Five Keys to Fitness Training Success

Day after day we sweat it out in the gym. No matter how tired we are. How long the day at the office was. Or how fast that big deadline is coming up. We stick it out. And we only ask for one thing in return.

Results.

Bigger muscles, greater strength, a more toned physique.

But no matter how much you bench, how long you spend on the stair climber, or the number of cycling classes attended, results are hard to come by.

Don’t get me wrong, time in the gym is a big factor, but results take more than just pumping iron. There are a whole host of other activities that support the drive towards results. Here we dive deep into what these are and how you can incorporate them into your training.

Nutrition

Have a healthy diet. Think of your body like a car- you wouldn’t dare put regular unleaded gas into a Ferrari 458 would you? No, you go with the premium, $6 dollar a gallon top of the line. While you don’t need to eat gourmet everything, you shouldn’t fuel up on anything not of a pure grade. Think high protein, low saturated fats, vegetables, fruits, carbs, and fiber. Avoid high fructose anything, deep fried foods, meals that come in bags dripping in grease. The saying ‘Abs are made in the kitchen’ is just about as played out as they come, but that might be because there is a lot of truth there.

Get your protein on. Lifting legend Arnold Schwarzenegger believed that for every pound of bodyweight he needed one gram of protein per day. While the protein you will need will depend on your body type and style of training, it doesn’t hurt to keep the Oak’s rule in mind. A diet full of chicken, lean beef, salmon, spinach and soy will help you get much of that muscle building protein naturally. Protein shakes can help fill in the gaps.

Drink water. Our bodies are about 60% water. Water is vital to every part of our body from flushing out toxins, transporting nutrients, and keeping joints hydrated. A lack of water (dehydration) will leave you feeling fatigued, and increases the chance of cramps. Water can also help fend off ‘boredom hunger’ much better, and with much less regret, than a bag of chips from the vending machine. The Institute of Medicine has determined that an adequate intake of water for men is 13 cups a day, and 9 for women. This will obviously differ depending on your body type and activity level, so use this as a minimum recommendation.

Recovery

Get enough sleep. During sleep, your body is able to repair muscle tissue, conserve energy, and boost the immune system. It’s the ultimate recovery time. Getting enough sleep is a big contributor to having enough energy left at the end of the day so that you do not blow off your workout because you are ‘too tired’. During your workout, being well rested will help you perform better, finishing all of the reps in every set while keeping your mental focus shart. Eight hours of sleep is what is recommended, so shoot for that. You will feel significantly better if you get enough sleep.

Let your muscles rest. Plan an off day at least once a week to let your body recover. You don’t have to sit on the couch all day though, do something different. Go for a hike, play basketball or swim. Something that will give your body time to repair the muscles you have been breaking down all week. This also applies during the training week itself- training the same muscles four days in a row will not give them time to repair. This will lead to decreased performance, as well as a higher risk of injury. Don’t hit the same muscle group more than twice a week, max.

Daily maintenance. Don’t be afraid to throw some ice on your knees after a heavy day of squats, or a heating pad on your shoulder when sorting through emails later that night. To keep your body running like a well oiled machine, you have to oil it from time to time. Be sure to warm up before hitting the weights or starting that sprint workout. Stretch and use a foam roller to help reduce soreness.

Planning

Have a game plan for the gym. Know what you need to accomplish during your time there. Plot out what exercises you are going to do, how many reps and sets, and what you are going to do between sets. You’ll spend less time thinking about what to do next, and more time doing it.

Set a time limit for your workout. Just because you spend three hours at the gym, if half of that time is spent at the water fountain or texting … you know the type … then it was not three hours well spent. Get your plan together, stick to it, and make the most of your time.

Track your results. There are dozens of fitness apps that allow you to plot out your workout ahead of time and make it easy to enter in your results. Download a few and try them out. Or go old school- use a notebook or print out the workout and write down your results. This gives you a visual representation of your performance to see how you are progressing over time.

Plan for the away games. If you are going on a trip for work or a vacation, incorporate that into your training. Plan runs on the beach every morning before hitting the Bloody Mary bar. Check out if the hotel you are staying at has a gym, and if so what equipment is there. If all else fails, push ups, body weight squats, and spend some time on the abs. As long as there is at least a floor, no excuses.

Prepare meals ahead of time. Instead of figuring out daily what to eat, think about that when you go food shopping. Planning out four or five days in advance will ensure that you have meals ready. This will save you time, and also will prevent that quick stop at the drive through on the way home. Nothing undermines that three mile run like 2,200 calories of burger. With cheese.

Training

Push yourself. Develop your plan and stick to it. Don’t cut out on the last set because you are tired. That is where the real growth happens, late in the fourth quarter. Of course, always listen to your body and don’t do anything to hurt yourself, but you’re only cheating yourself if you stop knowing you had one more in you.

Mix it up. After doing the same workout for a while, you will eventually hit a plateau (leveling off). When that happens, it is time to change up what you are doing. Not that your routine is wrong, your body has just adjusted to it. Look up some new lifts, see what other people are doing in the gym, or incorporate something new like rowing or some functional training.

More is better. More weight is an obvious sign of muscle growth, but this also refers to engaging more muscles at a time. Multi-joint, or compound, movements are shown to release higher levels of growth hormones and testosterone. These will help your body spur muscle growth. Be sure to incorporate the bench press (like anyone needs to have their arm twisted to bench…), squats, deadlifts, and pull ups. Don’t shy away from olympic lifts like the hang clean, clean and jerk, and snatch either. These engage virtually your whole body, prompting overall muscle growth.

Mental Focus

While it might sound a bit vague, this is quite possibly the most important of the bunch. Committing your mind 100% to your fitness program is truly the ‘on’ switch that allows all of the above to happen. Making yourself think that you want to do it isn’t enough. You have to convince yourself that you need to do it. That is where the discipline will come from. Once the discipline is there, results will follow.

Start with the discipline by setting tough, but achievable goals. Lose ten pounds before the start of the summer, end the year benching twenty five pounds more than you start, drop a minute off of your mile time before that 5K. Your goals should be something that you care about immensely. If it’s something that you truly feel like you want to do, let that motivate you every day to work for it.

Don’t give up. It takes time to see results- weeks, months, or even years. The worst thing you can do is throw in the towel too early. Internalizing the goals you set as your training purpose will help you to keep your head up along the way. Just because you don’t see the results you are hoping for, making the change towards a more fit lifestyle has countless benefits to your overall health. Know that you are not wasting your time, and that with enough hard work and perseverance, results will come.

Like stated above, everyone is different. What works for me might not work best for you. By personalizing these five fitness pillars, you will be well on your way towards achieving your goals.

-Vince, “You’ve always got one more in you”