Give Your Workout A Chance

For all that I've said about variety and getting new workouts and changing regularly, its still important for you to give "your workout a chance". You need to stick to the workout for at least 3 weeks to give it a fair trial.

One of the problems we see is men and women flippin and a-floppin back and forth between programs, often giving one up for another after only 7-10 days because "they aren't seeing any results".

But listen, no matter what program you are on and no matter what exciting program you just read about or heard that your buddy was on, stick with your current program for at least 3 weeks to see if this type of training will help you.

And just as important, TRACK YOUR TRAINING AND NUTRITION AND RESULTS.

Consider your body as a science experiment (no, not a place to grow mold, but instead an object on which to test new variables).

Each time you change a training program, you are adding new variables. If you don't track your training, your nutrition, and your body composition (i.e. your results), then you'll never be able to "connect the dots" to identify what worked for you.

So bottom line:

a) When you start a new program, stick with it. It takes a couple of weeks (3-4) for the changes in your body to manifest in response to the training stimulus.

b) Record your training program (exercises, sets, reps, cardio methods, energy levels, training time, etc), your nutrition (every meal, protein intake, what makes you cheat, when you are hungry, WHY you are eating (hungry vs. bored), etc. - use fitday.com or a similar service), and your body measurements (circumferences, body fat if possible, weight, strength changes, conditioning changes).

You have no idea how much you can learn from these quantitative and qualitative observations (think back to grade 9 or grade 10 science when you first learned these terms).

Once you start tracking your progress, you'll be able to pick out what works for you. The reasons for your success will be staring you in the face, and then all you need to do is keep repeating what works. Its usually that simple.

c) When you change your program, don't change too many variables at once. That takes the science out of the experiment. For example, in your next training program, go from using a 4 day training split to a 3-day training split, but don't mess too much with the exercises, weights, or reps. Or move from 12 reps per exercise to 8, but don't change too many of the exercises.

If you do this, have patience, and keep track of the 3 basics (training, nutrition, and results), you'll put together a road map/plan for your body that will allow you to live the rest of your life at your desired bodyweight.

If you need a new program, try one of these:

The December 2006 TT 10-Minute Workouts

The January 2007 TT Fat Loss 4-week Workout

The February 2007 TT Unilateral Fat Loss 4-week Workout

Click HERE to download these monthly workouts

As many experts say, "Failing to plan is planning to fail".

Sincerely,
Craig Ballantyne,
Author, Turbulence Training
www.TTmembers.com