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The Goals of Post Workout Nutrition

After a strenuous workout, your body requires proper nutrition to recover and perform optimally. Post-workout nutrition is crucial to achieving your recovery goals, as it can help replenish energy stores, reduce muscle soreness, and promote muscle growth. In this article, we’ll explore the goals of post-workout nutrition and some examples of how to achieve them.

 

  1. Replenish Glycogen Stores: During exercise, your body uses glycogen, which is stored in your muscles and liver, for energy. To maintain high-quality exercise frequency, you need to replenish these glycogen stores after your workout. Consuming carbohydrates post-workout can help restore glycogen levels and provide fuel for future workouts.

Examples: A banana on a rice cake, or a sports drink containing carbohydrates can all help replenish glycogen stores.

 

  1. Promote Muscle Protein Synthesis: Resistance exercise creates tiny tears in your muscle fibers, and proper nutrition is required to repair and rebuild these fibers, to promote muscle growth. Consuming protein after a workout can help stimulate muscle protein synthesis and promote muscle growth.

Examples: A whey protein shake, grilled chicken breast, or Greek yogurt (you could ad a banana and honey to this for some carbs) are all excellent sources of protein to consume post-workout.

  1. Reduce Muscle Soreness and Inflammation: After a challenging workout, you may experience muscle soreness, stiffness, and inflammation. Consuming anti-inflammatory foods post-workout can help reduce inflammation and aid in recovery.

Examples: Berries, leafy greens, salmon, and nuts are all anti-inflammatory foods that can help reduce muscle soreness and inflammation.

  1. Restore Electrolyte Balance: Sweating during exercise can cause a loss of electrolytes, including sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Proper electrolyte balance is crucial for muscle function and hydration. Consuming electrolyte-rich foods and drinks can help restore these minerals and keep you hydrated.

Examples: Coconut water or an electrolyte drink are all good sources of electrolytes to consume post-workout.

  1. Activate Parasympathetic Nervous System: The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for rest and recovery. After a workout, it’s essential to activate this system to promote relaxation and repair. Consuming foods and drinks that contain magnesium can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Other relaxation techniques can also help induce the parasympathetic nervous system.

Examples: Dark chocolate, spinach, and almonds are all good sources of magnesium that can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system post-workout. Breath work, meditation or a light walk prior to exercise are great ways to also achieve this.

 

Post-workout nutrition is important for achieving your fitness goals. The conversation we have with our personal training clients once they are into a consistent frequency of exercise regarding post workout recovery is usually discussed as a strategy to keep exercise frequency consistent and to keep NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) high in between workouts. If our clients are too sore they tend to move less in between sessions causing less total calories to be burnt during the week which may hinder our fat loss goals. Creating the correct strategy for our personal training clients to maximise their opportunities to achieve their goals in an efficient manner is something we take into account when our personal trainers are putting together their plans and strategies bespoke to each individual personal training client.

Contact us to find our more about are personal trainer in altrincham and personal trainers in Hale, we specialise in a bespoke service for our personal training clients and we take a huge attention to detail to give you the highest quality personal training service in the area.

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Benefits of L-Glutamine

L-glutamine is a non-essential amino acid that is produced naturally in the body. It plays a vital role in a number of important bodily functions such as protein synthesis, cell growth, and energy production. Additionally, it offers a wide range of health benefits that we utilise for our personal training clients to assist them with the following:

Recovery:

One of the main benefits of L-glutamine is its ability to support recovery after intense exercise. It has been shown to help reduce muscle soreness, speed up muscle recovery, and improve overall athletic performance. Additionally, L-glutamine has been found to help with muscle repair and growth, which is essential for all individuals participating in resistance training along with athletes and bodybuilders.

Gut Health:

L-glutamine also offers several benefits for gut health. It has been shown to help heal and strengthen the intestinal lining, which can reduce the risk of leaky gut syndrome and other digestive disorders. Additionally, L-glutamine has been found to help reduce inflammation in the gut, which can alleviate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other digestive issues.

