Written by Laura Soulios (www.bodytunedby.ca)
Today I will share with you the mistakes I made when I first started my own body transformation journey. I made crucial mistakes and wasted my time on things that did not work. So learn from my mistakes and get your dream body faster.
#1: Spending too much time at the gym
Back in the day when I first started training, I was spending a ridiculous amount of time at a gym. I joined a gym in which I was given the wrong information so I would spend hours and hours doing cardio! If only someone had told me sooner that I could do HIIT and circuit training instead, it would have saved me so much time!
I started including HIIT into my workout routine and I got twice the results in terms of burning excess fat, without wasting away my lean muscles that I was trying to build! Win-Win!
#2: Not eating enough Protein
Again I was given the wrong information about my diet. I was told that my breakfast should be 1 rice cake, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, and ½ a banana? Seriously!?!
Protein intake is no joke. You need protein in your diet to help your body repair cells and make new ones. Protein helps for a speedy recovery after exercise and/or injury.
It helps reduce muscle loss, helps build lean muscles, helps maintain a healthy weight, and curbs hunger and so much more. So make sure you are focusing your meals around protein. To calculate an average amount of protein needed you would take at least 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. This calculation will give you your daily protein intake.
Once I found a healthy and balanced meal plan that was focused on protein it helped to keep me fulfilled, and I managed to get long term results.
#3- Not eating enough Carbs
I definitely did not realize then but in order to tone your body and lose weight you need to eat carbs. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. They actually power the workouts, which means they supply you with the energy to train harder. Carbs play a huge role in my life now and in all my clients. I was so wrong to avoid them and I’m thankful I learned that lesson early on in my training!
Now I stick to a well-balanced meal plan that is full of protein, veggies, fats, and carbohydrates!
#4: I did not do progressive overload.
I was so focused on changing up the exercises and exercising for longer durations that I often neglected one aspect of fitness which is PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD.
Progressive overload has now become a crucial part of my fitness transformation. Progressively overloading means you are continually increasing the demands on your muscles in order to maximize gains in strength, size, or endurance. So, this means that if you squat with let’s say 135 pounds, and you are not really feeling your legs struggling anymore, chances are your muscles have adapted to that weight. So, what you need to do is increase the weight in order to see gradual changes.
If you stick to the same weight or the same intensity, you might end up not seeing progress. To be honest, I always thought that changing up the exercises was crucial so your muscles won’t adapt to them and get bored, but they are less likely to get bored by the movement, they just get used to the weight. So, it’s important to add more and more weight over time so that your muscles can be constantly challenged, and not hit that plateau! So, don’t be afraid of progress overload!
#5: Waiting too long to eat post-workout.
Another mistake I made at the beginning of my transformation journey was not eating after my workout, more specifically not having protein. When workingout, small muscle fibers in your muscles get broken down and damaged. Therefore, after your workout, your body tries to rebuild its glycogen stores and repair and regrow those muscle fibers via proteins in order to grow bigger. So, you need to fuel your body with food! Muscles are built in the kitchen! That’s why it is so important to have something to eat immediately after a workout. So, I recommend you drink your protein shake immediately after training, and eat your balanced meal in the range of 1 hour tops afterward. This way, your body is recovering faster, and growing stronger.
Lastly, progress takes time. Making serious body changes does not happen overnight. For some moving from point A to point B can take a few months while for others it will take years of dedication. There are many factors so please don’t be hard on yourself especially if the results are taking longer than expected. Consistency is key.
Learn from my experiences and make sure that you do not make the same mistakes that I did!! Your dream body awaits you!
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