Learn 5 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight At The Gym

You hit the gym three, maybe four times a week, think you work hard and eat kind of healthily, so weight loss should surely be a given.

We've all seen the ads on TV – “do so and so workout and get in the shape of your life,” or “buy x,y,z program and achieve your best body in 12 weeks.” Doctors recommend regular exercise for losing weight, and there are so many personal trainers and fitness instructors making a living from teaching people how to train, exercise must be the way to weight loss?

If you’re not getting results and losing weight, chances are you’re making one of these five classic weight loss mistakes at the gym.

1. You Attend the Gym, But You Don’t Train

How many times do you leave the gym with sweat pouring from every inch of skin? When was the last time you felt slightly sick during your workout? And how do you walk back out to your car after your session?

If your answers to these questions were –
- never, my first session, and “in a fresh, spritely manner” then you’re just not working hard enough.

Just swiping your membership card at the entrance doors, chatting with the attractive receptionist, spending 20 minutes checking your hair in the locker room, then reading a magazine while you train doesn’t cut it. You actually need to put the effort in.

2. You’re Following the Wrong Program

Who designed your workout?

Did you pick it out of a magazine, or learn it from a friend? Maybe it was just something you jumbled together? Perhaps a trainer designed it for you – but was it constructed specifically with you in mind, or was it a carbon copy workout they give all their clients?

These details matter – if your program wasn't designed with you and your goals in mind, you’ll get nowhere pretty fast.

3. You Replace All Your Calories

Losing weight isn’t just about calories in versus calories out, but that is the main consideration. People typically grossly overestimate the number of calories burned at the gym. Even a hard hour long session will only burn 600 to 800 calories – about the same as in a McDonald’s double angus with cheddar burger, and that’s without the fries, shake and onion rings.

If you think that you can go to the gym, eat what you like and still lose weight, you need to reassess.

4. You Don’t Have Any Goals

Goal setting is crucial to your success.

If you’re not pushing yourself to work harder each and every workout, how can you really be sure you’re training to your full potential? If you train the same, you stay the same.

5. All Your Focus is on Cardio

This links in nicely with not having a plan, but cardio seems to be most people’s go to choice for weight loss exercise.

Sure, you’ll burn a few calories on the elliptical or by pounding the treadmill for half an hour, but in reality you’re just going through the motions and not really putting much effort in. Plus, cardio isn’t quite as good for weight loss as you might think.

How To Avoid These 5 Progress-Killing Mistakes

1. Give Every Workout Your 100%

When you leave the gym, you should do so with a sense of pride.

There’s nothing like that feeling of euphoria after a hard workout, knowing you've pushed yourself near your physical and mental limits, but come out the other side a fitter, stronger, leaner person.

This isn't saying you need to puke every workout or take yourself to the brink of collapse, but you should finish each session sweating, feeling slightly shaky, possibly even a little light headed or queasy from time to time. Sitting down in the changing room afterwards shouldn't be optional – if you can still stand up, hold a conversation normally and look like you've just spent the last 40 minutes watching a movie rather than training, it’s time to crank things up a gear.

2. Get a Program Designed Specifically For You

Look around at the trainers in the gym. Which one of them has the most in-shape clients? Go up to him or her and ask them about their methods and how they train clients.

If cash is tight, you needn't sign up to a block of sessions, and if that’s all they’re interested in selling you, walk away. But a good trainer who wants to help people should be more than willing to help design a program tailored exactly to your goals. Make sure they sit down with you, ask plenty of questions, listen to your responses and explain their program-making decisions.

If this is out of your budget, download an e-book centered around your goals. There are plenty of great, affordable e-books for all goals relating to weight loss and burning fat. Follow the program to the letter and keep detailed notes on your results.

3. Get Your Diet Sorted

Establish some basic rules:

- protein (from chicken, lean beef, pork, fish, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tofu, eggs or a shake) in every meal.
- At least two servings of vegetables and one serving of fruit at each meal.
- Limit high-carb items (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.) to only your post-workout meal.
- Adjust portion sizes so you consistently lose 1 to 2 pounds per week.

It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

4. Make One Goal Per Week

And stick to it.

It could be something as simple as making sure you actually go to the gym three times a week, rather than just saying you will. Or something performance-based, such as setting a new personal best on your squats, or running a mile quicker than you did last session.

5. Pick Weights Over Cardio

Think weight training is all about getting huge? Think again.

Weight training not only builds lean muscle mass, but it burns calories too. By working lots of large muscle groups at once you burn a huge number of calories, not to mention strengthen your joints, tendons and ligaments in the process.

Work your whole body three times per week, lifting weights that are challenging for three to four sets of eight to 12 reps per set. Keep your rest periods to between 60 and 90 seconds between sets and aim to lift a bit heavier every week.

Add cardio second, it’s important, but weight training is where you’ll see your real gains.