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Today’s article is part one of two. In this first installment, I will address the five most common reasons people are not achieving their fitness goals. We always get results, however those results are not always the ones we are after. Many times the results of our actions are negative, leaving us pissed off and ready to give up. I see the same problems on a daily basis whether it be in the gym or on the message boards I hang around on. It’s usually the same old crap day in and day out. Here are the top 5 reasons people fail to reach their goals.
1. Your Program Sucks
Probably the most common mistake I come across is the lack of decent programming. Shoot, folks could make great progress on a mediocre program if they play the rest of their cards right. From my experience, the same programming works for 95% of the general population. Now before you threaten to track me down and kick me in the nuts, I know there is always some variability within the individual. However, we are not all unique little snowflakes when it comes training and diet. I do know there are a small number of freaks out there who can make outstanding progress simply by lifting their toothbrush, however chances are you are not in that small group of people. If you are, congratulations on being a genetic elite. If you are familiar with my philosophies and principles, you know I’m a big believer in strength training and higher frequency(hitting a body part 2-3x per week). For newbs I always recommend Starting Strength. If you are a newb and have worked with me, you know a lot about this great program. For intermediates I recommend different variations of programming depending on your goals. For bodybuilding stuff I recommend Lyle’s Bulking Routine, DoggCrapp Training and Hypertrophy Specific Training and my own little program that was passed down to me from a great mentor of mine. For strength training I recommend Bill Starr’s 5×5 and Eric Cressey’s programming.
2. Your Diet is Terrible
Of course, you can do everything else right but if you suck at the diet part, none of your efforts will be of any merit. This can go either way as some people eat too much, but many more I see eat too little. If you do not throw enough coals onto the fire, your furnace will die out. Throw too many on and the fire can get out of control. For lack of better words, a diet must be balanced. If you are not eating the right amount of food to fuel your body or to reach your desired composition you might as well be punching yourself in the face. Your diet is 80% of the equation and it should be tailored to your compositional goals whether they be fat loss, weight gain or maintenance. If you can’t get your diet right, pull the plug and forget about it.
3. Your Trainer is Incompetent
Every day I see trainers who have no business training others. If your trainer has you doing one legged hops on a bosu ball with a bar on your back to perform one legged squats once you land, you need to ask for a refund. On a more serious note I just read a post on a popular fitness forum that reads “My trainer swears on a diet of no fruit.” Obviously this lady is not trolling and has a legitimate question about what her trainer told her. I am not surprised by a trainer spouting off voodoo BS but I am saddened that people believe anything they say because they are the supposed authority. Anyhow, if your trainer is incompetent, fire them and find someone else who knows what they are doing.
4. You Are Obsessive
As for what I mentioned above about the lady who is asking questions about fructose, she has since started 2 more threads about fruit that are ongoing and full of people explaining that she is over thinking everything. She is afraid that fruit will make her fat, despite being in a caloric deficit. Yet again, more bad information continues to float around everywhere it seems. Being obsessive about fitness goals, meticulously tracking calories and trying to get everything perfect will exhaust you mentally. Being obsessive also leads to developing some very unhealthy habits and a harsh relationship with food. I would never advise anyone to worry about the minutiae.
5. You Are Impatient
Anything worthwhile takes time and lots of it. I explained this in an article I wrote on looking for secrets. Being impatient is fine but letting it sabotage your efforts is not. I am as impatient as they come BUT I have learned how to leverage my impatience and use it to my benefit.
In the next installment I will explain how to use these five progress halting issues to your advantage. Any of these issues hit home with anyone?
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HAHA I actually weighed myself pre and post urination one morning – talk about the quickest way to drop 5lbs.
@JC. Ok I’m hiding the scale today. I’m obsessive, sometimes weighing twice a day and getting wacky readings. “Oh look! I lost 2 pounds since this morning”! Yeah right.
Just remembered I made a post.
My bone of contention is the methodology of “start on the low(er) end for their first few weeks to allow them to get used to the set/rep scheme.” The full warm up scheme, % of working load, for SS according to the wiki is 2×5@20%,1×5@40%,1×5@60%,1×3@80% then 3×5@100%. If the lower end is being worked, ie they only go to 90% work load, they will be getting a good workout but not optimum, in my opinion especially when only doing three exercises. Also it is pretty boring for a newbie doing 8 sets of squats/bench/press/dl/row which don’t feel heavy. I feel, as well, that there will be more immediate development in muscle mass if the newbie does 6 exercises. This is key in order for employee retention, if the person does not feel that they are getting gains (looking better in the mirror) then they are not likely to renew.
By using repetition and working in “heavy” days you will be able to show the newbie what both ends of the spectrum in regards to what they can do after SS, also.
