Fit for Life: Your 3 Biggest Mistakes

Fit for Life: Your 3 Biggest Mistakes

Do you work out all the time, yet never see the results you want?

You regularly go to the gym and put in countless hours of cardio, however, those results you are striving for never happen.

It happens to a lot of people, and I feel bad for them because there is nothing worse than beating yourself up and wasting valuable time to NOT net the results you are after.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

It’s not totally your fault because you may be misinformed as to what it takes to get in great shape and maintain it forever. However, after reading this article, you will have a few tools to use, so you can stop wasting time, and start seeing results.

Here’s why you aren’t making progress with your fitness routine, and not getting in your best shape ever.

 

    1.    You don’t drink enough water. Most people are chronically dehydrated and when you are dehydrated, it’s very difficult to get great results in the gym. Water also acts as an appetite suppressant, increases calorie-burning, removes waste from the body, replaces calorie-filled drinks, and is necessary to prevent cramps when working and making muscles, joints, and tendons function more efficiently. Remember, your muscles store a lot of water when properly hydrated thus allowing them to function at peak performance levels. So, when you are dehydrated, you are unable to push yourself to 100% capacity, thus making it difficult to pack on that sought after lean muscle tissue. A standard rule is to drink 1/2 your body weight in oz. daily.

 

    2.    You do too much cardio and not enough strength training. Strength training is necessary to build muscle, and the higher muscle to fat ratio your body carries the faster your metabolism will work, making it more efficient to burn calories. When you do too much cardio, it creates the opposite effect. Yes, you burn calories, and you could lose weight, but you sacrifice valuable muscle when you do long bouts of cardio and neglect resistance training. Even people with a thin appearance could have a high body fat percentage if they lack lean muscle tissue. Another benefit of lifting weights is that it burns a tremendous number of calories in a shorter period, so get to the gym and hit those weights.

 

    3.    You don’t eat enough protein. Even if you lift weights, not eating enough protein will inhibit muscle growth. You can’t build something without the raw materials needed. Protein will supply your body with the resources needed to build and maintain lean muscle mass. Another benefit is that it will fill you up and require you to eat less of the empty calories that will eventually get stored as body fat when not burned off. Remember to speed up your metabolism and burn calories faster, you need to build muscle. Also, know that you can’t build muscle unless you consume adequate amounts of protein. I recommend .75 - 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean mass for active individuals divided equally between 5 meals/protein shakes daily for best utilization. Your body can only metabolize a certain amount per feeding, so spread it out throughout the day.

 

The bottom line, the formula for fitness is to build muscle and burn fat.

 

When you do this, you boost your metabolism and the faster your metabolism works, the easier it is to get and stay in great shape year-round. When your metabolism is slow, you store any excess calories you consume, and it becomes more and more difficult to lose the unwanted pounds.

 

It takes time to develop these habits, so start slow.

 

Drink water immediately in the morning, and at every meal throughout the day.

 

As for protein, build your meals around lean quality sources such as fish, grass fed beef, chicken, and protein supplements. Then fill your plate with vegetables and a small portion of complex carbs and be consistent with this habit.

 

Schedule your workouts, and make working out with weights 3x per week a non-negotiable in your life. Put it in your calendar and ruthlessly protect your time, and let’s start getting the results you have been working so hard for.

 

Coach Matt

 

P.S. We have a program at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp designed specifically to help folks incorporate these habits.