If January, time of the new years resolution, and this year you're going to do it. So, you get the gym membership, measure the body fat - and you're all hyped and rearing to go. It's time for the fat to go, and the muscle to form
Every morning (or evening) you dutifully haul your behind to the gym, working up a sweat on the circuit or in the spinning class and you walk out of there feeling great. You measure your portions, drink your shakes and avoid the temptation of the Chocolate Gateau at your weekly coffee date with your best mate. In short - it's going brilliantly. And it goes really well in week two and three. It even lasts well into week five.
Come week six, you've had a lousy day at the office - your hard drive crashed, you've lost everything and the IT support guy will only get to you sometime next week. You've got the worst case of PMS blues you've had in years. Oops - the workout today will have to wait - you just can't face that too.
And tomorrow, the workout gets shunted again because your best friend's called, she's getting a divorce and you need to be the shoulder to cry on - after you've popped into the local bakery to get some really decadent chocolate croissants on the way over to her place. Feeling a little guilty, you promise yourself that you'll get to the gym next week Monday - this week's over and done with and it's better to start fresh.
Next week Monday rolls around and this week is worse than the last ... so you'll get to the gym next week ... You can see the cycle by now.
So what happened?
It was Einstein who said that it takes a lot of energy to get a stationary body moving. And in the beginning, you invested that energy to get your body moving. You were fired up and raring to go. It was fun and exciting because it was something new. But just like gravity will eventually bring everything back down to earth, the reality of expending all that energy on a daily basis can wear you down and bring you back down to earth with a bump. The alternative is that something or someone else brings you to an abrupt standstill. And you just can't quite seem to work up the energy needed to get yourself moving again.
Don't feel despondent - we all have those days. There is a way to get over this little hurdle.
"Little hurdle? Little?!? It's a huge problem!" - is usually the first reaction I get to that statement. "I've fallen off the bus, I've blown it" is a close second. Here's the secret - you've only stumbled; it's only a minor setback.
The Art Of Bodybuilding
It doesn't mean it serves younger guys, but its just that they don't notice it as much. They're so fired up rushing around trying to get ahead in as many ways as they can that they don't notice the harm that heavy weight lifting does to them.
However, when you get that little bit older, and the dust starts to settle, you simply know it. You feel it in your body. Weight lifting just places too much stress on joints and muscles than your body is happy with. Sure they say "No pain, no gain." But that's just bravado. If you're experiencing pain in the gym, then this is likely to be the cycle. Train with weight lifting in gym, experience pain in joints and muscles, persist, pain subsides only to return later that night or else next morning.
Instead of looking like the guy with the silver hair on the cover of the fitness magazine, you look and feel more like the hunchback of Notre Dame, as your muscles are tightened and shortened all over the place. Talk about being out of balance. Okay, so you take a few days off to recover as the pain eases.
Then you repeat the cycle. What normally happens is that older guys go through this a few times, and realise that heavy weight lifting isn't doing "what it says on the tin". What happens next is that the "penny drops" and they decide that the pain simply isn't worth the pleasure, and quit training altogether. Or, if they're lucky they discover bodyweight exercises.
Bodyweight exercises are the increasingly popular commonsense alternative to the punishment that results from heavy weight lifting, and comprise of simple sequences of movements that combine to strengthen, stretch and align your body while developing phenomenal strength, stamina and the prerequiste of a truly successful training program, a muscular and defined mid-section.
By training with bodyweight exercises, you work with your body, and the force of gravity to build real strength and stamina in your muscles, avoiding the extreme joint and muscle stresses caused by weight lifting. Each and every one of the exercises in the bodyweight exercise stable works multiple muscle groups simultaneously enhancing abdominal strength and overall cardiovascular conditioning.
Consider it the "golf" or "tai chi" or bodybuilding in that its something that you will benefit from and enjoy practising for your whole life, not just until you're 30!
Both Gerard Korsten & Stevey Mcgeown are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Gerard Korsten has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Bodybuilding Supplements and Finances. Gerard runs the website where he explores methods of staying motivated and using. Gerard Korsten's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.
Stevey Mcgeown has sinced written about articles on various topics from Body Building, Build Muscle and Body Building. If you're interested in becoming stronger, leaner and fitter than ever before, then go to and sign up for Stevey's FREE Tips on Bodyw. Stevey Mcgeown's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
Bee Wax Ear Candle This material helps the thread to pass through the tough material smoothly
