STARTING A NEW fitness regime is an exciting time. The promise of the body you’ve always wanted is a pretty cool incentive.
You devise a plan with the help of a fitness instructor and begin to dream of the body you’ll have in 10 weeks.
The plan works to perfection for the opening sessions and you can already notice a change after three weeks.
But slowly, the motivation dips, the appetite for hurting yourself declines and bad habits begin to creep into your game.
You’re on a slippery slope back to where you started if you don’t arrest the slide, a slide that can often be accelerated by that word we all despise…routine
Chances are you know the answers already…but we’re here to remind you of the warning signs of this routine…
1) You’re not excited about your workout
You know that feeling when you hit the gym and you’re 100% motivated to smash yourself because you know the session will make you better? Well, that’s not there anymore.
There’s no spark to your training and you find yourself ambling through the session, at the same pace, listening to the same songs and doing the same exercises.
Going to the gym should be fun and something to look forward to. It should be mentally stimulating and physically rewarding.
Exercise shouldn’t be a chore that you dread, but something that makes you feel good about yourself.
2) You’re not hurting afterwards
You know that feeling you had when you first started doing that killer arms workout?
The feeling where you struggled to take your t-shirt off afterwards?
You know that feeling where your legs literally shake from the exertion of all those dead lifts or your core is in agony from the pounding it took during those 10 sets of leg raises?
You’re coming out of the gym now fresher than you went in. Not good.
You know it’s time to lift more and lift faster. And take less rest in between those sets.
3) You’re getting weaker
Maybe you’re training too much and adopting a ‘more is better’ approach?
Never is this okay, and instead of getting stronger, you’re getting weaker.
If you don’t give your body ample recovery time, you’ll progressively become more and more fatigued and this can lead to sickness or worse, injury.
If you have been overtraining, your first priority should be rest.
Take note of what you lifted on each day and compare it over time. Are you improving or not?
We suggest a rest week once a month where you lift the same weight – but half the number of sets/reps.