Cravings:

L-glutamine has also been found to help reduce cravings for sugar and other unhealthy foods. This is because L-glutamine can help regulate blood sugar levels, which can reduce the risk of sugar crashes and subsequent cravings. Additionally, L-glutamine has been found to increase feelings of fullness, which can help reduce overall calorie intake.

Dosage:

The recommended dosage of L-glutamine varies depending on the individual and their specific needs. However, most studies suggest that a daily dosage of 5-10 grams is generally safe and effective. It is important to note that L-glutamine should not be taken in excessive amounts, as this can cause adverse side effects such as gastrointestinal distress.

Other Benefits:

In addition to its benefits for recovery, gut health, and cravings, L-glutamine has also been found to offer a number of other health benefits. For example, it has been shown to help boost immune function, improve cognitive function, and reduce the risk of certain cancers. All these fantastic benefits for a relatively inexpensive supplement.

Overall, L-glutamine is an affordable and powerful supplement that offers a wide range of benefits. Whether you are an athlete looking to support muscle recovery, someone with digestive issues looking to improve gut health, or someone struggling with cravings and blood sugar issues, L-glutamine may be able to help. To purchase a good quality micronized L-Glutamine powder click the link below:

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Time Management Strategies

When it comes to achieving your fitness goals, time management is crucial. With a busy schedule, it can be challenging to make time for exercise and healthy habits. However, with proper time management strategies, you can prioritise your fitness goals and make significant progress towards your goals and a healthier lifestyle. As personal trainers, we discuss these essential time management tips with our clients to help remain organised and achieve their fitness goals.

 

  1. Don’t make the excuses: So many times we hear individuals within our personal training facility give us the excuse that they don’t have the time. Once we run through the weekly schedule we often discover that it is not lack of time rather a lack of the individual been organised with their time and the hierarchy of what is a priority.
  2. Plan your workouts in advance: One of the most effective time management strategies is to plan your workouts in advance. Take some time each week to schedule your workouts for the coming week. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you have time set aside for exercise as a priority. Treat these time slots like important meetings and how ever you are feeling turn up and do your best. There will be times when you will feel fatigued and mentally drained, still turn up and do what you can I promise you will leave the gym feeling much better than you did when you walked in.
  3. Make use of your calendar: Use your calendar to schedule your workouts and other habits like meal prep, mobility, walks or cardio. This will help you stay organised and ensure that you don’t double-book yourself or forget about important commitments. If it is in the diary its going to get done if we do not remain organised you will end up skipping or forgetting. For example meal prep will require a weekly shop, if you know that you will be meal prepping on a Sunday it will be important that you schedule your shopping for Saturday or Sunday morining.
  4. Set realistic goals: It’s important to set realistic fitness goals that fit into your schedule. If you’re struggling to find time for exercise, consider starting with shorter workouts or breaking up your workouts throughout the day. It is better to set yourself a realistic frequency that you can keep consistent. If you are in this situation I would start by scheduling yourself x 2 sessions in the gym per week even if it’s back to back days on the weekends or early mornings stick to it and develop the habit of remaining consistent and build on it.
  5. Hire a personal trainer: Working out with a personal trainer is a great way to stay motivated and accountable. Plus, it takes the extra time away that is required to program your sessions and make your exercise feel less like a chore.
  6. Focus on high-intensity workouts: High-intensity workouts like HIIT (high-intensity interval training) can be a time efficient way to burn calories and improve your fitness in a short amount of time. Incorporating these types of workouts into your routine can help you make the most of your limited time. If you have time to do steady state cardio add this is into your schedule as it is also highly beneficial.
  7. Don’t skip rest days: It’s important to give your body time to rest and recover between workouts. Skipping rest days can lead to burnout and injury, which will ultimately set you back in your fitness journey. Plan your rest days in advance and use them to recharge and prepare for your next workout. Plan days where you might go for a nice walk in the country or go and use a facility with a sauna, book yourself a massage or a session in a float spa.
  8. Multitask when possible: If you’re short on time, try to multitask when possible. For example, you could listen to a podcast or audiobook while you’re on the treadmill, or you could do bodyweight exercises while watching TV, or if you have a meeting over the phone go for a walk and get your steps in at the same time. Multitasking isn’t productive with a lot of things however in this situation it works really well.
  9. Use a timer: Using a timer for your rest periods can help you stay on track during your workouts and make the most of your time.
  10. Don’t scroll: leave your phone on airplane mode during your workouts. Mindless scrolling will be unproductive and not allow focus within your training.

