Short term training gains
When you start back training or start a training program for the first time there are fast initial gains. These initial goals may last for weeks to months.
Then what may follow is a period where your results slow down or stop. This is a lull period that causes many people to stop training.
What's really happening here is that based on your training and nutrition program you maximized the results.
Continuing gains
In order to continue creating more gains your going to need to improve something in your training or nutrition plan to continue making results.
This might mean changing parts of your program such as training splits, exercises, sets and reps.
It may also mean analysing your nutrition plan to ensure that your nutrition plan is adequate for recovery.
Training programs
If you have ever heard the saying that your only as strong as your weakest link then it's important to look at your program constantly in order to ensure there are no weaknesses.
In a bodybuilding or powerlifting style program you will always need to ensure that each body part or plane of movement is strong in order to be sure that your main lifts are strong.
I have always focused on three main lifts in my program much like a power lifter and then built my programs around those 3 main lifts. Obviously in powerlifting, Bench Press, Squats and Deadlift are the 3 main exercises.
From those 3 exercise you can add your rows, overhead presses, pull ups and variety of other presses to hit chest, and shoulders.
Finally I add pulldowns, biceps, triceps and shoulder excerises to hit different parts of muscle groups.
Not enough Compounds
The problem with the many training programs that people create is that there are too many smaller exercises and not enough compound movements.
Every workout should work from 2 to 3 compound movements and then 3 to 5 isolation movements. The focus of the programs should always be the compounds and the isolation movements are added to eliminate weaknesses that may affect the compound movements or from a bodybuilding perspective hitting parts of a muscle that complete the physique.
Never forget your compound movements or and the need to progress in these compound movements.
Nutrition problems
There are a few different food problems that can prevent progress. Or create false progress.
Overeating
Overeating, without focussing on getting enough quality protein. Many beginners load up on calories with getting enough good quality protein, fish and chips, pizza, McDonald's, KFC, Burger King etc.
A lot of people focus on the scales and adding weight without focusing on what is being gained. This type of overeating can end up in fat gains but not always muscle gains.
Nutrition programs should be focused on quality protein and sufficient calories to add muscle without adding too many calories and adding excess bodyfat. Quality calories for quality gains.
Undereating
Many beginners can be prone to undereating and especially protein. Many times they may add a protein supplement but neglect eating protein from meat sources or other sources at other meals and they may also undereat on calories as well.
With undereaters it's important to make sure that these people find a way to eat enough calories. Their lifestyle may be busy and they may forget eating or eat on the run. Being prepared with meals or finding quality food on the run is important.
Consistency and momentum
Once you have created a quality training program and your eating quality food you then need to put quality training sessions together for the long term
When we talk about quality training sessions, we mean months and years of training consistently with consistent progress in training loads and updated programs as needed.
If you adhere to continually increasing loads and making adjustments to your program to fix weaknesses there are pay off stages in your program that can be rewarding and these rewards enforce the reason why we train.
Challenges and Transformations
Many people complete training challenges and get some good changes but the long term transformations in peoples bodies are not reached in 12 weeks but more like 12 months or 12 years.
The one thing I've noticed with my own training over the years is that after 3 to 4 months of consistent training I start to realise some of my best gains. All the training that I had been doing for the last 3 to 4 months has now lead to an explosion in muscle gains and many times sudden increases in strength.
I do believe that muscle gains lag behind strength gains. Your body adapts to training first by adapting neurally which lead to strength gains which then leads to muscle gains.
These muscle gains then lead to further strength gains and this is where the real rewards happen. This is where the progress starts to show.
These changes happen over months to years but they don't get realised without putting a minimum of several months of training together.
Transformations come from long term momentum in training and this momentum does not occur without long term consistency.
Training quick fixes never match long term consistent training and sound nutritional concepts.
Always look at the long term.
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