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The Question: We may not often realize it, but unconsciously we may hinder or even hurt our fitness progress on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. What are the most common everyday things we do, unconsciously, to hinder our fitness progress? What's the worst everyday thing that one can do which would hinder their progress? Bonus Question: What have you done that has hindered your progress and have you done anything to make corrections. Show off your knowledge to the world! The Winners:
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What are the most common everyday things we do, unconsciously, to hinder our fitness progress? "The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." -- Samuel Johnson Whether our goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, increase flexibility or improve strength, the focus is on change. As human beings we have the ability to identify our options and then the response - ability to make a choice. The question we need to ask ourselves, then is, is the choice made one that hinders or one that facilitates our fitness progress? Without bringing into our conscience and becoming aware of what we do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis we cannot move forward and our fitness progress is put to a halt. I am a big believer on the Prochaska & Diclemente's 6-stage model of change. The theory behind this is that change is a process not an outcome.
As I provide you with some things we may do unconsciously that hinder our fitness progress, consider what stage you are in the process of change: At Home: At Work: At The Gym: In Life: Psychologist and behavior experts say that it takes about 20 to 70 days to change and form a new habit. There is no quick fix and of course, change is never easy. It takes patience, perseverance, discipline and determination.
What's the worst everyday thing that one can do which would hinder their progress? We read constantly in the newspapers, magazine articles, self-help books and Bodybuilding.com about ways to eat right, get fit, lose fat, and gain muscle. But why is it so hard to achieve fitness progress? Why is it not easy to eat the food we know is good for us? Why is it so hard to keep to our workout plan? You may know the answers to these questions already or you may still be struggling at finding the reasons why. But there is only one reason: Lack of motivation. Without motivation, there is no desire to change what we know hinders our progress.
Motivation is driven by intrinsic (i.e. your motivation to play outdoor soccer is because you love it) and extrinsic values (i.e. you are motivated to work because of the financial rewards). So instead of thinking of making the change as "I have to stop eating bad, and drinking too much boose," think back to why you wanted progress in your fitness in the first place. To live a long healthy life, enjoy friends and family and have an abundance of love and laughter!
Plan My Work Then Work The Plan
Set Deadlines
Visualize Success
What's motivating me right now are designing dream boards, keeping my favorite quotes posted on my fridge, computer, bag and phone. Instead of meeting the girls for a drink, I suggest to go to the mall to shop and power walk. Instead of sitting on the couch to watch television, I sit on my stability ball for core balance and strengthening when I watch.
Many people start fitness programs in hopes of losing weight, gaining lean body mass, or other reasons. They train hard, but see little results. The reason lies in them not taking their nutrition seriously. It is of great importance to eat 4-6 balanced meals consisting of high protein, moderate carbs, and little fat. If you eat fatty foods all the time and train hard in the gym, you will see little if any progress in your body. The best bet in continuing your fitness progress is to plan meals in advance and that includes your cheat meals which allow you to enjoy your favorite foods. Having your 4-6 meals scheduled in advance will lessen your temptation to eat fatty foods. Write down everything in a nutrition log and a training log. Motivation is the key. In the words of Skip La Cour, "This is a great time to determine exactly why you will absolutely commit to eating the way you should to build the physique you really want." (Ironman's Ultimate Guide to Bodybuilding Nutrition, 10300)
The substances I am talking about are cigarettes, alcohol, and various illegal substances. Many people overindulge in these activities and fail to realize how it hinders them in the gym. They blame others for their lack of progress when instead they should be looking at themselves.
  Click To Enlarge. The Passion To Smoke A Cigarette Can Turn Into An Addiction.
It amazes me at my college how people take cars to classes when they live within 5 minutes of campus. You could be walking to classes and getting that fresh natural air. There is no excuse for not walking. Walking is natural and more people should enjoy it instead of getting in their car. I understand how cars give us that freedom, but when class is only 5 minutes away why not just walk or bicycle. Then, when people go to school they take the elevator instead of the stairs. In my opinion, this is just plain lazy. Taking the stairs is great for exercise people.
The fourth and last problem lies in the lack of motivation. Motivation was mentioned earlier and without being motivated you can not accomplish your goals or make significant progress. People blame money as one reason why they can't make fitness progress. You can always go shoot hoops in your backyard or jog around your block. You just have to be motivated. People say they don't have time, but they have time to do other things. It only take 30 to 60 minutes to have a productive workout. Stop making excuses ladies and gentleman... get motivated.
I use to have problems with eating fatty meals all the time without taking in account what it did to my body. Now, I keep a nutrition log to write down what I eat and try to schedule proportioned meals in advance to avoid overindulging. I have set cheat meals that are planned in advance, so I have less problems maintaining progress. A log will always help you strive for the top.
