Plenty of people struggle to make progress with their training, and often don’t quite understand why. There is actually quite a lot to understand in regards to training and nutrition, you can be committed and do a lot of things right, but still struggle with the results you’re getting overall. Below are some important but often overlooked points that have a huge impact on the internal and external results of physical training.
1. Poor nutrition
Monitoring protein intake and making sure your body is receiving enough of it, is obviously extremely important when focusing on gaining muscle and/or losing fat, but it doesn’t end there. Not eating enough of the right nutrients and not eating at regular intervals can prevent a person from getting the necessary building blocks for muscle growth and strength. Without the right nutrients, a person won’t be able to repair and rebuild existing muscle tissue, nor build new muscle tissue, so eating nutritious foods, and also enough calories is essential. On the other hand, in regards to fat loss for example, it is essential to be consistent with calorie intake and make sure you are not over eating, it’s very easy to just ‘skip a day’ or relax a diet for a while, but the effect on visible progress can be huge over time. If visible progress is affected just a small amount here and there, it can really slow down the results a person gets and make them feel demotivated, which in turn has a negative effect on many things. Consistency when dieting is as important as consistency with training, if not more so. A smart and efficient way to increase your protein intake would be to use top-quality protein supplements such as LA Whey Gold Diet, Slim Whey and LA Luxe Lean Protein powder to get the high-quality protein your body needs to repaid, recover and build.
2. Lack of goals and progression
Not pushing the body to challenge itself can lead to a plateau in progress. When the body is not given a new stimulus, it can become accustomed to the same exercises and weight load, leading to workouts being much less effective, and basically no gains in muscle size and strength. When training regularly it is easy to fall into the habit of doing the same weight for the same repetitions, week after week. Training in the exact same way repeatedly isn’t completely pointless as you will still burn calories, however, you have to gradually increase the loads you are lifting, or increase the reps performed with a weight, to demand more from each muscle and achieve increased strength and growth.
3. Overtraining and insufficient rest
Overtraining is often overlooked or ignored, but it can cause a decrease in performance, as well as a decrease in muscle and strength gain. Overtraining can cause a decrease in muscle protein synthesis and increases cortisol levels, which can cause muscle tissue to break down and inhibit muscle growth. Overtraining is a result of training a muscle group too frequently without giving it ample time to recover, and can also increase risk of injury. Physical performance needs to be at its best to optimise muscle growth and power, and this cannot happen if muscles are not recovered sufficiently between training sessions. It is during resting that the body repairs and rebuilds muscle tissue, so not getting enough rest will hinder results all round.
4. Poor technique
Poor technique can lead to inefficient use of the muscle and a lack of stimulation, leading to a lack of progress. Poor results from exercise could be due to incorrect form on exercises, or not engaging the correct muscles. When lifting, using the right technique can help ensure the intended muscles are being targeted and that the muscle is being used efficiently. Researching how specific lifts should be performed, the target muscles, and how they function, could massively help you with how you train and help get the best output from every muscle, every time you train. There is no sense in tiring your body out for the sake of it, without being sure you are effectively training the muscle you want to target; poor execution also increases risk of injury.
5. Insufficient sleep
People often sacrifice sleep, whether it’s to do something they enjoy, or just something simple like watching television to relax. Making sure you have sufficient sleep means mental and physical performance will be at its best every day. Generally, a whole host of things benefit from having sufficient sleep, such as cognitive ability, muscle recovery, and ability to optimally absorb nutrients from food. Recovery is absolutely essential as we are all aware, and sleep is one of the most important overlooked factors for optimal recovery.
