Times of India
22 July 2008

If yes, read on to find out the most common reasons why your workout may not be giving you the desired results

You Stick To The
Same Workout
You want to build biceps like Hrithik Roshan and dream of rolling up your sleeves to show off your hard work at the machines. Having done that a few times, you are now hit by the boredom of routine. You need to change your exercises. Make sure you change your programme after four to six weeks. Or else, the body stops responding after hitting a plateau. Mix your workouts with cross training or cycling. Break the monotony with kickboxing once a week.

You Copy Other
Experienced Members
You enter the gym and look out for that muscular guy who has been a pro at it. You know that the women are impressed with his ultra toned body; and soon you try to ape everything he does. The problem with this is that you might land yourself with poor results, or even worse, with an injury. Read up and consult your trainer to decide what’s best for you. Remember that the ‘Muscle man’ in the gym has taken time to build up his physique. There aren’t any short cuts to it.

You Use The Gym To
Socialise
You enter the gym, dressed in your new gym gear and the first thing you do is crib to your trainer how difficult was it to get up at 4.30 am. Then, you start checking out members of the opposite sex working out and try to figure out if you should walk up to them and strike a conversation. You check out the sauna and visit the juice bar to get a low calorie bite. But the problem is that in the process, you don’t work out. The gym is meant to burn calories, not to catch up on the grapevine gossip.

You Always Train On
Your Own
A single minded focus for a work-out is great. But that’s not everything. Sometimes it helps having a partner to encourage you while working out. It can motivate you and lead to a much better workout. An ideal partner would be someone who’s got the same goals, strength and fitness levels as yours.

You Cannot Stand A
Bad Session
You may be the most motivated gym-goer and have been able to stick to your exercise regime till date. However, one bad workout and your motivation hits an all-time low. Don’t forget that everyone goes through a bad workout phase where your body is just not ready to stress itself. Don’t be too hard on yourself as the negative feeling fizzles off the motivation for the next few days.

You Think A Tired Brain
Means A Tired Body
You had a tough day at the office and everything went wrong. The internet connection was slower than a turtle and the boss’ mood was no good either. Everything at work might have left you tired and stressed but what you don’t realise is that the tiredness is in your mind and not in your body. The day has been mentally tiring, nothing more than that. Don’t ignore your workout because of that. In fact, it is all the more reason why you must go for a workout. Exercising releases hormones that help you deal with stress better.

You Always Stick To
The Machines
A time comes when your body reaches a plateau and the results on the weighing scale are far from encouraging. This is because even though you are targeting a particular muscle, there’s not much being done for the supporting stabilising muscles. The best way to work on them is to replace machines with dumbbells because their movement is not restricted.

You Don’t Rest Enough
Between Sets
You have an important meeting to attend and hence you cram your 45-minute workout into 30 minutes by compromising on the time when you should rest between training sets. This can sabotage your workout as your recovery time is as important as the workout itself. When you rest for too short a time, you don’t let your muscles recover and hence, you don’t benefit from the workout.