#188: Maximise Your Workouts: The Key to Real Results

Are you hitting the gym consistently but not seeing the results you want? In this episode, we uncover the common mistakes that could be holding you back from reaching your fitness goals. Whether you're struggling with consistency, not lifting heavy enough, or overlooking key aspects like nutrition and sleep, 

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Transcript

#188: Maximise Your Workouts: The Key to Real Results

 Today, I want to talk about how you could be working out in the gym and you might not be getting, you might not be getting the results that you, uh, want to be getting, but maybe you're actually holding yourself back in a few ways, but you might not realize that you're doing that. So I thought it would be good.

There's a few things that I would, um, be looking at if you're feeling this way. So if you've been working out for a while, whether you're working out, um,  In a, uh, working out like in the classes or if you are working out on your own in the gym and you've realized that maybe you've plateaued a bit or maybe you aren't seeing any results at all.

There's some things that I would be checking out first or looking into, uh, and just there's a few simple tweaks that you could be doing that could really, really change your results.  So  I know that some people feel they might be feel like they get to a point and they feel really frustrated because they feel like they're not getting anywhere or they're not, um, getting the results that they think they should be getting for the work out that they're doing.

Um, but yeah, you could, you could really be holding yourself back in certain ways. My philosophy is that we have, if you come.  to a class or you're going to work out on your own somewhere, you have like,  you know,  30 minutes or an hour, you have like a limited time. Sometimes my workouts are just 20 minutes, you know, so you have this short amount of time.

And in that time, I want to make sure that I'm getting the very most out of that workout. So, you know, if you're coming  to your workout and you are half assing it, you know, then Then that could be the first thing that, you know, I'd be thinking about is when, when you do go  to, to your sessions, what, how do you feel that you work out?

Do you feel like that you are, you know, if we did it on a scale of a one, one out of 10, so 10 would be that you've worked really hard. One would be that, um, you know, you didn't. You didn't really do much for that. You know, we want to be over an eight, you know, each session you want to be, make sure that you are really challenging yourself.

If you're coming to a half an hour class or you're working out for half an hour, it's half an hour out of your day. Get the most out of, get the most out of that half an hour that you're there.  So that's the first question that I'd be asking yourself is when you do go to your gym, when you do work out, are you getting the most out of it?

Um, I know  I really know that my time is limited and in that time space that I have, I want to get the most out of it because I want to do other things in my day.  So, so yeah, so that's the first thing. The other thing is I'd be looking at, are you being consistent? Consistency is the key for everything.

And you know, if you are coming to like, say you're doing one session and then you're maybe missing a few. And then you may be doing another session and then you miss another week, you know, um,  that's not really that there's, you know, your, your, your body doesn't know what you're doing because we're starting, stopping, starting, stopping, starting.

So, you know, so consistency is, is really the key. And if you are someone that's really, really looking for a result, we need to, um. go to the gym and you just need to do it. Do your workout and show up every day and just keep it going. I saw something this morning, somebody tagged me in and it was, and it's so true.

And it was just saying that, um, I can't remember the exact words, but it was saying you might not see the results the first day or the second day, but consistency is the thing that will get your results. And it's always remembering your workouts. Don't have to be perfect. You just have to keep doing them.

And the more regularly that you keep doing them.  You will see a result. You will get and you will get a result. We just need to keep at it all the time. So this stopping and starting is really the thing. It can, can really hinder you. Um, Life's always going to get in the way. There's always things that are going to crop up.

There's always things that are,  It's just life and it's going to, but, um, stay as consistent as you can and, um, prioritize it, prioritize  your exercise for yourself because it's, there's so many other benefits than just, um,  than in that workout in your life and it's, it's so worth it. Just need to make it happen and it will, it will happen.

And sometimes my workouts aren't perfect. Sometimes I might only get 10 or 15 minutes in, but that's better than nothing. And, um. Anything is better than nothing. So when we think about consistency and we think about if we are struggling I know people that have that all or nothing mentality and they think, well, if I can't get a full workout in, I won't bother doing it, but just do something because something is better than nothing and it will keep moving. 

So if you feel like you're struggling and you aren't getting the results you want, I would like you to check in with yourself and say, how consistent am I? What am I doing? Am I doing something, you know, Every couple of days. Am I stopping starting, am I missing weeks in between? So that's the first thing.

If you are doing workouts on your own, do you work, um, multiple muscle groups at the same time or do you just do isolation exercises? So if you're coming to my classes, I obviously do the planning for you, and that is something that I always plan. I plan, uh, so that we're working multiple muscle groups at the same time because I know your time's limited.

