Work out more or just give up?
You’re exercising a lot, you’re eating right… most of the times, but you’re not seeing the results you think you should.
What gives?!?! What should you do?
At this point most people either give up all together or they double down and workout even more and/or harder.
Obviously giving up isn’t the answer, even though it seems like the only one at times.
So the answer must be to do more, right!?!?
What if I said WRONG!?!?
More is not better. Better is better.
You’re not getting the results you want. Basically the outcomes do not reflect the effort you’re putting in.
So you do the most logical thing, you add more. More exercise classes and more intense workouts.
However your results are still not budging, and now you’re frustrated, burnt out and overwhelmed.
You couldn’t possibly do even more. You’re literally bursting at the seams.
What if I told you to stop doing more?
What if I told you that doing more has actually been hurting your results?
It might feel like a breath of fresh air but it also might feel like a trap.
That’s because we are conditioned to think that more is always better.
More cheese, more sweat, more horsepower, more calories per hour, more square footage, more beats per minute, more money… more problems.
But the reality is, more is not always better. Better is better.
We humans get distracted by doing more which keeps us from doing better.
The trick to solving this problem comes with a couple simple exercises I’ll be walking you through below.
What results do you want and why?
The first exercise is do determine exactly what it is you want and why you want it.
Yeah this first exercise can be annoying but… it will provide clarity and will help you avoid the distractions of what you FEEL like you want instead of focusing on what you ACTUALLY want.
See, the average person doesn’t go deep enough into what they truly want and why they want it. This leaves a lot of what drives us to be superficial and unfulfilling.
Have you ever felt unfulfilled from all of the work you’re putting in? Me too!
Breaking this habit of surface level thinking and planning is difficult. You’ll want to set aside some time to dedicate to this first exercise. Take it very serious and go through it more than once.
Make a fitness plan
The next exercise is to develop a plan. But not just any plan.
Remember, we are done with all that surface level thinking so we must make a plan that ensures results.
This plan will take into account any and all variables that can impact your ability to accomplish your goals. The goals you came up within exercise 1.
I recommend working backwards and creating a priority list.
A couple questions you’ll want to ask yourself when creating this fitness plan are:
- What is my main goal and when would I like to accomplish it?
- What metrics can I track to make sure I’m progressing?
- How often should I track these metrics?
- What behaviors need to take place on a monthly, weekly and daily basis for me to accomplish my goal by the designated time?
- What are the most important behaviors, the unnegotiables, and how often do they need to be done?
- What are some variables that might get in the way of me accomplishing my goal?
- What plans can I put in place to account for those variables?
- What are some likely adjustments that can be made if my results aren’t meeting expectations?
That’s a lot of questions, I know. I told you though, we are done with being controlled by surface level thinking and planning.
Execute and Stick to the plan
After you’ve completed these exercises the final step is to execute the plan. Do it consistently and make sure to stick with the plan for at least 3 months. Then evaluate your progress and adjust the plan accordingly… if needed.
Warning!!!
There will be times when you feel like you’re not doing enough. You’ll feel like you’re not getting results quick enough. You’ll feel like it’s not working at times.
These are all distraction to try and pull you back into the same unsuccessful cycle you always go through. Don’t go back to old behaviors that haven’t gotten you lasting results.
Stick to the plan and execute it relentlessly and your future self will be thankful.
Need help planning?
Book a complimentary consultation. I can help you start this process and steer you in the right direction.