Any Change is accompanied by drawbacks and discomfort

Rant and Tip for July 12, 2012

Quote: “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” Unknown

Many people have contacted me over the past couple years with questions regarding a stall in their weight loss or how to set up a training program for themselves. The quote above comes to mind when this happens.

In regards to your diet there will be stalls, plateaus, and moments of discomfort while others with gifted metabolism happily go along eating whatever they want. However the changes you are making now are for the better and you have to be willing to go through the drawbacks and discomforts that come with the new territory. Sometimes when you are working out while losing body fat you weight loss is not really at a stall at all. You are losing fat and gaining muscle. This is a blessing, because the more muscle you put on the more calories you burn when you are at rest.

Now let’s touch base on your strength training and how the quote will apply. First off I will talk about the obvious, delayed onset muscle soreness, when you work out hard this is going to happen. As I sit here right now my back has a severe case of it going on. My upper, middle and lower trapezius muscles are screaming. Yesterday my training partner and I worked our backs and went heavy for low reps. The DOMs I feel today was expected but to be honest I expected it more tomorrow. This just tells me that tomorrow will be even worse. This brings me to the person just beginning a training program, someone who may not have worked out in the past few years. This person has to be very careful not to overdo to the point they are in too much pain to continue the program. I have heard it before and am sure I will hear it again how a person got a severe case of DOMs and could not walk for days. They gave up exercising because it hurt too much and felt it was not for them. I assure you exercise is for everyone and the beginner just need to start slowly. Drawbacks are to be expected as well. You can expect them from over training, under eating, and from lack of sleep. Now some people think you cannot over train, but you can under sleep for the training you are doing. This is a John Parrillo concept and actually makes sense to me. If you can actually let your body rest enough, then it will heal properly. However train really hard and not get the sleep and rest the body needs will be detrimental to your gains in strength and size.

So train smart, get your sleep and be sure to fuel the body for the exercise you are performing.

Have a great workout!

Tip: If you are going to do it, do it right. Proper form is important if you want to achieve the results you want. My training partner and I were working out at a local gym and this kid was attempting cable crossovers.  This is a great chest exercise if done properly. However this young man was not doing them properly. He was not crossing his arms in front of his chest. He was bringing them down in front of his waist. I told him where he should be pulling and he immediately felt the difference. He stated “Now it is harder”, My workout partner laughed and said “ I hate when he does that” If you are attempting a new exercise be sure to look up the proper form so you do not hurt yourself and can hit the muscle the way you want and need.