And we need to make sure that we're getting the most in that time. I plan things, um,  so that we're not just doing, you know, if you went to the gym and you just did like 10 bicep curls, 10 different types of bicep curls, you know, you're only working this little bicep muscle. But, you know, we could do other exercises like a curl to press or a squat to press.

It's going to work your bicep plus your shoulders plus your glutes. So there is planning in that. So if you are working, if you're coming to the class, well, that's something that you don't need to worry about because I did that for you. Um, but if it is something that you are, if you're working at a gym on your own, I want you to think about the planning of your workout.

So if you're planning it out yourself, or if you're following something else, are you working more than, Are you working multiple muscle groups at the same time? Because when we do work, um, when we focus on more compound  type movements, you're going to be working those multiple muscle groups at the same time.

And it's going to really step you up a level and really get you the results that you're looking for.  It also  can shorten your time because we're working more things at once. The same as. I know everybody goes on about burpees, but I love a burpee, um, because a burpee works like multiple muscle groups at the same time.

So when I plan workouts, that's what I'm always planning for everybody. So then they can get the most, they can get the most  that they can in that short space, because I know we're all busy. That's that's how my working out. Uh, if you are, if you are training on your own,  I just want you to think about your another thing is your rest period.

So if you are going to a gym, or you may be working at home, are they starting to take longer than they should be? Because, um, Um, you know, they, you know, do we get distracted? Uh, do they start instead of being 30 seconds, does it suddenly become two minutes? Um, you know, because we want the rest periods to be, I don't want you to not rest, rest is important, but we don't want them to take too long.

Cause number one, it makes you work out longer. Um, but the other thing as well, we want to keep it challenged. We want to keep it challenged and we don't want it to rest for too long. Uh, so shorter rest periods are going to help your, um, metabolic response and. They also ensure that you're keeping your fatigue level higher.

So remember when we are working out, we have to tear our muscles and then repair. So they're going to tear and repair. And when they repair, they repair stronger and leaner. But if we have a long rest period, they're not going to fatigue as quickly. Don't not have a rest. A rest is important. And, um, because generally if you have.

No rest time, then your technique will start failing. Um, but again, this is something that I plan if, uh, through the classes, I plan it all out for you. I also plan working different muscle groups. So we might work the shoulders and then we might work the legs. So your shoulders will rest while I'm working your legs, which means that you're not standing around waiting.

So, um, that is the benefit of coming to a class because we have that type of, um, I can do that structure. The next thing that could be holding you back, and I see this quite a lot, is are you lifting heavy enough? Are you lifting weights heavy enough? So, uh, I know lots of females feel scared if you lift too heavy, because they might be worried that they might bulk up, or they might feel scared because they Um, they think that they can't do it or that they could never lift something that heavy.

But trust me, you're stronger than you think. You are stronger than you think. And, um, you know, you want to be making sure when you're lifting a weight that it's challenging you. So when you are doing certain sessions, you want to make sure if you're doing a weighted session, You want to make sure so we have a class called mighty fit.

So in the mighty fit class we do is focusing on strength training. So we, uh, we'll do three different, um, rounds of the workouts, but by that third round, you've got to really be struggling. So your technique still needs to be good, but you want to get to that last few reps and, and really feel like you can't do it.

If you get to the end and then you go, Oh yeah, I could do a hundred more of these. Well then that weights too light and it's not going to challenge you.  Um, so yeah, so we've got to make sure that we're lifting a weight that's going to challenge us. And lots of people, I will go out in front of them and I will give them like a, um,  I will give them like a, you know, drop them up a notch and weights and they'll go, Oh, I can't do that.

And they can do it fine. They've got great technique. They, um, they can do it fine. So it's something just, just to be monitored. How do you feel when you're working out when you, if you're doing something with weights, are you really struggling toward the end or are you, um,  Are you struggling towards the end or are you just sticking in this safe zone because the safe zone is, um, as much as it is safe, it is not going to get you the results that I'm presuming most of you are looking for.

Um, I know people worry about, um, getting bulky  and just remember that.  It's bloody hard to put on muscle.  It's really hard and you have to really actively be working on it to put on muscle. And, um, you know, people, they say they, lots of people look for a toned look, you know, and a toned look is what you're going to get from lifting heavier weights.

You're not going to get a toned look from, um, not doing a weight that challenges you and to really, to. To get the bulkiness that people worry about, you know, you do have to, um,  you have to take testosterone and stuff like that and that's not, you have to have your food like on point and you know, like there's people that, that specifically are really, really working hard to put muscle on and it might take them a year to put one or two kilos of muscle on, um, and they're really working hard on that.

So, so don't worry that don't worry about the bulkiness thing because, um. It's not going to happen unless you're really trying to make it happen.  The research says that 99 percent of  women won't build muscle quickly. I always say to people that when you think you are at your limit, you've still got 30 percent more left in the tank and you do.

