Five reasons why you’re not getting the results you expect from your exercise routine

You’ve been working out hard (or so you thought) to get in shape and fit.

Yet, you still are not achieving the results you want of becoming stronger, faster, or reaching a healthier weight. What’s going on? Take a step back, be honest, and take a look at five possible reasons why you do not see the gym results you are after and how to change that:

1. You’re exercise routine is often hit and miss

Ask any physically fit person, and they will tell you a secret to get in better shape, you must exercise consistently most days of the week. No working out five days a week, and then taking the next three weeks off. Exercise has to be a routine priority.  No more excuses. Only in the direst of situations should you allow yourself time off. Then, your body will thank you and be in the best shape of your life.

2. You’re not working as hard as you think

Anyone who is a beginner at working out should ease into exercise. But if after six months or more and you are still walking three days a week for 30 minutes at a 3-mile-per-hour pace, which is what you started out doing, to begin with, you have not pushed yourself enough. Once your body gets used to a certain routine, you must pick up the pace to challenge your muscles or mobilize fat. Push yourself gradually but steadily to where you are working out an extra day or two and a little longer, faster, and more intensely than you have been. That’s when you will begin to transform your body by losing weight and firming up, building muscle in areas that need it.

3. You’re rewarding yourself with food

After a tough, productive workout, you only want to reward yourself with food. But wait. You’ve worked too hard and too long to simply indulge in a high-calorie food that will only replenish all the calories you just burned. Instead of rewarding yourself with something edible, how about rewarding yourself with something intangible? Something that comes from within. It might be the feeling of self-satisfaction, pride, self-confidence, or basking in the glorious feeling of the physical activity endorphin rush.  

It’s not to say you can’t have some food after a workout. On the contrary, foods filled with valuable nutrients, such as a banana with nuts, hummus and veggies, or yogurt with frozen berries, are great. But don’t think of it as you’ve “earned it.” Rather, you’re allowed it. You’ve worked too hard to fuel your body with high-calorie foods loaded with sugar or unhealthy fats. Instead, feed it what you need and what your body wants.  

4. You need to mix it up more

If you started running to get in shape and many months later, running is still the only thing you do for exercise, you are spinning your wheels in a physical activity rut. To get and see better results, mix up your exercise routine. Your body loves and welcomes new stimuli. From your heart to your glutes, a change of pace will set you on the right path to seeing better results. Ensure you incorporate the four parts of a well-rounded fitness routine – aerobic, muscle strength and muscle endurance, flexibility, and weight training. When you do this, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you notice the difference.

5. Learn to accept what you can’t change

One of the hardest things to accept is to know what you can and simply can’t do or change physically. Set reasonable expectations. If you know, that, as a man other male family members get beer bellys by the time they reach forty, you may very well also. But that doesn’t mean you can’t strengthen and tighten your core abdominal muscles to prevent that spare tire look. Or, if you naturally have a stocky frame, you may never achieve a long, lean look, but you will likely have a well-proportioned, healthy athletic build. Once you accept that, you will stop fighting your body to be something it can’t be. That is when you can focus instead on being the best you possible.   

Dr. David Samadi is the Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital in Long Island. He’s a renowned and highly successful board certified Urologic Oncologist Expert and Robotic Surgeon in New York City, regarded as one of the leading prostate surgeons in the U.S., with a vast expertise in prostate cancer treatment and Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy.  Dr. Samadi is a medical contributor to NewsMax TV and is also the author of The Ultimate MANual, Dr. Samadi’s Guide to Men’s Health and Wellness, available online both on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Visit Dr. Samadi’s websites at robotic oncology and prostate cancer 911.