As personal trainers we believe that time management is a crucial component of achieving your goals. Remember to be patient and persistent, and don’t be afraid to ask for help or support from a personal trainer or fitness professional to help guide and structure your plan of action.

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Investing in the right coach

Personal training can be a life-changing experience. The right coach can help you achieve your fitness goals and improve your overall health and well-being. However, finding the right coach can be a daunting task, especially with so many options available. While it may be tempting to look for a cheap deal, it is important to remember that quality comes with a price. In this article, we will discuss the importance of hiring the right coach and why it’s important not to look for a cheap deal when hiring a personal trainer.

 

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that not all personal trainers are created equal. Some may have more experience, more knowledge, and better credentials than others. When you’re looking for a personal trainer near you, it’s important to do your research and find someone who is qualified and has a good track record. This may require a bit of effort, but it’s worth it in the long run.

 

One of the main reasons why hiring the right coach is so important is that they can help you achieve your goals more quickly and efficiently. A good coach will have the knowledge and expertise to perform all the correct screening and assessments before hand to give him the data to design a bespoke fitness plan that is tailored to your specific needs and goals. They can also provide you with guidance and support along the way, helping you to stay motivated and on track.

 

Another benefit of hiring the right coach is that they can help you avoid injury. Not all exercises suit all individuals this is why it’s so important that you trust in the process and allow your coach to perform the assessments required so he can pick up and discrepancies you may have in certain ranges of motion so he can program accordingly. A lot or times personal trainers use the similar programs for all of their clients and don’t have an adequate screening procedures to determine what access to certain ranges of motions their client has. This can easily be identified by well educated coaches when observing programs performed on the gym floor.

 

Personal training involves a certain degree of risk, especially if you’re not familiar with proper form and technique. A good coach will not only teach you the right way to exercise but will also monitor your form to ensure that you’re doing each exercise correctly. At times coaches only qualify progressions of load a highly experienced coach will quantify quality of movement before increasing loads. This can help you avoid injury and stay safe while working out.

 

It’s also important to remember that personal training is an investment in your health and well-being. While it may be tempting to look for a cheap deal, it’s important to remember that you get what you pay for. Hiring a qualified and experienced personal trainer may cost more upfront, but it can save you money in the long run by helping you avoid injury and achieve your goals more quickly.

At our private personal training facility, we understand the importance of hiring the right coach. That’s why we only employ highly qualified and experienced personal trainers who are committed to helping our clients achieve their goals. Our personal trainers have a proven track record of success and can provide you with the guidance and support you need to succeed.

In addition to the physical benefits of personal training, there are also psychological benefits that come with having a personal trainer. One of the main psychological benefits is accountability. When you have a personal trainer, you have someone who is holding you accountable for your progress. This can be a powerful motivator, as it helps you stay on track and stay committed to your goals. A personal trainer that can help you navigate through the psychological barriers that every client will encounter on their path to achieving their goals.

 

Having a personal trainer can also help you build confidence and self-esteem. Working with a trainer who is supportive and encouraging can help you feel better about yourself and your abilities. As you achieve your goals and make progress, you’ll start to feel more confident in your ability to take on new challenges and push yourself even further. Our coaches understand that beginning a training program in a gym environment can be intimidating for most people, within our private facility is put to ease by the trust or the capabilities of our coaches that we will progress you according to your ability and not based on beasting our clients because it’s the cool thing to do. Programs are progressive and we do our due diligence before hand to make sure you will starting at the right place with your program.