And we just need to know that, that we can step out of that comfort zone and you'll be okay and you'll feel so much better for it. So just always think about with your workouts, are you challenging yourself? Another big part of making sure that you're getting the results that you're looking for is, you know, you come to the gym for half an hour, let's say, or an hour or 45 minutes.

You come there for the, for that, that short period of time. But, um, It's the things that we do outside, you know, and eating is a massive part of, um, a massive part of helping you get the results you're looking for.  So, and I think lots of people, um, just think, well, I can, I'm doing these workouts so I can eat whatever I want, um, you know, and, and it doesn't balance out.

You need to, if you have a specific goal, you'd need to be looking and nailing, you know, narrowing down on your food, depending on what you're looking for. Um. And the food you'll eat is what's going to fuel your workout. So most women are under eating and protein  and um, you know, whatever you're eating, whatever you eat, uh, you know, there's like a window of two to three hours after your workout, whatever you eat after you work out is what your body's going to use to recover.

And, um, you know, I talked about before they have to tear and repair and it's got to repair leaner and stronger. And, um, so yeah, so whatever you're eating after is what's the thing that you're going to.  Use for your body to help you repair. And if you're maybe not eating or, um, grabbing something on the go or you, nothing's really planned out, you know, that could be the thing  could hinder your results and. 

you know, we need the nutrients and the goodness from the food to help our muscles repair. And that's how they're going to repair stronger and leaner,  which is going to be get the results that you are looking for. So this is why food, you know, if you are looking for a fat loss, you know, and, um,  you're looking for fat loss, but maybe you're eating too less.

You're not eating enough food. Um, then, you know, you're, you're, you're not going to get results. Or maybe if you're overeating, you know, so it's the food is a massive component. Um, I have a program called macro balance, and that's where we learn to teach you how to get this balance of your food and, um, to make sure that you are reading, eating the right foods according to what your results are, because it's such an important fact. 

Just for eating, that's one part, but how it makes you feel and everything else is, is so important. And it's um, really interesting when you learn to understand your food more. It, it makes, it makes a big, a big part. But when you can understand it yourself, that's when you're empowered by it. When you're not just guessing or going following a plan.

Because if you're following a plan, um, it's not taking into account all your individual circumstances. And that's what's really important.  Uh, another thing that could be stopping you and hindering results is your sleep habits. So sleep is massive and I think people don't, um,  estimate or underestimate how important sleep is.

I understand as a mom, how, if you have little ones, how hard it is with babies or regardless of whatever kids you, your, whatever age your kids are, you still might have, um,  sleeping issues,  . I know we still do, we generally don't have a night that we don't have a child in our bed. But, uh, sleep, sleep is massive and sleep is a big priority for mine. 

And they say that we need to get seven to nine hours of sleep. Now, I have an iPhone and on my phone, there is a sleep, um,  a sleep thing, and I put it in and I worked what time I have to get up in the morning and it shows me what time I need to go to bed. My phone sets me a reminder that I need to start winding down to go to bed, um, so that I'm making sure that I'm getting at least seven hours sleep  a night.

And whether that means that I go to bed,  Not that long after the kids go to bed. It is what it is. But I know that I'm, um, prioritizing my sleep because it's really important. And for me, when I get a good night's sleep, everything else runs so much smoother. So it's so important. And, um, we've got to remember when you're sleeping, that's when your body's repairing.

So as much as you're working hard in the gym, like I said before, it's all these other factors outside of the gym that are going to affect your results. And that's why we want to, um,  We want to be looking at us. We want to be looking at your sleep and making sure that, um, that you are getting enough, you are getting enough sleep because that could be the thing because you're not giving, um, you're not giving yourself enough time to recover.

And the last. thing that could be hindering results, especially if you're working out on your own, uh, it's your form. If your form is off, then how can you be getting the results that you think you are? If you aren't training with a trainer, if you aren't making sure somebody's checking you or looking at your, you know, like, that's why it's good to have a mirror or something.

Um, because you can see. Yourself, you can see where maybe if your knees are going in or you can see if things are out of alignment, poor form can obviously mean that we're not reusing the right muscle. So when I'm doing things in classes, I'm always asking people what muscle should be reworking now, what can you feel is switching on because we want to make sure that the right muscle is switching on.

Also, if your form is off, that's how you can injure yourself. It's really important. And as much as I talked about earlier, lifting heavier weights that are challenging you, you need to make sure you're. form is, is perfect, you know, because if we are lifting a heavier weight, people might, and they feel like they're struggling, they might tend to start swinging.

