , because that’s the only way you will continue to maintain the weight that you are currently or at or by some miracle lose some weight.

 

Upon entering a fitness program Please ditch the skinny girl diet. Your metabolism will start speeding up and your body will actually NEED the nutrients to repair itself.

 

YES you should continue to watch what you eat but make sure you are eating enough, especially post workout. I HATE when people don’t want to eat after they workout because it defeats the purpose of working out and will just make you fat.

 

PLEASE EAT AFTER YOU WORKOUT.

 

6. Not eating the right foods.

 

7. Not working out enough

This is another issue that has been brought up to me:  Everyone wants to workout once a week and look like a model. People think working out five days a week for an hour is some big chore. Sorry but it’s not going to happen.

 

You will not reach your fitness goals by working out once a week.

 

 

Even if you get liposuction you still have to workout because you will eventually gain all that weight back.  Think about it, You  spend hours on Facebook, Buzzfeed and Instagram. If you have time to go on Facebook you have time to workout. Seriously.

 

 

 Someone who has a big weight loss goal didn’t gain the weight overnight. It was gained through years of eating bad food and inactivity.

 

Achieving fitness goals can take years and years of working at something. Take a look at Nicole Wilkins.

This took YEARS.

It takes years to become a doctor.

It takes YEARS to go from being obese to looking svelte.

 

8. You’re in it for the wrong reasons

You only do it because of the extrinsic reasons aka you only exercise to look good. So once you’ve reached your goal and look the way you want to, its no longer important to you, then you quit working out and stop watching what you eat.

 

Once you start gaining weight again, you come back to the gym and decide to get back on your diet. It’s common knowledge that those who work out for intrinsic reasons are more likely to commit to a fitness program.

 

 

9. It’s a chore instead of something preventative

You don’t have to like working out. Hey.. sometimes I don’t like my workouts either. But I do them. Youwannaknowhy?

 

Because I don’t want to be sick, I want to be mentally clear, I want to fit in my clothes, and  I want to inspire others. So I keep doing those freakin’ spiderman push ups (?!) and bear crawls. UGH.

Related: Having “Abs” Doesn’t Matter

 

Of course everyone wants to look good, but working out is more than looking good. You should workout because you want to be able to sit on a toilet on your own when you’re  80 years old.

 

This is  why so many elderly require assistance because they cant sit their butts on a toilet! Do you want that to be you?

 

10. You make excuses

Stop making them and you will reach your goals.

 

Click Here  for Part Two!

 

 

 

You will not reach your fitness goals  by making excuses and don’t you forget it. 

 

 

 

 

 

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