Every time I tell someone that I’m a Personal Trainer people ask me what they need to do to get in shape, or how they can lose a few kilos, or what they need to do when they get back to the gym, hoping that I tell them THE SECRET of fitness. But unfortunately there isn’t really a secret. There are ways to maximize your results in the gym though and I’ll go over them in this post.
As much as I would like to tell you that it exists, there isn’t just one training plan that leads to results. It would make life a lot easier right? Just stick to THE plan, and you would get in amazing shape. However, we are all different, our goals are all different, our start point is all different, our response to a training stimulus is different, the time we can commit to training isn’t the same for everyone… well I’m sure you get the point; we are all different, and we all need to approach our training slightly differently to get the best results.
That being said, there are a lot of things we should all do the same if we want to maximize our results. So if you want to get the most out of your training, stick to the 5 points below, and boost your training results.
- Have a purpose: Train with a specific goal in mind. Just winging workouts isn’t going to get you anywhere (or maybe it will when you get lucky). To find out your true goal you’ll need to dive deep into the ‘why’ behind your training. A good way to find out the real reason you want to change is to ask yourself ‘why’ 3 times. By asking yourself ‘why’ 3 times you will likely find the real reason you want to change.
Let’s look at an example of this:
I want to lose weight. Why do you want to lose weight?
Because I want to look better. Why do you want to look better?
When I look better I will feel more confident. Why do you want to feel more confident?
If I feel more confident I will be more successful in my life and a better role model for my children. ..This is just a random example. Your ‘why’ might be completely different, but we all have one, and the better you understand yours, the easier it is to show up for yourself. Understanding your why gives you a real reason to train, one that is much stronger than ‘just losing weight’ or ‘gaining a little bit of muscle’.
- Make your plan personal: It has to work for you. Be realistic when making your plan. One of the worst things you can do is starting a plan that is too hard to follow. When making a plan I always like to start with the end goal, and then reverse engineer it.
Break down the end goal in smaller goals. Set monthly targets, then weekly, and then break it down into daily tasks. Not everybody responds the same to training and some people see results quicker than others. By setting yourself daily tasks you can focus more on the process instead of the results. Get your process right and results will come.
- Prioritize movement quality: Spend time learning movements before loading them up and doing countless repetitions. Performing exercises with good form will lead to you getting more results, you’ll have a lower risk of injury and it makes it easy to see and to track progress. Quality matters if you want to get strong and stay healthy. If you’re not sure about your exercise form don’t shy away from asking a professional for help.
- Keep pushing: Consistency and effort matter. To improve strength and muscle size you’ll need to train hard and stay consistent over a period of time. And to improve your cardiovascular endurance you will need to put in the work too. No effort = no results. While the specifics of your plan are dependent on your goals, every plan should have both a strength and a conditioning part in it. Even marathoners need to strengthen their muscles. Even powerlifters need to have basic endurance.
- Hold yourself accountable: This can be to a training partner, your spouse, friends, coworkers or a personal trainer. Change is hard, but it’s easier with the right support and/or when done together. When there is someone else who cares about your fitness success and pushes you and helps you at the moments you need it, it makes it a lot easier to stick to it.
If you need help with this I’m here for you!
