I FOUND THIS ONE SMALL CHANGE IN YOUR WORKOUT PLAN CAN GET YOU PAST THAT DREADED PLATEAU

I’ve been working out consistently for the past 10 years and I often get the question about how to get past that nasty plateau when trying to build muscle.  I’ve been there so I know how you feel because I’ve felt the same way at times, but what I have found is that you can get past it with a very simple solution.

It’s nothing new, in fact you have probably heard it numerous times, but never tried it or thought it was all shenanigans.  It does in fact work and I’ve been incorporating into my plan for years.  This little gem of a “secret” is CONSTANTLY CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT.  You have to keep your muscles confused and guessing on what’s coming next.  If they adapt, that’s when you hit the plateau.

How Often

I’m not talking about every week, but you can’t stick to the same workout for years and expect to continue to get the same results as when you started.  I’ve been down that road and found I would get into a comfort zone with my workout.  I knew exactly which days I would work each muscle group and the exact exercises, reps and sets I would do.  It worked.  I got results at first and then just plateaued and the results stopped.  Nothing lost, but couldn’t get by this hump.  Sure, just like you, I heard experts out there saying to change it up to get over this hurdle, but I didn’t listen and didn’t want to take the time to look for a new workout and learn something new.  But once I started changing things up a bit, I was seeing the results.

A good rule of thumb is to pick out a routine and complete it then move on to another.  If you liked a certain routine, you can always come back to it and start over, I would just increase the weight a bit from what you previously did.  Some routines will be six weeks, some twelve, whatever it calls for stick with it until it’s complete.

How does it work

So why does this switching routines help you get past this and start building muscle again?  I can’t get into all the scientific mechanics of how it works, but I can give you a basic idea that will help you out.  Your muscles have memory, strange I know, but they do.  They remember your workouts just like your brain does.  After so long doing the same routine over and over, your muscles remember your exercises and the load (weight) you are going to put them through.  Once your muscles have been accustomed to the workout and weight, the fibers will stop breaking down and stop trying to build new growth.

I know it’s a little strange, but when you are working out you are actually tearing your muscles and when you sleep they repair themselves which enables the growth.  This is why you hear that getting a good nights rest is one of the best things to do.  Here’s the trick though, muscles are like scares, if you keep picking at them they never heal.  So if you work the same muscles groups day after day without giving a specific body part enough rest and repair they just stay in that “tearing mode” and never grow.  That’s why I always suggest giving each group a week to repair and then go at ‘em again.  And yes, you are not actually building muscle when you are in the gym, so quit trying to spend hours upon hours in the gym thinking you are going to get better results by spending more time there.  Get it and get out is my philosophy.

High Intensity Training

This is why I like the H.I.T (High Intensity Training) programs so much.  First they are intense, but they tend to be short.  The philosophy behind this is that you work a muscle group to complete failure with fewer sets but with extreme intensity and then stop because you have torn down the muscle fibers enough so they can now rebuild.

A great resource I have found for finding different workouts is Bodybuilding.com.  You can choose your workout according to sex, goals and age and they are all free.  If you’ve hit that plateau, check the site out, pick a workout and get busy!

If you looking for one of those H.I.T programs, here is my favorite one on the site:

Dorian Yates – Blood & Guts 6 Week Trainer Main Page!

Talk soon,

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TRIM YOUR WAIST AND GET RID OF THAT UNWANTED BELLY FAT BY MIND CONTROL AND THE MENTAL GAME

Trying to eliminate belly fat and trimming your waist is one of the biggest talked about subjects and myths in the area of losing weight.

My disclosure:  I’m not a doctor, don’t claim to be and don’t play one on TV.  I’m not a fitness, nutritional or weight management trainer or physician.  I’m not saying that any of this will work for you.  These are only my experiences and opinions.  Now that that’s out of the way……….

The weight loss industry is estimated at a $60 billion dollar a year industry and keeps going up in the United States.  But by 2015, 75% of adult Americans will be overweight and 41% will be obese. (John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health).  How does this calculate out?  A billion dollar a year industry with that big of a percentage of overweight and obesity.  Seems unbalanced doesn’t it.