In regards power cleans, I completely agree. I only put it there since it’s in the original, I think that getting the pendlay row spot on is also quite tricky for a newbie so I would put in heavy bent row (guy) or heavy glute (gal) work instead.
@Yum Yucky
I hear that! I have experienced the recomp phenomenon before as well. What you mention about the scale being all wacky is very true. I hardly recommend people weigh in very often due to how bad it can mess with your head. If they want to use the scale, I have them do 1 weekly weigh in, but would rather see them track progress via measurements.
Great timing. I thought this was me for awhile because my scale has been stuck on stupid for about a month now and tricked me into believing I wasn’t getting any results – but lo and behold my clothes are getting loose to the point where I look like I’m borrowed my gear from larger person. Time to buy smaller sizes! Even my shoes are loose. What??
I attribute the stupid sticky scale to the fact that I’m weight training more and, wolla! Muscle weighs more than fat. I lost fat but gained muscle. This is why the scale hasn’t changed. I’m 150 pound woman, yet a size 4 to 6. Go figure.
@Skyler: I have been in the same boat. The first time I saw my abs I could have sworn it was because I was eating 6x a day and not eating anything after 7pm. Turns out I was just moving more and eating less. Who woulda thunk it?
@James: I like your thoughts. For the most part, I agree.
Heh, newbs can’t lift for shit on their first 3 weeks.
Their muscles have to learn what they’re capable of first, and during that time I don’t see any reason why they can’t be doing bench/squat/deadlifts.
When I get someone new to train, I just tell them to do every exercise in the gym for a week or two so they can learn how to do them and which muscles they use.
Usually after 2 weeks they’re ready to focus on a body part a day so I let them choose 3 exercises per bodypart, with the rule that you must choose pulldowns, you must choose a bench press, and you must choose leg press or squats.
I’d like to try starting someone on the 5×5 workout to see what happens though because there’s a lot of good feedback from it.
I think they still need to have the week or two of exploring the gym though.
Anyone not doing these things fear greatness and don’t know the sekrit.
Seriously, obsessive aspects as things I have had trouble with in the past, which grew out of how I got lean in the first place. Trying to find the “golden mean” has been difficult if only because I have enough enthusiasm to launch a fleet, but have trouble seeing it out of the harbor.
Best,
Skyler
@Dorian: glad I can be of some help. It’s all so much more enjoyable when you are eating carbs and not obsessing about every little detail.
@Fred: thanks for your input. I agree with you on most of your ideas but not that newbs shouldn’t start with Starting Strength. Sure, they need to be taught the movements. That is what we are here for. Most newbs are not going to start out at 90% of their 5RM. Even when I start someone out on SS, I will start on the low(er) end for their first few weeks to allow them to get used to the set/rep scheme. I also do this, as you mentioned, to instill confidence as they continue adding weight each week. They are less likely to stall out as quickly, which only builds more confidence.
Another thing you mentioned is power cleans. I know they are in the SS template, but I never recommend these to anyone I consult simply because it’s a lift that requires a lot of attention and if you don’t have a coach to guide you then you are bound to get hurt. Not to mention, the people I work with are not competitive athletes, they just want to look good with their clothes off. Starting Strength is IMO, one of the best ways to begin building that foundation. Once the strength foundation is built, we can move towards more bodybuilding type stuff so we are focusing on hypertrophy instead of pure strength gains.
I would NOT choose…
Having sat down and thought about “newbie” programs I would choose to do Starting Strength for several reasons;
a) Mentally the program is very demanding, ie you are hitting 90% 5RM in sets and it hurts. For someone who has never experienced this before it’s going to be a shock and they may not react well.
b) Although you only need to 5 exercises in either 1st or 2nd edition the technique needs to be spot on all the time when lifting heavy. This is true of all other weight training programs however there is no allowance/leeway for making a mistake.
c) A complete “newbie” does not have the connective tissue, read core, to support the loads. One might argue that it will develop as their lifts go up, but you need a strong core right from the off when dealing with relatively heavy weights.
I would maybe go for a 4-week program that has the trainee doing some “low” intensity lifts for the first two weeks, with the 5 lifts plus secondary accessory. So 6 exercise per session in the set/rep range of 3-4×6-8. Depending on how enthusiastic/how much money they will pay me 3/4 training sessions per week. Then in gradually build in the starting strength proportion load days starting at the begining of W2 for a 4-day split and W3 for a 3-day split.
The rationale for this being that the trainee will be able to gain confidence handly iron, any technical niggles can be ironed to an acceptable standard. The four weeks will also be a prime opportunity to develop the mobility for the squat/deadlift/clean and also the core.
i guess 2 and 4 hit home with me.. or at least used to until i discovered your blog and now take my nutrition easily and balanced (more carbs ftw). i used to be strictly low carb! now i can finally enjoy some fruits without having to worry of becoming fat again! thx for that btw!
regards,
dorian