 

Another important psychological aspect of personal training is the relationship between the trainer and the client. A good personal trainer will take the time to get to know you and understand your goals, needs, preferences as to what makes you tick. This relationship can be a powerful source of motivation and support, as your trainer will be there to help you through the tough times and celebrate your successes with you.

 

In conclusion, hiring the right coach is essential for achieving your fitness goals and improving your overall health and well-being. While it may be tempting to look for a cheap deal, it’s important to remember that quality comes with a price. When you’re looking for a personal trainer near you, do your research and find someone who is qualified and has a good track record. Investing in a good coach is cheaper in the long run to investing in a bad coach as you can never get lost time back.

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Why am I not losing weight?

Losing weight is a common goal for many people, but it can also be a frustrating and challenging journey. If you’ve been working hard to shed pounds and haven’t seen the results you desire, it could be due to several reasons. Here are some of the most common reasons why you may not be losing weight and what you can do about it.

Habits: Your daily habits play a significant role in your weight loss journey. Poor eating habits, such as skipping meals, snacking, overeating, and eating high calorie low nutrient foods, can sabotage your efforts. You need to establish healthy habits, such as consuming you planned meals, staying hydrated, and getting adequate sleep, to support your weight loss goals. A personal trainer can help you navigate through the process of replacing bad habits with good habits to keep you on track.

Nutrition Adherence: To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than your body burns. To do this, it’s essential to be consistent with your eating habits and make sure you’re eating nutritious foods that support weight loss. Fad diets and restrictive eating plans are not sustainable, and it’s crucial to have a balanced, healthy diet that includes a variety of foods. If you are staying on track all week and on the weekends you are going off plan it is likely you have un done all your hard work throughout the week. If you are socialising on weekends, it is important that you plan and prepare ahead using a method called calorie banking or selecting lower calorie options on the menu so that you can stay within the constraints of your deficit. A good personal trainer can guide you through the process when you eventually hit dates in your diary when social events take place. This doesn’t mean that you cannot have a good time it just means that a level of planning and mindfulness needs to be addressed so that you don’t spiral out of control and undo the weekly deficit that you have kept consistent.

Inconsistency with Exercise: Exercise is an essential component of weight loss. It helps to burn calories and build muscle, which can increase your metabolism. But, if you’re inconsistent with your exercise routine, it can be difficult to see results. To get the most out of your workouts, aim for consistency, gradually increasing the intensity and duration of your exercises over time. Often times exercises can act as your deficit however when consumption of the same amount of calories is present and your missing your scheduled training sessions then it would be a good idea to consume less calories on these days so you can stay within maintenance or within a slight deficit.

Not Putting Your Health as a Priority: Losing weight is a journey, and it requires commitment and dedication. If you’re not putting your health as a priority, it can be challenging to stick to your weight loss plan. Make a commitment to yourself to prioritise your health, and establish habits and routines that support your weight loss goals. Individuals place socialising or fashion as a priority and place their health at the bottom, health should be at the top investing in a personal trainer or a gym membership should prioritise those expensive nights out over the weekend and those funky Balenciaga trainers.

Stress and Hormonal Imbalance: Stress and hormonal imbalances can also contribute to weight gain or difficulty losing weight. Chronic stress can lead to overeating and a sedentary lifestyle, while hormonal imbalances can affect your metabolism and disrupt your weight loss efforts. If you’re struggling with stress or hormonal imbalances, a personal trainer can help you with these factors addressing your responses to certain situations and creating habits to try to reduce stress like improving sleep hygiene reducing alcohol and substance abuse. Seeking professional help is a valuable tool to help you to combat stress and understanding the psychological aspects behind your responses to stressors.

In conclusion, losing weight is not just about following a diet and exercise routine. It requires a holistic approach that includes healthy habits, consistency, and a commitment to your health. If you’re not seeing the results you desire, reassess your approach and make changes as needed. Remember, weight loss is a journey, and progress may not happen overnight. Be patient, stay focused, and celebrate your progress along the way.

