At the beginning of each year, countless gym trainees resolve to make it their best year yet. Around this time, millions of people flock to gyms to lose excess adipose and build aesthetically pleasing physiques – once and for all! That is until they lose interest or life intervenes or myriad other excuses cause them to flounder in their efforts. The following year they’ll commit all over again. And this time those fitness goals will be achieved. It’ll be “New Me” all over again.

There are many reasons why people falter when it comes to shaping up. Of these, a lack of progress would surely rank highest. With the massive commitment of time and effort it takes to get to the gym, train, eat and address the many other associated health and fitness variables it’s important that some return on investment is evident, even during the early stages of one’s physical progression. Early results are usually not a problem for most fitness newbies. However, once progress begins to diminish, less effort is often applied and the lost weight makes an unwelcome return. Sensing the futility of their efforts, many trainees quit. This is a big mistake. Fitness progress (in particular, aesthetic improvement) comes in waves. It’s not a linear process. So there will be times when progress does not come at all. Keep at it and before you know it the body will begin responding favorably again. It’s a case of being committed to doing what needs to be done, even when progress appears to have stopped. To ensure that progress it not permanently put on hold we must follow a series of iron clad rules.  Four of the more important of these can be found below.

The Gym & Fitness lifestyle is not all about ripped abs and 20-inch arms. Unless one is suitably equipped genetically and willing to engage in a range of potentially harmful practices (including performance drug use) the physical development presented on the covers of most fitness and bodybuilding magazines will, for most people, be out of reach. However, by fully committing long-term to an effective training and eating regimen, we can all achieve great looking, healthy, high performance physiques. Just don’t expect it to happen as fast and effectively as one who enjoys certain advantages. 

The real key to fitness progress is to do the work that needs to be done, regardless. Look at training not as a luxury but as health insurance. Every rep you do, every kilometre you walk is beneficial to your health and wellbeing. You’ll feel more alert and you’ll suffer fewer illnesses. A good looking physique, which invariably takes longer to achieve than more immediate health benefits, should be viewed as a byproduct of the training we do for improved health and functional performance. The days you feel unmotivated and lethargic are the days when you must redouble your commitment to the gym (provided you are not suffering from overtraining or illness). Training does not have to be enjoyable to be effective. Sometimes we will hate the gym with a passion. But by training despite dwindling determination you’ll feel better about yourself while strengthening your desire to improve.   

Another major reason why many people shy from the gym can be summed up in two words: hard work. While some people thrive on the challenge of increasingly heavier weights or an additional five-minute block of grueling HIIT cardio, as many others seem to have an aversion to upping the intensity. If ongoing results are to be experienced, then intensity must eventually become the single most important training variable of them all.  

Without an emphasis on progressive resistance, muscle gains will quickly plateau. Whether male or female, muscle (and the training required to stimulate muscle growth) is vital for weight loss, bone strengthening and aesthetic development. The key to stimulating muscle gains is to gradually increase training intensity. This could mean adding an extra rep or an extra kg to the bar. Various other methods could also be employed to increase the training effect: rest/pause, drop sets, supersets, giant sets and others. Without optimal stimulation via intensity increases our metabolically-costly muscles will have no need to grow larger and stronger. Learn to embrace the difficulty of training. Once again, you’ll feel a sense of achievement and your body will respond faster.                 

Train hard, eat well, rest and repeat. This mantra has served fitness enthusiasts well since the first barbell was slammed into a rack. However, it’s far from the complete picture when seeking one’s best possible shape. Sure, it’s a simplified assessment of what gym goers the world over must strive to achieve. But it’s also taken far too literally by many. In fact, it’s what we don’t do rather than what is done that often keeps us from achieving our fitness goals. Take water intake. Water is essential for almost every biological process. It’s what enables the body’s fat burning machinery to do its job. It keeps us satiated and makes us less likely to indulge in forbidden treats. Yet many are woefully lacking in this essential fitness component. Click here for more detailed information on the wonders of water.

Sleep is another often overlooked, yet unquestionably important, aspect of the health and fitness lifestyle. Whether it is six hours or nine, we all have an optimal sleeping period that invigorates and restores. It is during sleep that much of our growth hormone and testosterone is released. Essential for much more than muscle, GH and test production is of benefit to most of the body’s cells. Sleep is also essential for recovery from intensive training. And again, many people consider sleep, like water, an incidental part of the fitness puzzle. They would be wrong. It’s as important as any other aspect and should be treated as such.      

If forced to choose the most important key to fitness success, many would conclude that nutrition reigns supreme. Without a full spectrum intake of valuable vitamins and minerals and sufficient amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats, training energy would be lacking and optimal recovery from training would be impossible. Unfortunately, many people pay the same amount of attention to proper nutrition as they would to sleep or water intake. In fact, in my 20-plus-years’ experience as a trainer I would cite poor nutrition as the single biggest obstacle to fitness success. Fortunately, supplementation has been a godsend for many in that key performance products have enabled many to consume a range of vital nutrients in a convenient and precisely-apportioned manner. Protein powder (in particular, whey) continues to be the biggest seller for the simple reason that it works wonders to advance muscle protein synthesis in the most efficient manner possible. Click here to learn more about the benefits of a quality protein shake.

When it comes to Gym & Fitness settings, many are left in the dark. After a brief introduction to structured training many trainees are left to figure it out all on their own. Like anything else worth pursuing, fitness training is a skill. And to learn any new skill requires a great deal of expert instruction. A qualified and experienced trainer is also hugely beneficial for the more experienced athletes and gym trainees. The routine oversight of a fitness-professional and the ongoing guidance of one who is committed to passing on cutting edge training information can pay huge dividends when it comes to ensuring ongoing progress and injury prevention. If you wish to build a house you would not hesitate to enlist a qualified builder. The same should hold true for your most important investment: your health and wellbeing.

Shape up

There is never a perfect time to get in shape. Instead, shaping up must be an ongoing mission, one’s body a constant work in progress. But too many people avoid gym training at all costs. And such people have the luxury of doing so since working out is not something we are obligated to do. Such people would be wise to acknowledge that regular training is one of the single most important steps we can take to advance our health and fitness. For it to work, however, we must first be invested in the process of getting in shape. There must be a level of buy-in. But once we have committed to the gym and our new fitness lifestyle there is to be no holding back. Give it a decent shot. Don’t get discouraged if results are not immediate or come periodically. Keep going, secure in the knowledge that you are fulfilling the most important task of all: investing in your future wellbeing. That is something you cannot put a price on. 

About the author         

David Robson is among the world’s leading health and fitness writers. He has written for Bodybuilding.com, Gym & Fitness, Muscle & Fitness and EliteFTS among many other publications. David is also a leading trainer and is President and founder of the New Zealand Wheelchair Bodybuilding Federation (NZWBBF).