Most women want to lose fat and tone their bodies but they never truly understand how to exercise effectively in order to experience these types of results.

As a nutrition coach, I see women working out and spinning their wheels all the time. No matter what they do they think it’s not enough. They continue to do more and more, and the results become less and less.

So why does this happen when you’re working out almost every day?? Why is your body not changing?

Here are 4 reasons you may not be seeing results from your workouts…

1. You’ve been exercising for the fun of it rather than having a training plan in place.
   
   
   There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting movement every day and feeling good about that. If you’re hoping to change the shape of your body you have to challenge yourself.
   
   Lifting the same amount of weight and doing the same basic moves every workout, is like setting your muscles to autopilot. If nothing changes, nothing changes.
   
   
   Your muscles need progressive overload to take shape. Consider journaling your workouts and writing down your weights and reps. Challenge yourself with small progressive changes each workout. Keep a record of this to see the improvements that you’re making along the way.
   
   
   Examples of ways to challenge yourself; increase weights, increase reps, add an extra set if possible, reduce resting time, incorporate tempo training, add pauses to the top or bottom of a movement, or slow down a movement.
   
   

2. You’re doing too much cardio and you don’t prioritize weight training. 
   
   Cardio does not shape your body–lifting weights shapes your body.
   
   I enjoy a Peloton spin class just as much as you do, but these classes aren’t what change the shape of my body. Cardio is great for your heart health and for fat burning. If you want to tone up you’re going to need to incorporate progressive strength training with specific goals and a simple strategy.
   
   Too much cardio can also break down the muscle that you do have. Be sure you’re protecting that muscle with proper nutrition, weight training and just enough cardio, but not too much. To experience effective fat loss with improved muscle definition at peak performance,  this is what is typically recommended each week. Only do 1-2 days of cardio, 3-5 days of strength training, and walking 10,000 steps a day. Don’t believe me…try it-I dare you 🙂
   
   

3. You’re relying on exercise to make changes without changing your nutrition.
   
   Nutrition is king–you absolutely can not out exercise a poor diet. READ THAT AGAIN.
   
   The biggest mistakes I see women make with nutrition is this. They eat an overly processed (frozen meals, premade shakes, “health” bars, etc) or super low calorie/low carb diet Monday-Thursday. The weekend comes around and then they go off the rails. Or they commit to a 6-8 Week Quick Fix Diet and then go right back to their old ways. These strategies are not effective. Aiming for an 80/20 lifestyle is ideal. Eating REAL whole food nutrition 80% of the time with fun foods the other 20% of the time. In addition to following an effective training routine, will help you to yield amazing results that are sustainable long term! 
   
   

4. You are over-exercising and not giving your body adequate time to rest.
   
   
   You know the drill…no pain, no gain. Right?? WRONG! Your body takes shape when it recovers. This is why rest is just as important as the actual workouts you are doing. When you workout you are essentially breaking down your muscle tissue so that it can grow.
   
   If you’re constantly breaking down tissue and stressing your body by over training, when do you think your body has the time for change? Much less the energy, to actually make the changes you’re hoping to see? Most people need at least 1-2 rest days a week. At minimum we need 7-9 hours of sleep each night to recover from day to day stress and exercise. Don’t feel guilty about taking this time. Life can be hard. Workouts can be hard. You know when your body is tired. Listen to it when it needs rest.
   
   
   Adequate Rest = Effective Exercise!
   
   

If you’re committed to exercise, there’s nothing more frustrating than not seeing much progress from all your hard work. I hope you found these tips to be helpful and I hope you’re also feeling motivated to make the changes. These changes are what you need to make to get the most out of your workouts! Check out this blog post on resetting your metabolism too!

Want to know more about how to pair simple nutrition strategies with effective exercise for YOUR body?

True fat loss and body composition changes come from having a clear and balanced plan of action. This action should be specific to YOUR needs. I would love an opportunity to talk with you about your personal goals. What changes can start making to progress forward?

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