Finally commit your goals to paper. People who write their goals have higher success rates than those who do not. So, make sure you write down your goals and post them somewhere visible, like the refrigerator or your bedside where you can read it every morning and every evening.
One observation I have noticed over and over in weight rooms is people doing the same workouts for too long. It’s usually guys lifting the same weight on the bench press and women doing the same dumbbell exercises with the same five and ten pound dumbbells. If you workout on a regular basis and have been doing the same routine for awhile chances are you are no longer seeing results. One reason may be you aren’t following the principle of progressive overload. Progressive overload is increasing the training stress or intensity beyond what you are used to.
Your body is smart and will adapt to stresses placed upon it. For instance the first time you leg pressed 300 pounds your body got sore, because it wasn’t used to it. Your body adapted to that stress and made itself stronger. The problem is when you get comfortable lifting that same 300 pounds. Once you stop increasing the stress or intensity of your workout your body will stop responding, and results will also stop.
Lifting more weight is one way to overload the body. Other ways include doing more sets or reps with the same weight, or doing the same weight sets and reps, with shorter breaks in between.
Putting it to work for you
Look at the example of progressive overload below. In the first week do your regular workout. In week 2 add reps, in week 3 add sets, and week 4 add weight. Now look at the total volume (sets x reps x weight) of the exercise. In four workouts the volume has increased from 7200 to 11,160.
Week 1 – regular; 3 sets x 8 reps 300 pounds total volume = 7200
Week 2 – add reps; 3 sets x 9 reps 300 pounds total volume = 8100
Week 3 – add sets; 4 sets x 9 reps 300 pounds total volume = 10,800
Week 4 – add weight; 4 sets x 9 reps 310 pounds total volume = 11,160
By challenging your body to work harder, it will respond by getting stronger. Remember it is progressive overload, so add a little at a time and your body will respond.
Do you get to the gym and then try to figure out what you are going to do once you are there? Seriously, ask yourself this question. Time and time again I see people aimlessly wandering around in gyms not sure of what to do next. Whether your workout takes place in a gym, at home or at the park, you should have a plan in mind before your workout begins. This will not only help you minimize time wasted, but you’ll also get better results.
Not all wander aimlessly, some of these people do have a general idea, they know today is leg day, and that’s a start, but I’m talking about something more specific. If today is leg day, what exercises are you going to do? What order are you going to do them in? How much weight will you use? How many sets and reps will you do? How long are your rest periods? To be more efficient you should know these answers before your workout starts.
If you could get the same results in 45 minutes as you now get in 90 minutes, would you want to? Once your workouts are more organized, you start minimizing wasted time. If you’re not sure what exercises you are going to do, then time is being wasted while you are trying to figure that out. To truly maximize your time working out, you should know what you are going to do before your workout begins.
Today’s workout is all part of a bigger plan. If you have a goal, you need to have a plan to reach that goal. Each workout is one step of that bigger plan. If you don’t know what you will be doing today before you get to your workout facility, you either don’t have a plan or you aren’t following it. Make the decision today to have a plan and know what it is you will be doing in each workout.
