6 Reasons Why Your Workout Isn’t Working for You
If you are worried that your current workout routine isn’t working, now is the time to make a change. If you don’t, you may find that you struggle more than you should, and this is the last thing you need.
#1. You’re Not Working Hard Enough
If you have been exercising for quite some time, now is the time to increase the general intensity of your workouts. You need to start pushing yourself because as you work out more, your body will adapt and become more efficient at doing certain activities. Over time, the 30-minute workout you started doing might not be challenging anymore. If this is the case, you may end up burning fewer calories, and your body won’t change as a result.
If you want to help yourself, you must push yourself beyond your comfort zone. You also need to make sure that you increase the frequency of your workout. If you don’t know where to start, then make sure to add a day of cardio to your routine. You might also want to test out a new group exercise at the gym or add another loop around the walking track. If you can do this or bump up the incline, then this will help you a lot. Remember when the time comes for you to exercise, change is always a good thing and it should challenge you.
#2 You’re Working Too Hard
On the other end of the spectrum, you might be working out too hard. If you rarely listen when it is time to rest or never take a day off, you may end up breaking your muscles down. If you feel tired or sore, this can be a sign that you are pushing yourself too much.
If you want to fix this issue, you need to start by taking two or even three days off. When you do this, you need to focus on getting your body back on track. Get plenty of sleep every night, and make sure that you ease yourself into it if you can. If you can make your workouts shorter and less intensive, this will also help you a great deal, so be mindful of that.
#3. Your Diet Hasn’t Changed
Exercise is great, but if you are not eating a good diet with the right number of calories, then this will work against you. Having a proper routine will help you to fuel your workout and it will also stop you from gaining too much weight. If you can’t seem to get the muscles to build, the first thing you need to do is log your foods and see how many calories you are logging to see if you are eating enough.
If you aren’t eating enough, this is a clear sign that your body can’t physically build the muscle it needs, making it hard for you to get the result you want out of your workout. If you can keep things like this in mind, it could go a long way toward getting you the results you want out of your routine.
#4. You’re Focused on Cardio
Cardio is important if you want to burn a lot of calories, but you also need to make sure you have a solid exercise plan. Strength training is key, and so is flexibility. If you are doing cardio, you will be burning calories and strengthening your heart, but at the same time, you won’t be doing your body any good.
If you want to help yourself here, strength training is the way to go. You can easily look into cable chest fly variations, or you can look up the benefits of resistance training. Either way, you should include a bit more in your workouts than just cardio, or you won’t be able to get the results you want.
#5. You See Food as a Reward
Even though you should be rewarding yourself, you should not use food as a reward. Eating pizza or going for ice cream when you have done a hard workout will make it harder for you to drop the pounds. If you want to do something about this then the best thing you can do is educate yourself on the amount of calories that each treat has. You can then focus on how many calories you might have burnt during a workout to get the right balance. If you can focus on doing this, you will soon find that it becomes easier for you to get the result you are going for when it comes to your workout and that you can also feel confident knowing that you are not undoing all the workouts you are putting in.
#6. Too Much, Too Soon
Another reason you might not get the results you want is if you are doing too much, too soon. Results do not happen overnight, and it will take a lot of time and consistency for you to shape your workouts over the long term. Be patient and remember that you are trying to make a lifestyle change. You need to be able to sustain whatever you are doing and also avoid building tough workout plans that you cannot keep going.
If you can do this, you will soon find that it is easier for you to prevent an injury and that you can also give your body a bit more time to adapt to change, which above all else is really so important. If you can keep this in mind, then it’ll help you later down the line.