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Meal Prepping Tips

 

Meal prepping is a great way to stay on track with your diet and ensure that you have healthy, nutritious food on hand throughout the week. Here are some tips for getting started:

 

Plan ahead: Before going grocery shopping, sit down and plan out your meals for the next few days. This will help you avoid impulse buying and ensure that you have all the ingredients you need on hand. Consider your schedule for the upcoming week and plan your meals accordingly. For example, if you know you’ll be busy on certain days, plan for easy-to-make meals or leftovers on those days.

Choose nutrient-dense foods: Focus on foods that are high in nutrients and low in calories. Proteins such as lean meats, fish, eggs and beans, Whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, and avocados are all great options. Avoid processed foods, sugary drinks and snacks, and fried foods as much as possible.

Prep in bulk: Cooking in bulk can save you time and money. Choose recipes that can be easily scaled up or that have ingredients that can be used in multiple meals. For example, you can cook a large batch of rice, potatoes or quinoa, and use it for multiple meals throughout the week.

Keep it simple: Meal prepping doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Simple dishes like lean mince, grilled chicken or fish with a side of steamed vegetables, or a large salad with various toppings, can be just as nutritious and satisfying as more complex recipes.

Get organized: Invest in some good quality storage containers and label them with the date and contents. This will help you keep track of what you have and when it needs to be eaten. It’s also helpful to have a designated area in your fridge for your prepped meals, so you can easily grab them when you’re on the go.

 Add variety: Don’t feel like you have to eat the same thing every day. Mix and match your meals and try to change them up every week. This will help you avoid getting bored with your food and make it easier to stick to your diet. This will also give you a diverse amount of nutrients.

Enjoy: Remember to enjoy your meal and savour the flavours. Eating healthy should be a pleasure, not a punishment. Take the time to sit down and enjoy your prepped meals, and don’t feel guilty if you indulge in a treat every once in a while so long as you plan for it.

Herbs and spices: stock up on herbs and spices so you can add diverse flavours to your food. A lot of individuals perceive meal prepping to be boring bland add some flavour to your food by adding herbs or spices.

Keep track of your progress: Keep track of your meals and how you feel after eating them. This will help you identify what works for you and what doesn’t, and make adjustments as needed.

I am not a skilled cook? No one is born with the skills on how to cook, we all have to start somewhere, so start today and try one recipe at a time and build on it. Practice makes perfect don’t make excuses and build barriers for yourself, change your mindset in the information age today we have 1000s of recipes at our finger tips.

By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to meal prepping like a pro and staying on track with your diet. Remember to be patient with yourself and to not get discouraged if you slip up. Meal prepping is a process, and it takes time to develop the habit. We will be posting some meal prep friendly recipes throughout the coming weeks to help you all along the way.

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10 Important Habits for Weight Loss.

Weight loss requires a combination of several habits:

 

  1. Eating a balanced diet that is low in calories enough to place you in a slight deficit and high in nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and adequate amounts of proteins.
  2. Engage in regular bouts of physical activity, such as cardio and strength training, to burn calories and build/preserve muscle mass.
  3. A consistent monitoring of portion sizes and keeping track of the number of calories consumed each day. Don’t try to guess, use scales for an amount of time that it takes for you to know how to estimate your portion sizes but alway refer back to your scale weight when in doubt.
  4. Drinking enough water to stay hydrated and avoid overeating. Set hydration targets throughout the day to help you stay on track. Keep a water bottle with you at arms length at all times.
  5. Managing stress levels through techniques such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness or deep breathing. Anything that can put your body in a parasympathetic state of deep rest.
  6. Getting enough sleep each night, as lack of sleep can affect hormones that regulate appetite. Your quality of sleep is also important, have a sleep routine and stick with it consistently, this discipline will change your life.
  7. Avoiding processed foods, sugary drinks, and excessive alcohol consumption.
  8. Following a consistent eating schedule and avoid too much snacking. If you need to snack eat fruits or protein sources.
  9. Finding a form of physical activity that you enjoy and making it a part of your daily routine. This will help you stay consistent.
  10. Seeking support from friends and family, or a professional personal trainer, to help you stay on track and achieve your weight loss goals.

