This is for you if you are feeling unmotivated, burned out, and struggling to get the results you want from your workouts.

It could actually be less about what you’re doing in the gym and more about what you’re doing outside of the gym!

I get it! You’re killing yourself with cardio and working out in the gym most days of the week. But, you still feel like you aren’t making any progress. This is not a fun place to be! Let’s take a look at 5 training mistakes that could be keeping you from the results you want!

Considering these things just might turn things around for you.

Before you throw in the towel on your workout sessions, take a deeper look at your training routine as a whole. There are many factors that impact your workout results, including your routine outside of the gym. So, what are you doing to support your workout efforts and be most effective when you aren’t in the gym? Could this part of your routine be hindering your progress?

Questions to ask yourself…

Have you ever scheduled a week to deload from intense workouts? 

Do you plan days off for yourself each week for rest and recovery, and what do those days look like?

How many hours of sleep do you get on average?

Do you drink caffeine do you drink, and how much and are you hydrating every day with adequate water and electrolytes?

And lastly, what do your meals look like around your workouts?

The common denominator here is RECOVERY! Lack of adequate recovery can make or break your workout progress.

Workouts break down your muscles and deplete their energy stores. So if you want your workouts to actually work, you have to prioritize specific recovery efforts as part of your training routine.

Proper recovery actually drives your results and performance. So, when you schedule rest between workouts, how much you rest, what you eat and drink, and your sleep patterns, should all be considered as part of your training routine.

The Progress From Your Workouts That You’re Looking For Isn’t Made During Your Cardio & Strength Training Sessions, It’s Made in Your Recovery Efforts. 

I’m sure you hear a lot of industry experts say this, but seriously, read that again. Let it sink in for a minute.

Your workout routine is only part of the equation. In other words, if your recovery game isn’t as strong as your training game, it shouldn’t be a surprise that you’re hitting a hard plateau and burning yourself out. 

So before you go engage in yet another grueling workout, despite your obvious physical exhaustion and mental fatigue, here’s a list of the most important things you need to consider regarding your recovery efforts if you want to stay consistent and drive your results to the next level. 

5 Forms of Recovery That You Should Consider Doing Outside of the Gym

Consider these recovery efforts to make your workouts more effective.

1. Schedule Deload Weeks

If you’ve ever felt like you’re white knuckling it through your workouts, finding yourself unmotivated, weak, and ready to call it quits around weeks 4-6, you aren’t a quitter – you might feel this way because your body may need a deload week around that time. Deload weeks are small planned breaks from your training routine for the purpose of recovery. They help you to avoid overtraining, and also prevent injuries and plateaus. 

The most common ways to deload are to perform a workout routine for 4-8 weeks. Then intentionally schedule a week at the end, to do one of the following:

1) Do the same exercises you typically do. Use half of the normal weight that you use and/or half of your normal reps and sets.

2) Do same exercises and stick with same heavier weights. Drop reps and sets more than half, OR

3) Take the week to focus on NEAT activity and completely remove any normal weight lifting. 

Scheduling these weeks into your training schedule will not sabotage your results. In fact, deload weeks will allow your body to recover properly, making you stronger and more mentally motivated to go again when you return to your normal training. This time is vital if you want to actually progress and avoid muscle breakdown, plateaus, and burnout!

2. Take Rest Days

Making rest days part of your normal training routine allows your muscles to recover and become stronger. There is time required if you want to see your muscles take shape and change. Rest days help to prevent workout plateaus and fatigue that can set in from intense exercise. They also create hormonal balance from the demands of the stressful workouts.

When you are constantly exercising with no rest days, your body remains in a fight or flight mode, and this does not help you to progress. It actually causes you to regress because your muscles never have time to recover. 

On average, most people need a minimum of two rest days per week. It’s best to schedule these into your weekly routine, but it’s always important to listen to your body–if you are heading into a day where you’re scheduled to workout and you find you’re unusually stressed, tired, or sore, go ahead and skip the gym! You will be much better off taking a day to rest so you can start fresh.

Again, taking a few days off each week isn’t going to do anything but help you progress and stay consistent. 