I know this isn’t rocket science by no means, but the reasoning behind this unbalance is people don’t focus on the positive behaviors of living fit.  They let excuses and laziness get in the way of this thought pattern.  People spend billions of dollars on books, videos, supplements, gym memberships, you name it, all in good intentions.  They put this positive thought in their mind, but somehow fall short of reaching their goals, which is good for businesses in the weight management industry, but bad for overweight and obesity.

SOCIAL PROOF

To prove my point, let’s look at gym memberships.  And I know this because I see it year in and year out.  Every January millions of people make that BIG New Year’s resolution of getting fit.  January through about early March gyms are packed with new comers and veterans that have been going there for years.  You have to stand in line just to get on a piece of cardio equipment and the weights area is jam packed.  Slowly towards the end of March, lines to the cardio equipment are dwendling.  The positive behaviors of the newcomers are starting to go back to old habits and around April gyms are now back the way they used to be, same old faces you’ve seen everyday.  Some good in this is that I do see a handful of those new faces that started back in January still kickin’ it with their programs.  But a handful is not going to cut it if we want to see these numbers more in balance.

MIND GAMES

You have to let the mind stay focused on these positive thoughts and get to a point to where you see results and when you do, I promise you will be hooked.  I’ve been through it.  Just starting out going to the gym and working my tale end off, but seeing no results.  I couldn’t understand why this was happening until I realized the duh moment.  Which was, you can’t just exercise and keep the same ole crappy eating habits.  So I gave that a shot and bingo, the balance between exercise and eating a better diet IS actually true.  You can’t go to the gym, then walk out, light up a cigarette and stop by McDonald’s and order a Big Mac, large fries and maybe get one of those chocolate fudge sundae’s for your treat afterwards.  Although I will show you in future posts how you can still enjoy the foods you love and still get results.(Note: except cigarettes, if you smoke, please quit)

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING

Here’s what I see happening with all of these facts.  The decision is made to get in better shape and then look for a program to hop on, very strict program at that.  But guess what?  All the books, dvd’s and such are all very strict programs, both in exercising and diet. You may feel that if you don’t stick to the complete program right down to each and every step, it won’t work.  So what happens is, everything gets started on the right track.  Exercising regularly, eating a better diet and then something happens.  Slowly the old habits start overpowering the will power and eventually takes back over and you quit the whole thing all together and will try again next year, instead of working with these programs within your means.

Instead of just deciding that you want to eat that nice helping of grease during lunch and then getting right back on track, you decide you can’t do this because it’s so damn hard to stick to that healthy eating plan day in and day out.  So I guess what I’m trying to say in all my gibberish is that people flock to the “get fit” programs by buying all “get fit” stuff out there and then never follow through because they think you have to stick to these programs to the T, which is why we see the industry being stock piled of cash without seeing the results for their customers.

QUICK TIP

I want to leave you with a quick proven fact and quick tip on how to avoid it.  You probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  And yes, the claims are correct in saying this, but do you know why besides getting a well balanced breakfast starts your day with all the nutrients and gets your energy flowing?  If you start your day eating a healthy meal, your brain is then put into this positive healthy eating pattern for the rest of the day since you started it out right.  Let’s say you decide to stop by McD’s for breakfast and order a value meal of pancakes, sausage, hashbrowns or maybe some biscuits and gravy.  What happens at lunch?  You decide that since you cheated at breakfast, what’s the use in trying to eat healthy the rest of the day, so you decide there’s no use and the whole day becomes a cheat day.  And the next day, and then the next.  Has this happened to you?  Which I have to say is fine every so often, but some people can’t switch their minds back into the positive pattern.

So how to you avoid it?  It’s very simple, again not rocket science, but it’s up to you and your will power.  If you happen to cheat at breakfast, get right back into healthy at your next snack and lunch.  If you can switch back to this at lunch, your brain is back on track for the rest of the day.  I’ve done this from time to time and it works like a charm.  This also goes for those office party snack days with all the junk sitting in an office cube, but how I avoid not even touching any of it is I don’t bring anything.  Selfish, hell no.  If you bring something, you feel obligated to indulge, but if you don’t, you feel guilty eating everyone else’s food because you didn’t offer something to share.  Try this next time and see if it works for you.

Talk soon,

P.S. Here are a couple of recommended programs for you to work within your means and can start seeing results.

• The Diet Solution Program – Why Diets Keep You Fat and Prevent Weight Loss
• Fat Burning Furnace – Fast Weight Loss Tips

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