5 Fitness Killers (and What to Do About Them)

Sometimes, the unexpected happens and it throws us off course. It doesn’t have to though. Here are a few fitness challenging curve balls and what you can do about them.

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1. Belly Fat that Won’t Budge Even Though You Are Putting in Maximum Time at the Gym

It is easy to eventually feel discouraged when you don't get results despite your best efforts. Visceral fat, as belly fat is known, is dangerous. This fat secretes hormones that disrupt metabolic processes which otherwise keep the body healthy. Excess fat around your waist can also be a sign that fat is accumulating in and around your internal organs which are susceptible to dysfunction from this visceral fat.

What to do...

No amount of abdominal exercise will get rid of belly fat. Instead, adjust your training and your nutrition. A few lifestyle tweaks such as improving sleep can also significantly enhance the results from your improved training and diet. Adopt a well-rounded fitness plan that includes high intensity cardiovascular training intervals and full body, functional resistance exercise. This must be complemented by a sound nutritional plan that you can sustain.

2. You Can't Even Look at Food without Gaining a Pound

Severe, extended caloric restriction can often create this dilemma and it stalls long-term weight loss. It lowers metabolism due to the loss of lean mass that result. Many dieters also don’t have energy as a result of insufficient calorie intake and therefore forego exercise which furthers loss of muscle and metabolism.

What to do...

Adjust your caloric intake as you start an exercise program. But rather than indiscriminately lowering your caloric intake, focus on increasing intake of protein, beneficial fats and unrefined/minimally processed carbohydrates in 5 to 6 small meals daily. Also increase your hydration.

3. Losing Motivation to Exercise and Eat Healthily

Maintaining your commitment to exercise and eat healthily can be challenging when you don’t feel motivated. Motivation can be lost when you lose confidence from a lack of results or when your goal isn’t that compelling, or seems too hard to reach or too far away.

What to do...

Most of us are more motivated, productive, and effective at reaching goals when we feel positive, energized, focused, and proactive. Stay positive by finding inspiration and by celebrating your own milestones. Improve your energy levels with sleep, hydration, nutrition, and exercise. Stay focused by keeping reminders visible of what you want, why you want it, and specifically how it will improve your life. Stay proactive by identifying what you need to do and establishing a plan you can take action on every day.

4. Workouts that are Feeling Stale, Boring, or Ineffective

Still doing the exact same workout you were doing last year...? Six months ago…? Even if it is only 5 weeks ago it’s time to change things up. If you have stopped getting results, this is also a sign that your routine is tired. A fitness program is an area you should never plan to “stay in your comfort zone.” Stale workouts are also boring and de-motivating.

What to do...

Switch up your usual sequence of exercises, vary your training equipment and training loads, and use different types of resistance. Also stop basing all or most of your training on working body parts in isolation, and add functional, full body exercises, and some high intensity intervals. All these changes cause additional muscle adaptations to occur.

5. The Best-Laid Plans for a Workout and Healthy Meal Fall Apart

Getting fit can often be viewed as an all or nothing deal. This belief can lead you to feel that you must never slip up or veer off plan. Thinking this way can lead you to inaction which is counterproductive. When you start a fitness and nutrition program, expect to have your priorities challenged from time to time, otherwise you’ll set yourself up for failure from the beginning.

What to do...

Expect that there will be times that require extra planning for you to meet your workout and nutrition goals. Planning ahead for these instances is the best defense. If your smartest backup plans go awry, doing something is better than nothing, and keeps you in the game. If, for example, you have an off week that makes it difficult to get in the full workout schedule you planned, even a 20 minute workout can be worth it. If you might be stuck in meetings all day that offer only coffee, bagels, and donuts, make sure you keep a few emergency protein-based snack packs on hand or stash some in your office.

#ImproveTraining #ImproveResults