9 ways to maximize progress + results from your workouts
1. Have a Bedtime Routine
Just because you laid in bed from 9pm - 5am doesn't mean you got 8 hours of sleep.
You're up more than you consciously realize. Even though you "slept" from 9pm - 5am you probably only slept for 7ish hours. And on top of that, maybe you tossed and turned and didn't get into a deep sleep or REM, so you still feel like a pile of poo and groggy when you wake up.
What you ate and drank, when you exercised, total stress, to-do tasks, your bedtime routine, and your preparation for tomorrow all play a role in how you rest. During sleep, your body is hard at work repairing the stress you placed on it that day.
Sleep like sh*t, and you'll likely feel hungry all day, crave carbs and caffeine, feel a little off, be a little forgetful, and likely not feel up to it to work out or need to cut your workout short.
Not getting enough sleep may increase inflammation, slow recovery, cause adverse changes to digestion and blood sugar regulation, and compromise your ability to lose fat and gain muscle.
Sleep is the easiest and cheapest way to positively influence your health.
2.Eat Enough Protein
Current research suggests that if you're a healthy weight, active, and wish to build muscle, aim for .73 to 1.1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
The leaner the person, the higher the protein intake. So, a 150lb individual would consume 110 - 165 grams of protein daily to support lean muscle tissue. Those with more fat to lose might consider the lower side of the daily intake.
Great protein sources include chicken breast and thighs, eggs, beef, turkey, salmon, tilapia, tofu, shrimp, greek yogurt, etc.
3.Eat Enough Food
Feed the muscle and burn the fat.
Even though we might want to lose weight, we must consider what we need to keep or grow and the activities we wish to do.
Too often, we see people develop diets that work to keep them at a scale weight that "feels" right to them, yet they wonder why they aren't making progress, getting stronger, changing their body composition, and are often more prone to injury and catching the common cold.
Instead of dieting year round or constantly starving the body to hold a scale weight we think is healthy, we must eat enough to support muscle growth, recovery, hormones, and an athletic body.
Most active individuals should eat more than 1,700 calories daily throughout the year to support their health, activity, and wellbeing.
4.Focus on Meal & Food Quality
Before you jump off the ledge and try another diet, check your food quality and meal plan.
BTW, coffee with a bagel is not a meal; neither is a protein bar.
Can you eat a balanced meal that includes protein, vegetables, starch, and/or fruit? Can you sit down and eat a balanced meal uninterrupted or distracted? Can you eat at regular intervals throughout the day? 3-4 meals spaced out or a breakfast, lunch, and dinner schedule?
Meals might look like
Breakfast burrito w/ egg, cheese, bacon, and a bowl of blueberries.
Grains and greens bowl w/ spring greens, rice, chicken, green peas, and a sauce of your choice.
Fish or steak w/ potatoes, vegetables of your choice, salad, and a banana.
5.Drink More Water & Less Alcohol
Our body composition is made up of water, muscle, and fat - new water intake is critical for life.
Yes, the water that makes your coffee counts toward your daily intake. No, coffee should not make up your total water intake.
An easy target to strive for is half of your body weight. So, 150lb person /2 = ounces of water daily; in this case, 75 ounces.
^ Consider adding 10-15 ounces or more for every hour you exercise.
Super sweater? Consider adding electrolytes or salt to your water.
We've seen too much alcohol be the culprit in many diets because of 1, empty calories, 2. poor sleep, which leads to 3. poor recovery, 4. changes in metabolism, 4. hormone levels which leads to the body hanging on to extra weight to support added stress from alcohol.
If the focus is to improve body composition, consider minimizing total alcohol across the week or limiting drinks to one day while increasing overall water intake.
6.Be Active Outside Of The Gym
Spending a few hours a week in the gym is excellent but what we do with the rest of our time is just as important.
While steps may be arbitrary to your fitness goals, walking is a form of movement, an excellent exercise to break up a long seated day, and an activity that promotes blood flow that helps you recover from gym workouts.
If you're stuck slouching over a keyboard for most of the day, consider a step goal to break up the day, change in environment, and increase your total energy expenditure for the day. We recommend starting with 6-8,000 steps daily as a starter.
7.Consistently Lift Heavier
Progressive overload is the name of the game that promotes growth across strength, conditioning, and resilience.
If you don't use a training log of some sort, consider starting now so that you can track the weights you've lifted and celebrate the milestones as you cross them.
A training log will help benchmark exercises and display your strengths and where you may not be pushing hard enough.
Notice we said to push the weights harder, not do more of what you already do, or mention cardio.
Say you goblet squat 55lbs for 10 reps, = 550 lbs lifted. Try doing 60lbs for 8 = 480bs lifted, or 65lbs for 6 = 390 lbs lifted, then overtime, push that 65 for 10 = 650lbs lifted. That's 100 pounds in strength development.
Choose development over more of what you already do.
8.Listen To Your Body
Rest is the secret sauce to moving, looking, and feeling like an athlete at every age.
You can only adapt to what you can recover from.
If you bring effort over everything during your time in the gym, you'll need to rest, feed, hydrate, and sleep to recover. Without rest, you'll continue to dig yourself into a deep recovery debt, and your body won't adapt, perform, or look like you want it to.
Listen to your body. If it says it's tired and wants a low-key workout or sleep, don't feed it a pre-workout supplement.
9.Have A Coach And A Team
Ever heard the saying that you can go fast alone but if you want to go far, go together?
Health and fitness are lifelong pursuits built on the habits that create your identity and life. Having a coach and surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals is the best way to get you where you want to go and live the life you love.
Our ebook, The Everday Athlete Blueprint, goes into greater detail on these topics and is FREE to download at Ambitious Athletics.com. Go download that right now, and then immediately schedule your coaching call so we can help you implement it.
In Conclusion
Health and fitness are lifelong pursuits built on the habits that create our identity and life.
More isn't better; you can't out-train a poor diet, rely on caffeine, have a low-grade sleep routine, and only use high-intensity training.
Keep in mind that progress is not linear, and when you hit a plateau, usually, it's because something mentioned in this post is off.
Our passion and purpose at Ambitious Athletics are to reduce the noise and guide our clients to their goals by eliminating the guesswork while providing structure and education so that they can take what we do in the gym out into life.
Download our Everyday Athlete Blueprint ebook that covers the four elements you must embody to get in great shape, then schedule your coaching call with us.
#lifeisyoursport #beAmbitious
