DAY 13-16: Are you Wasting Your Time?

I apologize for the 3 in 1 blog, but of course I chose to pursue this challenge during finals week.....which I am now an official GRADUATE!!!! Apart from my 3am study sessions and 4.0GPA, I have been extra motivated to kill it at the post school mark. What I love about this blog is it is REALISTIC! Life gets in the way........shit happens, but at the end of the day you can not let that deter you from your goal. I used to always be the type of person who would have to start something and if I did not do it perfectly then I would give up. Needless to say there were quite a number of things I said screw it to. So all of you who take the time to read my blabs, know nothing is ever going to go the way you plan it. So roll with the punches and laugh a little.

OK, so now that I have had my emotional moment with all of you lets get to the specifics of ARE YOU WASTING YOUR TIME in the gym? Most of you might say....."of course not, I showed up right?" You are trying to go to the gym 5 days a week and following some eating plan your friend gave you. Now this does not apply to everyone, but in my 6.5 years of experience I still have to emphasize this key aspect.

"If you are not willing to learn the craft and do it right, then what is the point in doing it at all."

I am not saying you have to become a personal trainer or get your degree in kinesiology, but think about it........if your goal was to pass a class wouldn't you study? If your goal was to perform at a venue wouldn't you learn the steps to your routine? Exactly! YES, you would do all these because this is what it takes to achieve change. 

When you choose to either lose weight or gain muscle, you need to realize you will not succeed without an understanding of nutrition, foundational strength training, and flexibility (in this case stretching).Some might disagree, but that does not really matter to me right now. Listed below is why these are important to any fitness journey......

 STRETCHING - This is an important aspect as it keeps you limber and able to perform full range of motion on a consistent basis. If you continuously workout without stretching properly you can greatly increase your chances of a pulled/torn muscle and joint injury. 
 

STRENGTH TRAINING -

Proper form is the most important part of exercise. If you do not understand the basic concepts of lifting, most likely you are not incorporating proper postural technique and greatly increasing your chance of injury. In addition, rep range and rest time (in previous posts)  can make or break how fast you reach your goals!

NUTRITION - This requires 100% of your attention as with anything else. Even on your cheat days you want to log and record as to not over do your calories for the day. If you have a solid workout program, but are not sure what your caloric deficit/expenditure is then your walking in the gym blind. You can NOT out exercise a bad diet. 







I am not saying you have to go out and spend $5,000.00 on training, but it never hurts to invest something. If you have the right fitness professional who can teach the what, when, and how then you will be able to walk in the gym with confidence and know your on the right track!!