When your workout isn’t working
Hitting the gym hard but your weight keeps fluctuating? Don’t quit – it means the work is just beginning, writes Mike Plunkett.
While you’re working on your fitness resolutions, let’s clear up a few misconceptions: Your weight will fluctuate, even after hitting that feel-good goal. It happens to everyone, even elite athletes.
At some point, you will hit a plateau.
Your running pace will regress after initial gains.
You will get stuck on a weightlifting benchmark.
None of this means your work is done and you should quit. In fact, it means the work is just beginning.
Many people who accomplish short-term goals get a rush of achievement in the moment but don’t create the behavioral changes needed to maintain and improve, says Tom Raedeke, a professor of kinesiology at East Carolina University who specialises in exercise psychology. ‘‘Somehow, we have to help people go beyond... just meeting the New Year’s resolutions or just accomplishing this goal.’’
Instead, he wants people to envision a journey to good health – complete with numerous peaks and valleys. That means being mentally and emotionally prepared and having behaviours in place to deal with the myriad changes and challenges that come even after the finish line. It’s not about goals or measurements but rather establishing the right mindset to change your life for the better.
The main difference between an average adult and a high-level athlete isn’t a lack of talent or willpower but rather a lack of a system.
Sam Zizzi, professor of exercise and sports psychology at West Virginia University, points out that athletes succeed because of the infrastructure created for them: coaches and trainers, set practise times, and a methodical approach to nutrition.
All that’s left for them is to, well, just do it.
The vast majority of adults, however, do not have that in place.
‘‘We’re competing with a wide variety of priorities, and things kind of get lost in the mix,’’ Zizzi says. Individuals have to either make their fitness goals a top priority and pivot their life to accommodate that goal, or merge a goal with something or someone that already is a top priority.
‘‘There’s not this coherent goal where everyone is on board with you walking 10,000 steps a day,’’ Zizzi says. ‘‘You have to put the structure in place. You have to hold yourself accountable.’’
Creating that structure takes accountability and support, something Evan Hakalir is building for himself. Hakalir, a 35-year-old New Yorker, lost 31 kilograms in his early 20s and was physically active. During the Great Recession, he lost his real estate equity job and decided to start a new children’s clothing line, Andy & Evan, with his partner.
In the midst of travelling and working 20-hour days, Hakalir gained back about 20kg. The seesaw of losing and regaining weight continued until a year ago, when his daughter was about to be born. ‘‘With a baby on the way, I felt, ‘Oh my God, this has gotten out of control,’ ‘‘ Hakalir said. ‘‘So instead of buying the larger suit size, I decided to recommit myself to being fit.’’
To keep himself accountable, Hakalir joined Weight Watchers. Wanting to use the in-person weigh-ins (and the embarrassment of a bad weigh-in) as initial motivation, he’s instead found a supportive environment.
‘‘What I actually found were nice, like-minded people of all shapes and sizes who were on this journey.
‘‘Some were much thinner than I ever was, and some were heavier. They all were on this lifelong struggle of staying healthy and fit,’’ Hakalir says.
Zizzi says making a plan is key. He encourages his clients to have a Plan A and a Plan B so they are prepared when life intervenes.
Raedeke recommends that individuals focus on planning an activity with details a reporter wants to know: the who, what, when, where and how. Instead of saying, ‘‘I want to walk more,’’ make a plan: ‘‘I will walk one mile every Monday and Wednesday at 1pm with my co-worker.’’
Just as in other areas of life, competency is a key marker when it comes to long-term health. ‘‘People are very good at their jobs and feel good and competent as a parent, but they don’t feel competent as a healthy person,’’ Zizzi says. ‘‘We invest and take time to do things we are good at.’’
With his clients, Raedeke starts by finding out whether they have been successful in making a change in the past. ‘‘If you have, what things helped? Then, I know right away I can build on what’s worked for them in the past. It can be something unrelated to diet, but what worked for them may work for diet and exercise.’’
To keep the momentum going, you have to be dedicated to educating yourself (perhaps taking a healthful-cooking class or hiring a personal trainer) and to experimenting.
Alice Williams, a communications professional, says she feels confident in her ability to live healthily in large part because of her self-education on what fitness activities and nutrition work best for her. She documents what she’s learned on her blog, honestlyfitness.com.
‘‘Even when I first started out in my journey, I’ve had confidence to try things. I started out with workout videos, and now I have more of an idea about what I can do And I had a personal trainer a few years ago, and it was extremely helpful to get me comfortable with the gym.’’
When the weight fluctuates or the running pace slows, people often get discouraged and give up or overcompensate in training, which can lead to burnout and injury. Self-sabotage is the pathway to undercutting confidence.
Raedeke says individuals start viewing the regression ‘‘as a failure and also a reflection of their underlying ability versus it’s just a process.’’
Understanding the science and psychology behind fitness regression and plateaus – even understanding that plateauing is a natural component of getting stronger and faster – can save a person a lot of frustration.
Experimentation not only combats boredom but also allows short-term goals to grow into longterm behaviour. Williams says her goals evolved from losing weight to being healthier to becoming stronger, an activity Williams notes is particularly hard for women. Women are ‘‘fine doing a group fitness class but shy away from lifting weights, and I’ve heard so many say, ‘I want to get into weights, but I don’t know how. I’m too embarrassed.’ That’s frustrating for me,’’ Williams says.