 

Weight loss is not a one-size-fits-all process and it’s important to consult a professional coach who can guide you and mentor you through a weight loss program with the right strategy for you. There is no quick fix, achieving health and weight loss is a journey that will have many hurdles stick to the plan and get through the tough bits and you will reap the rewards in the long run.

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How Much Does Muscle Growth Differ Between Lifters?

Reference to the Study:

Hubal et. al. (2005). Variability in Muscle Size and Strength Gain After Unilateral Resistance Training. MED SPORTS EXERC.

 

 

Details of the Study:

 

  • 585 untrained adults performed the same arm training routine for 12 weeks.

 

  • Most lifters experienced around a 10-20% increase in cross-sectional area, but there was extreme responses on either end of the spectrum.

 

  • A small number of individuals experienced no detectable muscle growth (with some even seeing losses in muscle size).

 

  • On the other hand, a small number of individuals saw increases in biceps cross-sectional area of greater than 50%.

 

  • As with most biological traits, the response to resistance training generally follows a bell-curve relationship. This means that most people see an ‘average’ muscle growth response, but a small percentage of people experience extremely more/less growth than average.

 

 

Applications to training:

 

  • This study supports the idea of the importance of an individualised plan in order to optimise muscle growth in each person.

 

  • Furthermore, it is unavoidable that some people will find it significantly easier to add muscle more than others, rendering comparison between peers futile. If you want to progress, then track your progression against yourself.

 

  • Ultimately having a personal coach who has the skills to guide you on how to execute your exercises correctly to get the most out of each exercise will put you in the best position to see results with your hypertrophy goals from your training in the gym.
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The Energy Systems: ATP-PC System

When we exercise, our bodies require energy to cause our muscles to contract, resulting in movement, cardiac muscle to contract more frequently and powerfully to increase blood flow and smooth muscle, such as the muscles in our respiratory system, to increase the amount of oxygen we take into our bodies. Energy can otherwise be called Adenosine Triphosphate (1 molecule of adenosine and three molecules of phosphate) or ATP for short. The body has 3 systems that it can create ATP from and, although we always use all 3 simultaneously, there will always be one system that is much more predominant than the others, based upon the activity and environment you’re in. This article will go more in-depth about the ATP-PC system or Alactic System and also how you can focus you’re training to improve its efficiency to further benefit your performance in the gym.

 

The ATP/PC system derives its name simply because it recycles the small storage of our bodies ATP and PC (Phosphocreatine) to produce ATP for exercise. Firstly, ATP is broken into ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate which is 1 Molecule of Adenosine and two molecules of phosphate). This action releases the energy required for our muscles to contract. Phosphocreatine is then broken down into creatine and a molecule of phosphate by an enzyme called creatine kinase. The energy released from this reaction is then used to join the phosphate group to ADP to create ATP which can then be broken down to create more energy for muscular contraction. Therefore, the limiting factor for this energy system is our body’s stores of phosphocreatine (or just creatine, which will be touched on later in the article.

 

As our bodies only have small stores of ATP and PC, this energy system can only be used for 10 seconds of exercise before we primarily use either to lactic acid energy system or the aerobic energy system, which will be looked at in the coming articles. However, despite its short duration, a huge positive of this energy system is that doesn’t produce performance debilitating by-products like lactic acid. Once used up, it takes approximately 3 minutes to replenish our body’s stores of ATP and PC, in order for the ATP/PC system to be the predominant system used in the next 10 second bout of exercise.

 

If we apply this to training in the gym, strength training, power training (less than 6 reps per set) and sprint training (10 second bouts or shorter) will primarily use this energy system. Therefore, if you are looking to improve on your strength, power and/or sprint performance, then it’s important to remember the principle of the 3-minute rest in order to be providing the stimulus to the ATP/PC system and therefore bring about the desired outcome of becoming stronger, faster or more powerful. Inadequate rest or prolonging the duration of repetitions will place stress onto the lactic acid energy system. The negative of doing so, is that this does not have the same benefit when it comes to all out efforts of 10 seconds or less, which is of particular concern for people partaking in sports where performance in these areas is key.

