Thing you (probably) DO need to focus on

This is a follow up to last months blog. It’s a handy 5 pointer for things you should focus on if you want to make progress on your fitness journey.

1) i) Consistency with training

The two biggest short falls when it comes to making progress in the gym is consistency with food (see point ii) and consistency with exercise. Too many people are in too much of a rush to see results and when it doesn’t happen in 6 or 8 weeks (or less) then they pack it all in. Either this or people dip in an out: “I’ve been to the gym every day this week!” (having not been to the gym for 3 weeks previously).

1. Consistency with eating
   Just as above, if you want to make significant improvements to your physique and life then significant, consistent changes are needed. If you’ve eaten well all day, you haven’t “earned” a pudding. Stick at the healthy eating, be consistent and manage all areas. For example improve portion control and protein intake rather than solely focusing on “going without”.
    
   2) General Activity Levels
   An hour in the gym is great, but it probably won’t out-do 23 sedentary, unhealthy hours. Try to incorporate activity in your day whenever possible. This doesn’t men high intensity workouts; you don’t even need to wear gym gear most of the time. Walk more, play more, take the stairs more, get out of the chair more and just move round more!
    
   3) Tracking Progress
   Having an ideal in mind and then looking at yourself and feeling a million miles from it can be down heartening and make you want to give up. But if you’re tracking progress then you can feel confident that you’re moving in the right direction and what you’re doing is working. Remember to track progress in a variety of ways in order to be sure that you’re improving. Body fat measurements, tape measures and gym tests (cardio fitness and strength checks) can all be useful yard sticks to make sure you’re moving in the right direction.
    
   4) The 6 major movement patterns
   Rather than spending endless hours on bicep curls and for big arms of glute bridges for a round bum make sure you learn to move correctly and effectively through the 6 major movements. Be sure you know how to push, pull, squat, hinge, lunge and rotate effectively. Understand their uses, variations , progressions and regressions and incorporate all of them as part of your weekly exercise schedule.
    
   5) Recovery
   I’m not suggesting that you should do an hours gym session and then spend the rest of the day sleeping and sitting on the sofa for recovery. Instead make sure that you stretch regularly and learn to foam roll effectively. This will help with recovery, robustness, injury prevention and mobility. Do it regularly and make it part of your gym sessions. Don’t wait until this are broken and then fix them. Think prevention – not cure!
    
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