One of the most frequent questions that I asked at the beginning of my fitness journey was ‘Why Am I Not Making Progress?’
I remember getting frustrated with the lack of it despite training with a programme that utilised progressive overload. Over the years, I learnt that what I did outside that gym played a big part in why I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted.
Now when some of you ask my DMs and Q&As sessions that same question, I understand where you’ve been and where you are right now in your journey. There isn’t a single answer for this question as it really depends on your lifestyle on your lifestyle. The thing is not a lot of us like to do a deep dive into our lives and admit where we have gone wrong and acknowledge that we need to make the changes. I think with health and fitness it is hard because a lot of us go into thinking that drastic changes have to be made, when in fact, taking it a step at a time, one habit at a time, makes the huge changes into simple actions.
Progress does take time but there are other factors such as sleep, nutrition, stress management, hydration and fatigue management that can influence whether we are making progress or not. I say this all the time but it’s 100% true. I can tell you that from my experience but you have to be patient with your growth. It is a process and it does take time to see the results. Here are six reasons why you may not be seeing progress in your fitness journey.
Sleep
If I got paid every time I mention sleep as a factor of living a healthy lifestyle, I think I would be a millionaire by now. It is one of the most underrated tools in the health and fitness industry but one of the easiest to change in your lifestyle. You have to ask yourself whether or not you are getting enough sleep and whether it is quality sleep. If you know you struggle with getting those two things, here are some of my favourite tips to help me get better sleep:
- Creating an evening/bedtime routine
- Getting some sunlight especially in these winter and colder months
- Moving your body daily
- Limiting caffeine intake during the afternoon
Nutrition
There is so much misinformation and debates whether nutrition has an effect in your fitness journey. If anyone tells you that it doesn’t, run. Run fast in the other direction, you don’t need someone derailing your progress further. Healthy eating is not supposed to be complicated. It’s really simple and it only becomes more difficult when we are not flexible with our food choices. This is the number one question that I would recommend asking yourself: Are you eating enough and enough foods from the five main food groups? Here are my favourite tips to ensure that I’m intentionally making good choices each day:
- Prioritising a protein source for each meal
- Eating more fruits and veggies
- Eating less junk food and fast food
- Cooking more of your own meals
Stress Management
If you don’t have stress management strategies especially as we have been in this panasonic for the last two years, you need to start creating some today. Stress can not only affect your mental and physical health, but also how you interact with those around you, your environment, and your emotional health. When you are stressed out, it can affect your weight management and it can leave you feeling drained. Improving your stress management plays a part in whether you see progress in your fitness journey. How are you improving your stress strategies? Here are some tips to help you create some techniques today:
- Managing your time more effectively
- Meditating and improve self-care activities
- Improving your exercise and sleep routines
- Getting some fresh air
Hydration
If you watch my Instagram stories regularly, you know that I like to start my days with a glass of water and encourage you all to do the same thing too. Our bodies are made up of at least 70% of water. Our internal organs, our skin, hair and nails need water to thrive and be the best they can be. If your skin can’t live its best life without water, best believe that you need it to live a healthy lifestyle and see those results. When we don’t drink enough water, our bodies hold onto the water and that can increase your weight. By drinking water regularly, at least 2 litres a day, your body is continuously flushing out toxins and regulating your body temperature. Are you drinking enough water? If not, here are some of my tips to get you going:
- Start your day with drinking some water to flush out toxins
- Flavour your water with fruits
- Drink water in between meal times
- Keep a filled reusable water bottle beside you
Fatigue Management
I remember when #TeamNoDayOffs was celebrated in the fitness industry. If you took days off, the internet made it seem like you weren’t working hard enough. I’m so happy that the trend is pretty much dead but, are we using our rest days properly?
Fatigue management is all about rest and recovery. When you start a new programme or using more volume that you are used to, you need to give your body time to adapt and rest to the new programme. Unfortunately, some people try push through it which leaves them with more injuries and torn muscles. Also, what are you doing for recovery? Are you stretching and cooling down after your training sessions? Are you doing low impact activity such as walking, cycling, yoga etc.? Find whatever works for you but you need to be giving your body adequate rest if you want to see the results from your hard work. We are not trying to lose muscle. Here are some of my tips to help you recover and manage your fatigue:
- Taking rest days and focusing on recovery
- Scheduling some deload weeks
- Reducing the number of days you train
- Giving your body time to adapt
Progressive Overload
All of these other factors will most likely not work if you are not on a training programme that utilises progressive overload. Progressive overload is when you gradually increase the weight, the frequency, the number of reps and sets in your training. You are putting stress on your body by challenging it to get stronger and over time, you’ll feel fitter and stronger. Here are some tips to get ensure that you are maximising your time:
- Hopping on a training programme
- Finding a coach or personal trainer
- Choosing a free training programme online
So these are the reasons why you are not making progress and seeing the results that you want. Some days are you going to be frustrated by how slow it is going but, the most important thing is to trust your process and enjoy it. Be more optimistic about your journey and celebrate all the small victories along the way. If you don’t already follow me on Instagram and Pinterest, come and join the community. We’d love to have you!
Until next time,
Folakemi
