Fortunately, I’ve met a lot a nice people at the gym. For the most part, everyone takes their workouts pretty seriously and there’s not a ton of chatter. Most people are hard at work sweating it out and making the time that they have count.
Unfortunately, I’ve also noticed several of the same people on the same treadmills and elliptical machines doing the same thing every day and always looking exactly the SAME!? What gives? These people are taking time out of their busy day to come workout, but there’s never a real noticeable difference in their appearance. After many months of monitoring this, I’ve come to the one conclusion that I know is true…it’s their diets!
Yes, you should be working out...yes, you should be sweating...and yes, it’s great that you’re motivated enough to actually make it to the gym and put in the hard work! But, why make it harder on yourself by not eating healthy (clean, non-processed foods & NO sugar) all the time?
Who wants to waste time dogging it out on a treadmill every single day with no real results? Don’t keep doing the same old thing by eating cruddy and then trying to make up for it with cardio. If you eat clean, that’s 80% of the battle right there! The next 20% can be spent on weight training.
In a recent study from the University of Southern Maine, it showed that weight training offered more bang for your buck in the calorie-burning department than cardio. Participants burned as many calories in 30 minutes of weight training as they did going for a 30-minute run at a lightening fast six-minute-per-mile pace. So, if you're looking to burn calories, weight training is your best bet!
If you want to look the same…do the same. If you want to look different, then do something different…EAT CLEAN & LIFT WEIGHTS! J
well said Gwen!!! and i am sometimes guilty of that. Weekends are hard for me foodwise - only coz i'm weak minded when i don't have my weekly routine to follow. Only myself to blame! your post is food for thought hehehehe !!!
ReplyDeleteI saw this with my husband who trained fornyears without changing his diet,nonce he changed his diet, his body changed.
ReplyDeleteIn worked at a gym as a trainer for years and saw the same thing.
It's true! All the hard work with no results equals serious frustration and depression.
ReplyDeleteGreat reminder to keep feeding our bodies the right stuff.
xoxo
Roxie-Girl
Hey Gwen, a question ..... i see a lot of girls train for a comp and their comp photos and they look fantastic then a short while later they look as though they havent trained for ages - no shape or definition. Their diets seem to be ok - nothing as strict as pre comp, though. My question is this .... how do you look so toned and defined in all your pics (I'm assuming you look like that all the time). Do you keep your body fat down all the time and are strict with your diet 24/7/365 ??? Someone told me once that when you bodybuild you dont always look buff, just athletic looking. You always look buff (love your arm definition) - whats your secret???
ReplyDeleteps how's the new job going?
cheers, Amanda
Amanda - I have seen and talked to bb competitors that are very strict with their diets leading up to their shows, then go right back to eating "bad" afterwards and repeat that cycle. I eat and train like this all the time because I know how I am...I would talk myself into cheat foods again and again. I don't want that to become a habit again. It's just easier for me to keep eating the way that I've done for 2.5 years now. There are a few special occasions that I might have desert, but rarely.
ReplyDeleteThanks for liking my arms...lateral raises, girl! They're the best!
I love my new job...thanks for asking.
Take care! :)
thanks gwen for answering - you are amazing to keep eating that way. unfortunately i have loads of temptations - both food and locations - that my kids put me into all the time and my willpower just isnt that strong all the time. i really should adopt your approach. if i deviate just a tiny bit i just blow out heaps so i think i'll change my eating habits like you - just dont give mysef the option!!! thanks gwen
ReplyDeleteI wanna jump in on this in regards to Amanda's question...
ReplyDeleteBefore I competed I followed the Eat Clean diet, although I'm not 100% committed like Gwen... More like 95% (I have refined sugar on occasion as well as alcohol.) But I noticed that same thing you said Amanda - that these ladies look like they have never seen a gym in the off season. And I think Gwen hit the nail on the head.
I know when I started my competition prep it just didn't seem all that difficult making the change over - I just had to measure my food a bit more precisely and certain things would get taken away to get super lean. And ever since my competition it's been easy to keep my body fat low & my figure tight because I just went right back to good ol' Clean Eating & never stopped lifting heavy!