So we don't want to be swinging. You want to be really concentrating on the muscle that you're using and make sure that's activating. And I always say, when you can do something slow and controlled, that is true strength. So there are some things that these could be the things that could be holding you back.

If you were, um, if you had a. goal in mind and you're wondering, well, I'm going to the gym, why, why am I not getting the results that I'm looking for? I also make sure, and you could do this yourself, um, but this is what I do in our classes is we have, um,  days where we do like fitness tests. So then you can be testing yourself and challenging yourself.

So, uh, the fitness test, we have certain exercises that we aim, uh, and then you know where you're at and then you aim to beat it by the next round. And it also gives you an indicator of where you're at. So I was, doing a chest press and I was lifting  10 kilos. And now, um, you know, I've been working on it and I'm now lifting 12 kilos when I'm doing it.

So that's how you, you know, you can check that you are challenging yourself. Then, you know, you're getting results.  So just to go over again, if you are, if you feel like you've been going to the gym for a while and you're not getting the results that you are looking for, here are some things that I would recommend, um, to be looking at. 

Making sure, number one, making sure that when you are there that you are giving it your all, that you are there for a set amount of time. You know, I had a couple of months ago, I had some ladies in my class and they spent the whole class talking and there's nothing wrong with talking. But, but you know, like if you're talking and you're just picking up the motion and you don't really know what's going on, you're not focusing on the muscle, you're not going to get the results that you really want to.

So number one is.  focus, make sure that you are focused in that time that you were in the, in the gym. I understand like my classes are quite social. It is nice to have a laugh and everything else, but there is a time to kind of knuckle down because you want to get, you're there for a reason and we want to get a result. 

So that's, that's the first thing I'd be checking out. Number two is making sure you're consistent. Are you being as consistent as you can with your workouts? Um, and just make sure you move every day. You put something in and you make sure it happens. You choose, I'm going to go to the gym three times a week or make it happen.

Make it happen regardless. I prefer to start, do things early in the week because then I know, um, that if, if I've done it early and I do extra by the end of the week, that's fine. If, um, I leave it all to the last minute and then I run out of time, then maybe it won't happen. So that's what I do.  The other thing is making sure that you're working multiple muscle groups and we're focusing more on compound movements, more than isolation movements.

So we want to work multiple muscle groups at the same time. Uh, the next one would be, um, so number four would be that, um, your rest periods are too long so that you're not monitoring them. Maybe you start talking or maybe if you were working on your own, if you're working in a gym, if you're working Uh, doing classes like, um, people do with me, then that's something that I control.

The same with your working multiple muscle groups. I, I plan those sessions for you, so that's why. Um, but if you're not monitoring your rest periods, then that's something that, um, could go too long and your muscles aren't going to fatigue as much because you're resting too long. Um, the fifth Tip would be, um, that you're not lifting heavy enough weight.

So make sure that you're lifting weights that can challenge you with perfect form. Number six would be your food, that we, um, that you're not eating the right food to fuel your workout or to help your recovery. And, uh, so that's a really important factor. Number seven is your sleep is off, that you've got poor sleep habits and that we are not getting enough sleep.

If you, if you don't get enough sleep, your muscles aren't going to repair. So you're not going to be able to repair. And they did a study and they showed like, yeah, like people that, people that had sleep, had had enough sleep, people that didn't. And it was like 50%,  something about, it was 50 percent less for the people. 

Less sleep. So it's, it's massive. The last one is, is your form is off. So if you are, um, it's really important to either be checking yourself or get someone to check you if you're on your own, you know, you can video yourself and just have a quick look. You know, I know sometimes I catch myself and I go, oh, I was being lazy and maybe my back wasn't as far as it should be, or, you know, so it's really good to have somebody there to help you and encourage you with your form.

But, um, we wanna make sure that you are. You know, focusing on the muscle that you're working, make sure that muscle is activating really, really your form is, is, is key. And you know, it's better to go lighter, do more reps and have correct form than lift heavier, um, you know, and your form be off. And also when you really, really focus on the muscle that you're working, and I want you to try this the next time you are, you know, doing weights is really, really Focus on the muscle you're working at.

Slow it down. It is, changes your workout. It makes it so much harder. And you know, like I said, saying we are there for a short time, you know, I want to get my workout done because I've got so many other things I want to do in the day. I want to get it done because I know it feels good. I know the benefits of it, but make the most of that time.

that you are working out. So really focus on the muscle that you're working. Make sure you're really, really challenging it, focusing on it, and that it's really activating, and you'll see your results will really, really change. So if you would like any help, or you have any questions about your workout, something you feel like you're struggling with, something you feel like you're maybe not getting where you thought you would be, put me a message below and I'll be able to help you out.