I am a firm believer that our mental and psychological states impact our everyday lives and behavior. Think about it, if you are in a bad mood you may not want to hit the weights that day, and if you do, it could be just a mediocre lift, not trying to hit a new PR or go for those last few reps. So how do you prevent this from happening? One way is to clear your head of any bullsh*t before you go to the gym. Now everybody has their own way of doing this, some listen to music, some watch an action movie, some meditate; whatever gets you focused and motivated, DO IT!
Another thing that can impact our progress is just general daily behavior. Not getting enough sleep can be very detrimental to your progress, especially if you workout in the morning. Waking up after 4-5 hours of sleep can leave a person groggy, unmotivated, and lacking a good mind-muscle connection, which plays a large physical and psychological role. Even still, afternoon and night lifters need enough rest to get them through the day, AND THEN workout. Of course there are supplements that can help aid with sleep and recovery, but nothing beats a good old-fashioned slumber.
 Click To Enlarge. Nothing Beats Good Old-Fashioned Slumber. At the gym, not warming up properly can easily affect your workouts and progress, and worst case even leading to an injury. Proper stretching and warm-ups are essential to getting the blood flowing and filling your muscles, helping you lift more and harder.
Improper diet I believe is the worst thing that can hinder your progress, even if you do bust your butt in the gym 5x a week. We all see those people in the gym, they are in there Monday-Friday lifting and running, then go party all weekend, drinking and eating everything they stayed away from during the week. There is just no excuse for lifting hard to just go wash the hard work away with a #5 combo, even if it is with a diet soda. Sure we need a psychological boost every so often, but nobody needs one every weekend and to such an extent.
Even on a daily basis, improper nutrition has numerous negative effects. Eating poorly during the day can make a person sluggish, not to mention malnourished, and obviously impact their lift. Getting enough water in, especially if taking supplements that work best with proper hydration, is another key daily factor. Eating poorly can also have a negative psychological effect, as a person may make themselves feel guilty for cheating, and possibly even second guess why they even bother going to the gym in the first place.
One of my favorite quotes about bodybuilding is "Compliments kill a bodybuilder, criticism make one." Most people will look at this and think that is ridiculous, but I feel it is very true. Personally, when a friend compliments me it does give me a psychological boost at first, but then I let it affect my day, specifically my diet, and I believe I subconsciously think something like, "I worked hard and got this compliment, I can have a little cheat snack." I am still working on correcting this, but I am getting better. To help me avoid slacking I do something that will make me feel good but not impact my progress.
For example I will reward myself by buying something I wanted for a while, maybe even some more protein (it's nearly impossible to have enough on hand), or I will do something fun like see a movie (no popcorn though) or go out with friends but not drink. It basically works to reinforce my belief that I am doing this for a reason and that I can find other reinforcements outside of food.
A few days ago, a coworker of mine was walking around taking orders for breakfast. It was about 9:30 when he started taking orders. We open at 8:00. I was the lone person who did not order anything. When he came to my desk, I pointed to my diet, which I have clipped to my board, and said, "Unless they have something from this list, I'll pass." And here's the thing, everyone at work already had breakfast that morning... every single person.
The unconscious need to not pass up free food prevailed. No one was hungry. There was no need to eat. No one was hungry. But no one stopped to think. And it's the little things like this, every day, that hamper us.
Every choice we make during the day has a consequence, and so often it's those unconscious, spur of the moment decisions, that hurt our fitness goals the most.
The single worst thing you can do to hinder your own progress is to not make a plan. I always have a plan, and that's how I lost 121 pounds. I have already looked at my calendar from now through the holidays. I know that between now and the end of the year, I have over 25 opportunities to eat off the plan. Looking at it like that and planning ahead makes me know I simply cannot miss that many workouts or eat off plan that many times.
If I didn't make a plan, I would think, "It's OK, this only happens once a year," when in reality "it" happens over twenty times just in the next few months. I don't wait for my health and fitness goals to miraculously fall into place. I plan every day. I know what I'm going to eat and when I will exercise, and I do not let other things get in my way.
The biggest thing I did along the way to hinder my own progress was to believe that it was someone else's fault that I was overweight.
Never once while I was pointing that finger at others did I look at the three folded fingers that were pointing back at me. The same fingers that kept shoveling those honey buns in. Day after day. Year after year. I finally had to accept responsibility for my own actions. I had to realize that I was grown and responsible for every bite of unhealthy food I put in my mouth and every workout I chose to miss.
I had to decide to rise above my circumstances and become the fit and healthy person I wanted to be.
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