Ten reasons why you are not proud to show off your body

1. You do not have a goal.

When embarking on a change in your physique, it is important to set a clear measureable goal.  How can you achieve your goal when you do not know what it is?

2. You have no idea how many grams of carbohydrates, fats, or protein you consume.

There is a lot of truth in the saying ‘abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym’.  Resistance training can change the shape of your body like nothing else can, however discipline and self control in the area of food and drink will ultimately determine your success work. After all, you can’t flex a beer belly….

3. Your training programme sucks.

It is quite simply not enough to just go to the gym and watch what you eat.  Real success in the form of transforming your body is acquired through carefully and scientifically prescribed exercise protocols and individualised nutritional planning.  We regularly speak to ‘gym goers’ who have been doing the same programme for months on end.  If this is not bad enough, the programme they are doing 99% of the time is totally inappropriate for their goal, typically packed with fixed machines, a lot of cardio, a million exercises, too much/little rest, too long (more often than too short), the list goes on…  If you do not squat, deadlift, pull and press on a regular basis you seriously need to reevaluate your training programme.

4. Your training programme is a walk in the park.

If you want a result, you have got to work for it.  You have to dig deep to push yourself mentally and physically to force a change in your body.  When you think you can’t complete another rep, you have always got two more in you, and it is our job as a personal trainer to remind you of that!

5. You live in the gym or even worse in the pub.

Increased lean mass equates to looking and feeling great.  However, you will only experience these benefits if you allow your body to rest, recover, and rebuild.  Inadequate rest means increased stress hormone (fat storage), and a reduction in growth hormone (reduced lean mass).

6. Stress is your middle name.

Stress and sleep might be key factors why you are not making progress from your training and diet.  The stress hormone cortisol is linked with fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area.  We often see on clients’ biosignature scores umbilical reading being high even on a low body fat percentage.  The most common causes we have found for increased stress are food intolerances and over training.  Growth hormone peaks when you are asleep, and if you are not getting enough quality sleep your body will not produce enough growth hormone to recover from training.

7. The environment is not your friend.

Did you know toxins make you fat? Many of our clients are surprised (and somewhat sceptical) when they informed of environmental toxins such as parabens in beauty products, or BPA in their water bottle.  These products, along with other factors for example the consumption of non-organic produce, can increase xeno-estrogens in the body.  It is often the case we see clients who actually are doing everything right, and a thorough biosignature modulation testing, lifestyle, and nutritional analysis factors such as these are revealed.

8. You do not know your body fat percentage.

Going back to the regular ‘gym-goer’, they never seem to know if they are making any progress. Here at IPT we measure our clients’ body fat, weight, and measures at least biweekly.  Not only that, but we regularly take photographs to demonstrate the visual changes in their physique. Trust us, weighting yourself means NOTHING (unless you are obese), go by how you look, feel, and the trusty tape measure.

9. You are lazy.

We are being cruel to be kind… if you cannot commit to regular training due to ‘being tired’, or ‘too busy at work’, the truth is if you are serious about your goal nothing will stop you from training sessions.  Treat training like your job, only not to be attended in severe circumstances (if you pull ‘sickies’ regularly I suspect you know which side of lazy you belong on!).

10. You dislike gym or you are bored.

If you do not enjoy what you are doing, you simply will not continue.  One of the saddest things is when a person triumphs in weight loss, only to rebound and end up bigger than when they started.  Not only doing this completely screws up your metabolism and insulin sensitivity, it is highly detrimental to your psychological well being and happiness. The gym should not be a chore, and it will not be if you adhere to the tips above.  Ultimately if you regularly goal set, structure your training, and a consider factors outside of the gym we guarantee you will see results and this is the biggest motivator of all.

Mase at figure competition