I'm sure most of you have taken a plane before. And you've probably paid for that flight.
Sometimes you time it right and book during a seat sale. And other times you need to get somewhere and end up paying more than you'd like. And definitely more than what others are paying for the same flight.
Back when I was in grad school my brother was working off-shore off India. He became sick and I ended getting on a plane to help him back home to Canada.
Since the amount of time from we when learned he was sick to the time time it was decided I would go get him no more than a few days passed.
So I showed up at the airport and bought my ticket on the spot to leave on the next available flight. This is not the way to travel on a budget.
Even though I was sitting beside someone travelling the exact same route as me we experienced vastly different financial 'pain' to make that trip. Even though the result was the same our investment in that trip was totally different.
And this is very similar to the experiences many people have when they work out in the gym.
Some people plan ahead and have a purpose in mind and get tremendous results from their efforts in the gym.
Others do not plan anything out and are not sure of their purpose. These people get minimal, slow results from training.
Below are 5 keys that account for achieving great or marginal results.
Reason #1 Some Get Better Results - Plan
It's really hard to make effective use of your time in the gym when you don't have a very clear idea of what you're going to do that day in the gym.
What exercises are you doing? How many sets? How many reps? What loads will you use? How much rest should you take? What order should you do them in? What exercise should you partner this with? What is an appropriate substitution should you need to modify your plan at the last moment?
Knowing the answers to these will determine what kind of results you get.
Reason #2 Some Get Better Results - Warm-Up
There are two types of people when it comes to warming up. Those who perform a general warm-up, a dynamic warm-up, some mobility drills, a few activations and a number of lighter loads before getting to the working sets.
And then there are those who grab the dowel and put it across their shoulders for a few torso twists. This is followed by loading the first plate on the bar or machine and performing the first set.
These two groups will get vastly different results.
Reason #3 Some Get Better Results - Fuel
Some people still don't eat before their workouts. Some don't fuel themselves during their workouts. And lastly some don't replenish their energy stores and begin their recovery process with a post-workout shake.
This is probably the easiest and most under utilized tip that most omit. By simply putting a little more attention to this aspect of the plan the results would increase.
Reason #4 Some Get Better Results - Too Long
A colleague referred to workouts as being of being of two types. They can be long or they can be intense. But they can't be both.
And I think he's right. Consider the following...
How long could you sprint for? I mean all-out, sprint for your life. 20 seconds? 40 seconds? Maybe a minute?
But how many people will run for an hour, or more, at the gym?
You see more people opting for long rather than hard and they miss out on having the best results.
Reason #5 Some Get Better Results - Variation
We are creatures of habit. We get into our routines and we feel stress when there is a change to the pattern.
Our bodies work to maintain homeostasis or an internal balance. Things such as a pH of 7.4, a temperature of 37 C or a plasma sodium concentration of 140 nM are all meant to stay fairly constant.
We expend energy to return to normal after we have exited this balance momentarily. If we constantly do the same exact workout our bodies become very good at recognizing the stimulus and thus less energy is required to return to normal.
In other words lessor gains are achieved.
Summary
Just as everyone pays differently on a plane to reach the same destination we can actually pay less and get their quicker and with less strain.
You could fly coach from Vancouver to London. Or you could get on a private jet and get there in less time with less stress.
Unfortunately, most are opting for the first option.
In the comments section let me know if you want to get 'upgraded' and I can set this up for you.
Chris okanaganpeakperformance.com 'always moving forward'