 

Although our stores of PC are very small, there is ways to increase them slightly. We can do this by supplementing our diet with creatine. This is because creatine has the ability to increase our muscle’s stores of PC and thereby prolonging the amount of time we can utilise the ATP/PC system before the lactic acid energy system becomes to primary energy system. The benefit to this is that you can place the training stimulus onto the ATP/PC system for an extra couple of reps/ few seconds per set which, over time, results in greater adaptations, and therefore performance, in strength and power.

 

Also, creatine is the most well researched supplement in the world and, unlike some supplements, it has been found to have no negative side effects. The recommended dosage for creatine is 5g per day which is relatively cheap as you can purchase 250g for approximately £15-£20. However, as it is a loading supplement, it is important to consume every day so that the quantity of creatine in the muscles can build up in order for you to see the benefits, unlike caffeine, whereby you take a dosage 1 hour prior to training and feel the effects for the next few hours.

 

I hope this has explained how you can improve the accuracy of your training and supplementation when you wish to focus on improving your strength, speed or power performance and overall bring about better results.

 

 

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Adherence – WHATS YOUR WHY?

Dedication vs Motivation

 

Adherence to any program or plan is the number 1 factor that will determine success to reach a particular goal or failure where you quit prior to achieving it or even getting close to it.

 

Don’t make excuses find solutions!

 

In any pursuit of getting to a certain goal consistency is king, if you are not consistently putting in the effort for the most amount of the time you will be taking 1 step forward and 3 steps back rather than the opposite.

 

Motivation will fail you, when emotions get in the way when your not in a good mood, your stressed sad, overwhelmed. Motivation will seize you’ll quit or have a day off that turns into a weeks to a month off.

 

Dedication is something that you will do regardless of your circumstances, regardless if your stressed, tired, overwhelmed and regardless if your not in a good emotional state. You’ll always find a way regardless of the situation.

 

If your just motivated you will find any little excuse to stop yourself from doing the things that you need to do. When we are dedicated we will find a solution you’ll adapt to get what you need get done to progress.

 

That’s why it’s important to identify your Why, your why is an emotional thing which can change and progress or can remain the same through the course of your journey.

 

It’s really important that we really think about this and put some focus into it as we can use it to remain dedicated when things will get in the way of our progress and progression and having that awareness as we navigate through our journey on how it may change or progress.

 

Be attached to your why, write it down put it on your notes in your phone and review it periodically. When your making excuses to yourself read it out 10 times and you will see how your focus /mindset will change.

 

We have to set our self’s up for success we are living in a more stressful environment at present and each individuals allostatic load is much higher which means we are required to acknowledge all of these things that may happen along the way over the course of the month and year and say to yourself your reactions to these stimuli that may raise your emotions will be X or Y. For example I will not drink a bottle of wine when X happens at work. I will do a workout and do 10 mins of deep breathing and meditation, or I will book myself a massage so I can release the tension from my body. Often times it’s not the stimulus but our reaction to the stimulus how we perceive it and react to it.

 

Let’s look at examples of what someone’s WHY may look like?

 

  • I want to be fit and healthy for when I have children.
  • I want to be able to keep up with my Grandchildren.
  • want to be a good role model to my children so they can see me focusing on good habits toward my health eating good foods and exercising regularly.
  • I want to be mobile and active when I reach and elderly age.
  • I like to look good for my husband/wife/partner and myself.
  • I want to look good for my clients so they believe in what I advise them to do (as a coach you are your own business card).
  • I like feel good cognitively which by creating healthier lifestyle habits allows me to feel this way. (exercises has a positive impact on mental health).
  • I want to be healthy enough to continue to do the hobbies/sports I love.

 

Make note of yours, focus and review it regularly, use it as your fuel to keep your dedicated on becoming the healthiest and strongest version of yourself.

 

A good physique, health and vitality is created by consistent habits that will require a consistent dedicated approach. As coaches and personal trainers we help individuals navigate through this process and keep you accountable to your WHY!