5 Reasons Why You Aren't Seeing Results
Are you not seeing the results you're looking for?
Are you frustrated by your lack of progress?
Is the scale not budging and your clothes not fitting any differently?
We are here to help!
First, it's important to be kind to yourself. This year has been difficult to say the least so for many of us, and getting into and sticking with a consistent workout routine has been more difficult than usual.
The good news is, although there is a lot out of our control, there is a lot we can control surrounding our health, fitness, and results. In fact, since we've reopened in June, we've helped hundreds of people get their fitness routine started and helped them start seeing incredible results both here at DSC and from their homes with our online program.
Today we're covering the top 5 reasons why you aren't seeing results and how to fix it.
Enjoy!
1| Workout inconsistency
If you want to see incredible changes, workout consistency is a must.
When talking to our biggest transformations at DSC, the one common thing they talk about prior to DSC was inconsistency. They would try a new gym only to find themselves going less and less until they quit. Or they would buy a new piece of home gym equipment only to find it becoming a clothes hanger over time. They struggled with the one thing that would allow them to see real change and results - consistency.
Then they came to DSC and everything changed. They went from continually starting and stopping or workouts that took place every blue moon to workouts that they completed multiple times each week.
That's when things started to really change. 
Consistency keeps you moving towards your goals. It allows you to make progress. It helps you continually improve your fitness, strength, stamina, and in-turn, your results.
If it's real results you're after, working out once per week or every other week isn't going to cut it.
So how do you find workout consistency? How do you stick with your workout routine? How do you make exercise a regular part of your life?
Here's 3 tips to improve workout consistency:
1. Understand it's harder in the beginning: Knowing that starting something new and making it a habit is always more difficult in the beginning is a key ingredient for consistency. The goal is to make exercise a habit and a part of your daily routine, but this is going to take more effort in the early stages. Make it easier and keep your workouts at the top of your mind by having your gym clothes prepped and ready for your workouts, your running shoes out and in plain sight, and schedule your workouts for the week ahead of time.
2. Don't go at it alone: Picture you walk into a crowded gym alone not knowing anyone and not knowing what to do for your workouts. That sounds like a recipe for not sticking with it. Instead, have a friend or loved one join you or join a group class to make it more enjoyable and hold you accountable, especially during those early stages.
3. Find workouts you enjoy: If you aren't having fun and enjoying your workouts (i.e. - the never ending walk or run on the treadmill), you aren't going to stick with them. Increase the enjoyment of your workouts and in-turn workout consistency by finding the workouts you enjoy most, doing it with others, increasing the variety of exercises and equipment you use, and including your favorite music.
2| Ignoring nutrition
Yes it's true. You cannot out-exercise a bad diet.
When it comes to seeing real change, the combination of exercising and improving your nutrition is where the real magic happens.
One mistake we see people make is just using exercise as their mode of weight-loss or a means to their goals. This is a big mistake and incredibly inefficient.
It doesn't matter how much you workout, if you're not eating the right foods to fuel your workouts or you're eating the wrong amount of food, you're not going to see the results you're after. For example, most workouts burn roughly 300-500 calories. In order to lose weight, you need to be in what's known as a calorie deficit where you're eating less than the total calories you burn each day. It only takes a few extra snacks or one large portion size to eliminate the calories burned during your workouts.
Here's 3 tips to improve your nutrition:
1. Track your food intake: One of the best things you can do to is track your food intake using a food tracking app like My Fitness Pal. This will open your eyes to the amount of food you're consuming (total calories) each day and allow you to make adjustments depending on your goals.
2. Eat real, unprocessed foods: Lean on foods that you can hunt, grow, and pick. These are the foods you will find on the perimeter of the grocery store. They are typically healthier, less processed, and lower calorie foods that also have a great impact on our overall health and immune system.
3. Don't drink calories: The average American consumes 400 calories a day from beverages. These beverages also provide little to no nutritional value and only make it harder to control your calories and lose weight. Stick to water and avoid or limit soda, juices, energy and sport drinks, and alcohol.
3| Focusing on supplemental exercise
Not all exercise is created equal.
Some is great for flexibility and posture - yoga.
Some is great for endurance and heart health - running.
Some is great for strength - powerlifting and others are great for building muscles - bodybuilding.
As you can see different modes of exercise play different roles in the results they deliver.
We break up exercise into 2 categories.
1: Foundational
2: Supplemental
Foundational exercise makes up the bulk of your workouts and delivers the biggest bang for your buck. It's generally higher intensity and involves a great blend of focusing on getting stronger and improving your cardio.
At DSC, we call it cardio strength training and it combines the best of both worlds. It involves your entire body and builds tremendous fitness, strength, mobility, and endurance. We've also found it to be the most effective form of exercise for fat-loss.
Finally, one reason our members fall in love with it, is its ability to provide so much workout variety, unlike other supplemental exercise where you're stuck using one piece of equipment time and time again. Cardio strength training allows you the ability to include all kinds of equipment like kettlebells, dumbbells, medicine balls, ropes, bikes, sled, etc. and endless exercises to keep your workouts fun and fresh.
Supplemental exercise focuses on one aspect of your health. This is exercise like yoga, pilates, and spinning. It has it's place in a well balanced exercise routine but by focusing on that one thing, it will keep you from the enormous benefits of foundational exercise like strength, injury prevention and higher-intensity conditioning. It can also overdevelop certain muscles of your body if done too frequently and under-develop others.
If your goal is to burn fat and build strength, lean on foundational exercise like cardio strength training for the majority of your workouts. Use supplemental exercise to improve flexibility, cardio, de-stress, and recover from your workouts.
4| Not focusing on progress
Here at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning we've helped thousands of people get into a consistent workout routine and see incredible results.
Most of our members come from a background of fitness inconsistency and a lack of motivation before joining DSC.
So what changed? What about DSC has allowed them to stay motivated and on track?
My number one answer would be progress.
Author and world-renown motivational speaker Tony Robins once said that progress is the key to happiness. I would take that one step further and say that progress is the key to motivation.
What we see time and time again is that members come to DSC and immediately start to see progress. Each workout they are improving their technique, moving at a little faster pace, getting stronger, and doing more. This drives motivation through the roof!
You see, after years of a lack of results they are finally seeing and feeling progress and that they are moving in the right direction.
This sense of progress is a KEY ingredient in keeping you on track, consistent and motivated. It's also what adds up to INCREDIBLE RESULTS!
Here's how to focus on progress:
Seek exercise that allows you to see progress. Avoid doing the same old boring routine.
Progress can be tracked from workout to workout, week to week and month to month. You can see progress in a variety of ways like:
- Improving your distance or pace on a walk or run
- Completing more repetitions during an exercise
- Using a heavier weight on a particular exercise
- Improving your workout intensity
- Holding that plank a bit longer
- Increasing your workout frequency
It all adds up! Progress = RESULTS!
5| No workout structure
We know how hard it can be to get into shape on your own.
We know the struggles and frustration our members faced before joining our program. We know how hard it can be to overcome your fear in starting and how easy it can be to quit. We know how hard it can be to stay self-motivated.
This is why we've changed the gym experience forever.
Without workout structure, you're stuck wondering what to do. Frustration kicks in. Boredom kicks in. And you're left seeing no progress, no results and you quit.
Sound familiar?
It's time to build structure around your workouts. It's time to have a plan. It's time to waste less time thinking and spend more time crushing your goals.
Here at DSC, we do it for you!
We know how hard it is to get into the best shape of your life and stay both committed and motivated.
That's why when you walk into DSC or join our DSC STRONG Online Program your workouts are created for you and our coaches are here to walk you through every step of the way!