No Pain No Gain

If you are trying to build muscle or improve muscle definition but struggling to get results then listen in.

There are key factors needed to build muscle, unfortunately, a few reps of your favourite exercise isn’t going to cut it.
The body is an adaptive machine, an incredible one. If you run further, you get fitter, if you perform more reps or a heavier load the body adapts to get stronger.

Both of these produce results and both are an adaptation to fatigue.

The problem that people struggling to get results are making is that they do not push to the point of intense fatigue. The point when you want to stop but you still go for another 5 reps. When the last set didn’t burn as much as the week before you you do more reps or take the next weight. When your face scrunches up because of the incredible burn within your muscles.

If you are not getting results it’s like because you have set up camp in your comfort zone and that’s where results go to die.

I see it in my classes every week, almost everyone in attendance will repeat their routine of going for the same weight, every week and maybe, just maybe, after about three months they MIGHT go up a kilo, but usually not.

It’s no wonder you are struggling to get results if you never force your body to adapt. Yes, you worked up a sweat and feel out of breath, but that just means your body got hot, it’s doesn’t mean you produced results!

Results come from fatigue, results come from pushing yourself every week, results come from achieving something that you couldn’t the week before.

When it comes to endurance you need to be able to perform the said task for longer, that’s widely understood.
Anyone training for a 10k, half or full marathon understands that to achieve an increased level of fitness, they have to do MORE, the same logic applies to build muscle.

Not happy with your legs? You need to do more. Not happy with your chest? You need to do more. Not happy with your arms? You need to do more. Not happy with your fitness? You need to do MORE.

A new exercise, class or machine is not going to help you when you underperform every time you exercise.

More reps, more weight, more consistency.

If you are repeating the same task with expectations of eventually improving your physique you are following Einstein’s definition for INSANITY, doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

People think they are going to make continued progress from when they first start exercising and this is incorrect.
When you go from doing nothing, to doing ANYTHING, and you will see improvement, but these improvements are very short-lived.

The first week of training can feel torturous, you haven’t done anything in a while and your body is accustomed to your sedentary state. When you add exercise for the first time in a while it is a shock to your system, whether it be HIT, weight training or spin, your bodies response will be “WTF?!”

But as you keep up with your routine you improve your stamina increases, your muscle endurance increases, the after 4-6 weeks your body has near enough adapted. I’m not saying you will find the workout easy, but easIER.
You are capable of that little bit more. The problem is no one wants to go through the feeling they had on the first day back to training.

You don’t want to feel like you can’t do it, you don’t want to feel weak or unfit, you want to boost your confidence by acknowledging the workout is getting easier, but your mindset should be the COMPLETE OPPOSITE.

• Embrace the challenge of doing something hard.
• Feel good about fatiguing, fatigue brings progress!

If training in the gym, log your weight and reps, aim to beat your previous number of weight or reps every week. Let 15 reps be your maximum, hit that and that your graduation number, up goes the weight.

If classes are your thing, don’t be ashamed to fatigue, rest when you need to then head back in when you can. Those around you that are using the same weight for months and blitzing the class are getting sweaty but ARE NOT GETTING RESULTS. DONT BE LIKE THEM.