When you are consistently working out, your body is under a level of stress that is constantly increasing and changing, known as progressive overload. The process your body undergoes through stress from exercising is known as general adaptation syndrome, developed by Hans Seyle. The general adaptation syndrome process has three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
ACE explains that when going through a training program, your body is considered in the alarm stage for one-to-three weeks, when a new stimulus is being introduced to the body. Following is the adaptation process of four to 16 weeks, where the body adapts to the stimulus and grows more efficient at enduring it. Lastly is the exhaustion phase, where the stress no longer has a significant impact on your body. This brings me to my first reason why you’re not seeing results in your fitness journey.
- You Need to Change It Up
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There is something about consistency and routine that makes me feel safe, and muscle growth has shown to work the same way. So when I say “you need to change it up”, I don’t mean literally change your exercises or method of training. Instead, make the exercises more challenging. If you’ve been performing squats at the same weight with the same number of repetitions for the past two months, your body is going to get used to it (general adaptation syndrome). Some acute variables- important components that specify how each exercise is to be performed- that can be altered are repetitions, sets, intensity, and rest period. Referring to the squat example, try increasing your number of repetitions, then once the weight feels too easy, slowly add more!
- You Need More Rest
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ACE says that when “proper recovery is as important as proper training.” The amount of rest an individual needs is entirely dependent on their physical abilities, sleep habits, diet, and lifestyle activity, so for me to prescribe a specific universal rest period for all would be ineffective. Overtraining will not make you see results faster; it will actually do the opposite. Your muscles need time to rest and recover after being torn apart during exercise. However, my best piece of advice is to listen to your body. If your body is sore, don’t work out. ACE says that once the soreness is gone from the muscle is how to determine how much recovery is enough. “An appropriately challenging will, in general, require one to two recovery days.”
- You’re Not Eating Enough
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Nutritio is the most important element of your fitness journey. Food is not the enemy. Carbs won’t make you fat. I’m so damn tired of the negative stigma around food. Severely lowering your calorie intake leads to a slower metabolism and fast muscle loss. To be gaining muscle, your body needs sources of energy from all three macronutrients. Carbohydrates provide your body with energy and should be consumed both pre and post workout for optimal performance and recovery. Proteins are important building muscle and should be the main priority no matter what your fitness goals are. Last, but not least, is fats. Fats are essential for cell life and hormones, and can also be a source of energy. Restricting one or more of these macronutrients is unhealthy and extremely harmful to your body.
- You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep
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The more sleep you get, the better your mind and body will function. According to the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, adequate sleep has been shown to motivate people to stick to their exercise routines. According to Medium, sleep greatly influences both appetite and muscle gain. “Subjects who were sleep deprived had increased ghrelin (a hunger hormone) and decreased leptin (a satiety hormone).” Inadequate sleep can lead to excess snacking and overeating, substantially impacting progress as nutrition and exercise go hand in hand. Furthermore, inadequate sleep can decrease your strength in the gym and interrupts recovery. “Losing sleep leads to increased catabolism (tissue breakdown) and decreased anabolism (tissue building in the body).” Essentially explaining that destruction that sleep deprivation has on muscle growth.
- You’re Not Prioritizing Weight Lifting
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Weight lifting has numerous benefits for the body including boosting metabolism and fat loss, improving posture, and confidence. One of the first noticeable outcomes of weight lifting is your increase in strength. This increase in strength becomes addicting; you continue wanting to become stronger and stronger, which only encourages your relationship with weight training to increase. As you become stronger, your muscles mass will increase and body fat will decrease, improving body composition. With strength comes confidence-as I continue my fitness journey and notice how much easier pull ups are becoming, it makes me want to work harder and stronger.
The fitness world can be a toxic environment. Fad diets, “perfect” Instagram models, and false information have created this false perception of fitness. There is no “right way” to fitness- if you hate lifting weights, find something that excites you and stick to it. The key to success in fitness is consistency; with your exercise routine and nutrition. Exercise for you, not for your boyfriend or Instagram pictures. The only person you should be in competition with is the person in the mirror.