Blog

posted on September 10, 2018

Ever come home from a workout, dripping in sweat and sore in places you never knew existed, but still have a nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you just didn’t do enough?

As a coach, it can be discouraging to see your clients thinking they aren’t getting the results they want. As a client or member, it can be even more discouraging, if not downright infuriating to not be getting the results you want. So you work harder and harder then faster and faster. After an intense hour-long class, you hop on the treadmill for one final sweat sesh. But that nagging feeling persists. You tell yourself that you’re not getting where you want to be because you’re not working hard enough. So you begin to hop on that treadmill after every.single.class. But when that soon doesn’t feel like enough, you start to do what we call “double-dipping”, going from one class right into the next scheduled class then, of course, ending it with your beloved treadmill session. This cycle is endless, leaving you feeling unfulfilled, exhausted and incapable of ever recovering properly. Or worse yet, injured.

If this sounds like you, then you have a chronic case of “More is better.” As much as we love seeing your smiling (or grueling) face here at Union Fitness, as professionals we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you “Enough is enough!” It’s not at all unusual, at one point or another, to succumb to that persistent voice in the back of your head. We’ve all been there. So what can you do to kick that voice to the curb and start seeing the results you want?

Manage your expectations

If your goal is to lose body fat, know that it likely won’t happen in a month – no matter how many extra classes you take or how long you inflict extra suffering upon yourself after class. If you struggle with managing expectations or simply don’t know what a realistic timeline for your goals looks like, talk to a coach! We’d be happy to sit down with you to figure out some of these things.

Track, track, track!

Do we sound like a broken record? We’ve written blogs about this here, here, and here. Track your food. Keep track of your goals. Track what you’re doing in the gym, including things like sets, reps and the weight you used. We have a great PR board in the back but you’ll never know when to add your name if you never know what’s a personal record for you in the first place! Track your measurements. Chances are that you ARE making progress towards your goal but you’re just not seeing the subtle or even large changes if you’re blinded by that more-is-better mentality.

Find a support person

Everyone needs a buddy that just gets it. So where can you find one? That person that’s suffering through class with you day in and day out, that’s a good place to start. Chances are they will understand what you’re going through and as an added bonus you can both hold each other accountable (no more hitting the snooze button or skipping class for happy hour).

Trust the process

Even if you’ve already been doing all the above, it’s still easy to get trapped in a “more is always better” mindset unless you begin to trust the process. That includes the program and your coaches but most importantly, yourself! Know that you’ll get to your goals and that you’re ready and willing to do the hard stuff (like RESTING!). Know that this fitness journey is not always an upward linear progression—there will be some bumps and obstacles along the way but we promise if you keep working smarter (not necessarily harder!), listening to your coaches and tuning into your body, you’ll get there.

It can be hard to admit that you’re doing too much. It can be easy to think that you’re supposed to be going at 100% all the time. It can be equally as easy to see rest and recovery as secondary to sweating and soreness. But it’s time to step off the treadmill and take a step back from all the extras. It’s time to say enough is enough!