You see it everywhere every day, 3 tips to abs, 5 tips to fat loss, etc. People like short tips that they think are the secret to getting them ripped. Most of it’s absolute garbage. There are no secrets. People hate to hear that, but it’s true.
The good news is, there are some things you should STOP doing to get results fast. Let’s take a look at the 5 things you need to stop doing to get in amazing shape.
- Stop lying about nutrition
Most people lie to themselves or justify that they “eat good”. If you have weight to lose and have not been seeing results in the past 30-90 days, you need to stop lying to yourself and fix your nutrition. Without a doubt nutrition is the first place you need to look if you want to get lean.
I am not getting to specifics of any plan. I don’t care if you’re following paleo, low carb, counting calories, eating clean, whatever… Are you doing it consistently day in and day out? Most people will eat one day on target, the next they will eat a whole cake, eat clean again, then hammer a happy hour, and wonder why they didn’t lose weight at the end of the week.
Nutrition is simple. Eat whole foods, the right macros for your body (carbs, protein, fats), burn more than you take in and do it day in and day out! That’s it.
- Stop beating the crap out of yourself with cardio
This one still amazes me. Even after all the research out there that has said long bouts of cardio are the least effective for fat loss and getting lean, people are still killing themselves in spin classes or running. Now if you do it because you really love endurance activities, fine, but if you’re body composition sucks don’t cry about it, or think more running and spinning is going to fix it. News Flash: It’s making you fatter.
There are a few genetic freaks that do lots of cardio and look good. Keep in mind they are the exception to the rule or the outliers. A few others look lean but are actually “skinny fat” with zero muscle tone.
Am I saying all cardio is bad and you should stop it altogether? No! I am just saying it’s not the answer to getting lean and you shouldn’t over do it.
- Not lifting Heavy
Now the term “heavy” is relative to the individual. If you are lifting weights and you are using a weight in which you could do endless amounts of reps, you will not get much benefit in the long run. For an absolute beginner who is deconditioned, they will get results in the begging from doing anything. However, after you have been working with weights for a decent amount of time, if you are not trying to get stronger it will become a waste of time in your effort to get lean.
The more muscle you have the more fat you burn and the leaner you get. The only way to do that is by overloading the muscle. When pushing the body to move more weight it has to compensate by getting stronger and build more muscle. When that happens it’s the quickest way to getting lean.
- Not measuring progress/being on a plan
This is a big one, and it amazes me that most people don’t track their progress or follow a plan. Let’s tackle a plan first. If you are going on a road trip to someplace you have never been before you would obviously use a map or some GPS device, which is the same thing as a map. In other words, you wouldn’t just start driving north and hope you get where you want to go.
It is no different when it comes to working out to get lean. You should be asking yourself “what is the most effective plan I should follow to get in shape?”. The mistake people make is say I am “working out”. Do you know how many people go to the gym to “workout” and are in worse shape a year later than when they started? A Lot!
Next, if you get on a plan how do you know if that it’s working? Simple, track your progress. Write it down! Write down what you are eating on a daily basis AND your workouts.
If you are not recording your workouts how do you know if you are getting better/stronger? You don’t. When you do this it allows you to make the necessary adjustments depending on your progress.
- Over training
This is interesting because unfortunately it seems as if we are living in a time of extremes. Either a person does nothing physical and eats like crap, or they turn into a workout nut doing it twice a day. This really goes back to #4, have a plan and follow it. The right plan will have a set amount of “on” days and work in proper rest.
Many times we see people beating the crap out of themselves 7 days a week. The mentality of “more is better” kicks in, but in this case is detrimental. What people don’t realize is the body needs adequate rest to function optimally to burn fat and build muscle, but if it is constantly being pushed it will turn on its defense mechanisms to hang on to fat or cause other issues.
There is no reason to work out 7 days per week. Training 4 days per week with active rest is more than enough for the average person to get results.
So there it is, 5 things to stop doing to look amazing! Getting in shape isn’t that complicated, but many people make it harder than it should be.
If you want to look your best, get on the right plan for you and be consistent!
Good Luck!
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