Why Am I Not Seeing Results and How Do I Fix It?

Sometimes it can feel like we're doing all we can to whip our bodies into shape, and yet the results we’re looking for can still seem far away. This can cause frustration and makes many feel like giving up. Don’t! At Madbarz, we are dedicated to helping you reach your desired results. If you are working out consistently but aren’t happy with the outcome, there may be a few slight changes you need to make. Go through the list below and see if you are making any of these mistakes. If so, follow the course outlined to rectify it to start seeing results.

You’re Zoning Out During Your Workouts

To complete an effective workout, you can’t only recruit your body, you also need to recruit your mind. To push your body through a tough workout and do moves with proper form and energy, you need focus and mental fortitude. If you find that you are zoning out during your workout, more than likely your body has just been going through the motions. This leads to poor performance and can stunt your improvements.

A good way to boost focus and shut out distractions during your workout is to put your phone on airplane mode, put on some headphones and pump a playlist you’ve made beforehand. Considering smartphone users check their phones an average of 47 times per day, it can be easy to lose your rhythm checking texts or social media. A solid playlist can go a long way towards getting you pumped up to make the most out of your workout.

You Don’t Train Full Body

It’s only natural that there are certain parts of our body that we want to work on more than others. We may, however, tend to focus too much on those parts or part and forget to train the rest of the body. This can cause imbalances in our muscles and even result in weak areas that are more susceptible to injury. Learn how to create the ultimate full body workout, or use one of the Madbarz training plans in Madbarz Premium. A balanced training schedule involves upper, core, and lower body workouts.

Want something customized specifically for your body, that applies focus to the areas you want, but still works the full body? Madbarz Workout Creator is a feature within the app that allows you to create your own workouts; customizing not only the exercises but also the rest, rounds and repetitions. With this tool, you can see the targeted muscles highlighted when you select each exercise, ensuring you still get to focus on certain parts while still activating the full body!

Resting too long between sets

While you need to recover between sets and workouts, taking too long between your sets can negatively affect your workout. Although it is essential to give your muscles enough time to recover, waiting too long won’t keep your heart rate up and won’t put your muscles under enough stress to grow. Stephanie Lee gives a neat rest period reference guide that can be helpful when determining how much rest you should be allotting yourself:

This guide will help you maximize the number of calories you’re burning as well as the amount of muscle you’re building!

You don’t push through the pain

When you get out of your comfort zone, that is when the magic happens. If you start to feel the burn, that’s a good thing. That means your muscles are changing. Muhammad Ali once said, “I don’t count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the ones that count.”

It’s easier said than done, of course; not everyone has so much self-motivation! Our best tips for fighting through the burn are:

1. Create a mantra

Back to basics, creating a mantra can put you in the right mental state to get past any blockade - big or small. Greatist has an awesome list of Fitness Mantras that you can use in your workout to push through the pain - nay, to even ENJOY the pain!

2. Visualize a goal

We’re not talking an end goal, we mean to visualize mini-goals that will lead up to your ultimate end goal. Visualize that swole at the end of your bicep pump, or better yet, a goal that’s actually related to fitness rather than appearance. Visualize yourself mastering the perfect handstand, or a muscle up with perfect form. These smaller goals will help you reach your larger goals while feeling good getting there.

3. Reward yourself for a job well done

It’s common knowledge that everyone is more motivated by the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so why not treat yourself for going the extra mile? Dangle the metaphorical carrot when the pain kicks in and treat yourself to something you really want so you can feel extra good about reaching (or even better, surpassing) your goals.

Too much cardio, not enough strength

Sometimes our training isn’t balanced enough when it comes to cardio vs. strength. Women are more prone to this mistake, as they are bombarded by the ‘thin body goals’ mentality and the assumption that it is achieved by spending hours on the treadmill. Well, that’s dead wrong. A strong body is body goals, and that is made pushing your body to do things it didn’t know it could do. Strength training will transform your body into a fat burning furnace and give you more energy throughout the day. Things you may have found difficult before will now be a piece of cake. There are many unexpected benefits of bodyweight training that make it worth it to add strength training to your fit regimen, and we’re sure you won’t regret it. 

You aren’t eating for results

There’s a fitness saying “Fitness is 20% exercise and 80% nutrition. You can’t outrun your fork.” This is true. You can eat calories so much faster than you can run them off. You can easily be working hard in the gym, only to undo everything you’ve worked so hard for with one meal. You have to eat right for your goals. If you are trying to gain muscle mass, you need to provide your body with enough calories, protein, carbs, and healthy fats to enable it to do so. If you are trying to lose weight, you need to restrict your body from calories so that it must extract the energy it needs from your fat stores. Madbarz Nutrition guide contains tips and guidelines for reaching your goal (whether it’s losing fat or building muscle), as well as 65+ healthy recipes to help you stay on track. You can find Nutrition guide in the Premium version of Madbarz app.

You aren’t getting enough sleep

Sleep is essential for your body to recover from the stress you put it under during your workouts. This is when your muscles are repaired, so sleep is important for building muscle. During sleep is when the pounds are melted off. Without sleep, your body will slow itself down, and you will burn fewer calories throughout the day. Not only that, but your body will be screaming for food to make up for the energy lost from lack of sleep, and you’ll find that you aren’t quite as strong-willed when it comes to cravings.

Your expectations are off

Maybe you aren’t seeing the results you want, but only because you aren’t looking in the right place. One common mistake is looking at the scale for measurement. You can gain weight sometimes because you are gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat. Instead, measure your results through another avenue, such as before and after pictures, or measuring your body fat percentage.

TAKEAWAY

Sometimes we can hit a plateau, and it can be frustrating. Whatever you do, don’t give up! The biggest factor in reaching your fitness goals is consistency. Workout plans found in Madbarz Premium come with a training schedule that will help you stay consistent with your workouts. Get your Madbarz Premium and see results in no time!