You must have heard this many times: I am heading for a beach vacation in a few days, so I need to hit the gym to get in shape. Or I just started an amazing exercise routine and by next month this time I am going to be in amazing shape. Have you ever noticed how often fitness results work out exactly the way they think it will?
Starting a new health and fitness journey can be overly exciting, especially when you are really committed to it. We all tend to get a bit impatient when we do not see any weight loss or muscle definition within the first week and easily get disheartened and give up. Many of us also think that the speedy approach will get us to our fitness goal fast. But how long does it take to transform our physique? And more importantly, what is the right way to go about it? Let us be real though, noticeable changes do not happen overnight, and it takes time. Let us start by breaking down a few common goals, check where most go wrong and follow some simple tips for success.
Fat Loss
In a human body, weight loss or, more specifically, fat loss, is not instantaneous. In fact, everything from our endocrine to our neurological system receives and sends signals to adapt to every change in your diet and exercise routine.
People often tend to take drastic measures like cutting calories per day by reducing daily food intake along with a rigorous workout at the gym. This however stresses the body, shocking it to create adaptions that do more harm than good. Your body may lose weight fast in short term but as soon as you go back to eating normally you tend to put on even more weight than you did before, not the fitness results you want.
To add to it, the psychological effect of depriving yourself of your required food intake and/or over-exercising to lose weight fast does not let you keep weight off over the long term as your cravings tend to overtake over a period of time.
Strength & Muscle
When you want to improve your strength and increase muscle, low-calorie diets tend to decrease your body’s ability to create new, metabolically active muscle. It also reduces your overall energy levels making your workouts feel harder.
It is important to remember that your muscles do not get stronger or faster during your workouts. You get fitter in the hours and days in between your training sessions as your muscles repair and adapt to the stimulus. If you go from doing nothing to training five to six times per week, you are not going to give your body the time to recover appropriately.
Therefore, you are not going to see the fitness results you were expecting, which can be frustrating and could lead to the onset of depression.
How Long Should It Take?
A quick answer to this question is around three months of eating clean or rather eating whole foods that have been cooked from scratch coupled with consistent, intelligent training and recovery. This can transform your strength, fitness, and physique.
However, the results will vary according to the type of individual. The more unfit and out of shape you are, the more profound the results will be in three months. The fitter and stronger you get, the more difficult it becomes to make the same “gains”.
Here are some changes you should make to your routine to transform your health, fitness, and physique safely and efficiently to get the fitness results you want.
1. Eat clean
What better way to eat clean than to cook for yourself from scratch, with fresh ingredients? This means you will cook and eat fresh food with complete control, knowing that there are no hidden added sugars or salt that you are unaware of in your food. This will rebalance your hunger hormones, stabilise your energy levels and nourish the body as it requires.
2. Fuel your body
Listen to your body and use food as your fuel. Paying attention to your hunger cues and filling up with whole, minimally processed foods will help you consume more filling fibre, prevent excess insulin secretion and fat storage. This can help you reach both your fat loss and muscle gain goals.
3. Increase strength training
Traditional steady-state cardio is simply aerobic exercise performed at a steady pace for an extended period. However, prioritise strength training workouts over steady-state cardio as strength training workouts tend to increase your caloric burn even when you are resting for up to 72 hours after your workout. It also helps to build metabolism-revving, performance-driving muscle.
4. Make time for recovery after your workouts
Rest and recovery are an essential part of any workout routine. Your after-exercise recovery routine has a big impact on your fitness gains, allowing you to train much more effectively. Mix up your workouts and their intensity to allow your body to recover. Give yourself at least two full rest days per week and do not intensely train the same muscle group or energy system twice within a three-day period.
Finally, your mind is a powerful thing! If you want to change your lifestyle to make it a way of life, then you need to do it for the right reasons. If you start a routine with a negative mindset, approach your training as if you are punishing yourself because you hate the way you look, then it will never last. To make working out a routine process and enjoy it you must approach training with a positive mindset and love yourself which will lead you to other positive things like eating right and achieving total peace of mind.