What you do on your scheduled rest days depends on how you feel but remember these days are for resting, not high intensity cardio! If you’ve been training hard and you are feeling tired, you may just need a full day of rest on your day off. If you’re feeling energetic on your rest days, consider an active recovery day where you focus on light exercise like bike riding, walking, or swimming.

Your workout results take place on your rest days so make sure you’re scheduling a few days off as a part of your weekly routine.

3. Get 7-9 hours of Sleep Every Night

Juggling everyday life and a fitness routine can be challenging. Most busy women don’t get near enough sleep to support their goals. Adequate sleep allows your muscles to heal and recover, and it replenishes your energy. Sleep is also important for your mental health. When you get enough sleep each night you are giving your mind and body time to relax, unwind, and de-stress. 

Your sleep patterns also impact your appetite. Have you ever had a terrible night of sleep and woke up starved, craving comfort foods all day? This isn’t by mistake, it’s your body’s natural way of fighting back. Sleep deprivation raises ghrelin (your hunger hormone) and lowers leptin (your satiation hormone), which both increase stubborn cravings and leave you feeling out of control when you make food choices.

You can see how poor sleep patterns can really affect your recovery, motivation, and ability to make healthy food and exercise choices that are aligned with your goals. To best support your goals, prioritize sleep and aim for 7-9 hours each night.

4. Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated is critical for adequate recovery. Hydrating before, during, and after workouts helps to flush out toxins, moves nutrients and oxygen through the body, and regulates the body’s temperature. When you don’t drink enough water it affects everything! Dehydration can lead to muscle cramps, fatigue, gut issues, low performance, and your progress slows dramatically. 

It’s recommended to drink half your body weight in ounces of water a day, and no, coffee does not count toward your water goal. I always get asked this question. Coffee contains caffeine, which dehydrates you. This is why it’s important to wake up each morning and drink water before your coffee. When you sleep all night and go hours without water, you wake up dehydrated and reaching for coffee first thing only makes this worse. 

Pro Tip: fill a large cup of water each night and place it on your bedside table, and then drink that water first thing in the morning before you have your coffee. You won’t believe how much more alert and energetic you feel drinking when you start your day with water.

Other than drinking plain water, electrolytes are another great way to stay hydrated. Main electrolytes contain sodium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. These minerals are essential to help your body recover and rebalance from exercise. My favorite electrolyte powders are Ultima and Re-Lyte. I prefer these brands because they don’t contain sugar that you find in some other brands.

5. Fuel Properly Around Your Workouts

Food is fuel for energy and recovery so how you eat before and after your workouts can impact your results, especially if you are engaging in intense training sessions. Some people like to do fasted workouts, but when it comes to whether to eat or not eat around your workouts it really comes down to the type of exercise you are doing, how your body handles stress, and your personal goals.

Regardless of what type of workout you are doing, it’s important to eat enough of the right foods on a regular basis if you are expecting your body to perform and you want to support your physical goals.

Under-eating will only lead to muscle breakdown and this will sabotage your progress.

If you struggle to get through your workouts, you might want to consider a pre-workout meal that’s small and easy to digest, and consists of a protein and carb. For example, this could be a protein shake and small banana.

Pre-workout meals boost energy and performance, preserve muscle mass, and speed up recovery.

Post-workout meals are critical for recovery, muscle building, and refueling so you can boost performance in future workouts. These meals should prioritize protein and carbs but can also be macro balanced.

For example, a grilled chicken breast (protein), sweet potato + veggies (carbs) and grass-fed butter (fat). A lot of people eat breakfast after working out so this could be scrambled eggs (protein + fat), a cup of fruit or piece of toast with fruit spread and steamed veggies (carbs). 

Another benefit of eating after an intense workout is that you are able to decrease your body’s cortisol response. You are naturally raising your cortisol through exercise and cortisol isn’t a bad thing–this is actually very healthy, unless you are someone that struggles to recover or you’re already under a lot of stress. For example: if you’re a hustle momma or menopausal woman, you might want to consider a post-workout meal to aid in better recovery during this season of life.

Bottomline…Don’t Underestimate the Power of Recovery – The Body You Want Isn’t Just Built in the Gym

Experiencing optimal results from your workouts can only be achieved when you make recovery an important part of your training routine!

If you’ve been burning the candle at both ends with your workouts and you’re still feeling stuck, I have JUST the thing!

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