Posts written by Michael J. Mahony

I am often asked what it takes to get results in the gym.  After asking the question people just stare.  They expect you to come up with some complex answer.  However, the answer is much simpler than people expect.  I have come up with 3 important points that will lead to success in the gym for anyone who listens—Focus, Intensity and Consistency.

Get to the Gym

The first step to being consistent with a program is to get yourself into the gym.  No matter what you do, make it your goal not to miss a workout.  Find what motivates you and use that to propel you into the gym on your allotted schedule.  I am not one to tell you that you must hit the gym 4 or 5 days a week for lifting.  You pick a program that you believe will work for you and then you execute.

Making Up a Workout

I hear this all the time.  Someone misses a workout and then they say they are going to make it up on their off day.  First, that is completely destroying their plan.  Second, you can never make up a workout.  The workout is gone forever.  In fact, by trying to make up a workout you simply reduce the effectiveness of that workout.  You are eating into time that was needed for rest. 

Consistency = Faster Results

By not missing any workouts, you are working your plan.  This gives your plan a chance to produce the results it was intended to produce.  Remember, workout plans were designed in a certain way to produce certain results.  By being consistent you are giving them a chance to do what they were planned for. 

Working out is a process much like building a brick wall.  You build upon your previous foundation over and over again.  Consistent workout behavior makes for a stronger foundation in less time.  People who are regular about their workouts get to their goals in much less time.  The time you spend each day will benefit you because it builds on the time you spent the previous day.  In addition, the more consistent you are the sooner it becomes a habit for you.

If you are not sure that consistency is going to help with your workouts, set a goal to make it to your scheduled workouts each time in the next month.  Take measurements before that goal is started and take measurements after that goal is accomplished.  You will see for yourself that the results dont lie.

Keys to Your Success

To recap what we’ve learned in the past few articles, your success is dependent upon 3 factors:  Focus, Intensity and Consistency.

Focus involves planning ahead.  It involves knowing what you are going to do ahead of time so that you can just get the job done.  Focus is where your success begins.

Intensity is about how hard you push yourself.  It can be accomplished in many different ways.  The way you choose is up to you, but the various methods for gaining intensity should probably be rotated.

Consistency is where you are going to build upon the foundation and make it stronger.  It gives you faster results and makes for the most changes.

As with anything, give this a try and see how it works for you.  The Experiment of One is always the guiding force.

Related Posts:

• Keys to Consistent Results
• Persistence in Training
• How to insure consistency in your training
• Saturday Sharing: How to Have the Time to Train
• What Makes the Biggest Difference to Your Training?

I am often asked what it takes to get results in the gym.  After asking the question people just stare.  They expect you to come up with some complex answer.  However, the answer is much simpler than people expect.  I have come up with 3 important points that will lead to success in the gym for anyone who listens—Focus, Intensity and Consistency.

What is Intensity?

Intensity in the context of working out can mean alot of things.  It can refer to the volume of your training or it can refer to how you train.  I am referring to how you train.  To me, intensity is taking sets to absolute failure.  It is about working harder every single time you hit the gym.  To me, progression won’t happen without intensity.

For maximum growth your muscles need maximum stimulation.  A high level of intensity while working out will bring about that maximum stimulation. 

How to Boost Intensity

You can do several things to boost the intensity of your workouts.

Shorten the Rest Period

If you shorten the rest period the lifts become harder.  You have to dig down deeper to complete your repetitions.  Your muscles are pushed beyond their normal failure point.  Your heart races as your body struggles to adapt to the stress placed upon it.

Increase the Repetition Target

If you do more repetitions you will find that the intensity of your workout goes up naturally.  A 20 rep squat scheme is much more intense in alot of ways.  The hard work will pay off in the long run.

Increase the Weigh Lifted

If you up the weight you are pushing you will find that intensity increases as well.  It is not easy to push around heavy weights.  The extra load will stress your muscles out more than anything you’ve ever experienced.

How Intensity Determines Success

Nobody achieves amazing results by phoning in their workouts.  Nobody achieves amazing results by taking things easy.  Only through massive effort will you bring about massive results.  This is where intensity comes into play.  Intensity will cause you to push yourself to the edge.  Intensity will take you beyond.   Beyond is where you want to be.  Beyond is that place just past the discomfort you experience when lifting heavy.  Beyond is where you think you will never arrive.

This one single element will change your results more than anything else.  Most people that hit the gym don’t do so with intensity.  They fail to understand this concept.  They go in the gym with a plan (if they are smart) and plan to hit 10 repetitions on their bench press.  They attempt to estimate what weight they will need to hit 10 reps on the bench press and then proceed to crank out 10 reps, stopping after the 10th rep.  Honestly, should they have stopped at 10 if there was more in the tank?  My message to you is that they should have gone all the way.  Yes, the plan called for 10 reps, but the body called for more so they should have done more.

Stop thinking about it and start doing something about it.  Get into the gym and increase your intensity.  Be warned that just like everything else, you will eventually adapt to the level of intensity you are using, so you will need to increase it after a time.  Keep upping the intensity and you will keep seeing incredible results!

Related Posts:

• Dealing With Distraction
• Keys to Your Success: Focus
• What Makes the Biggest Difference to Your Training?
• Hitting Arms Heavy Style
• How Hard Do You Train?

I am often asked what it takes to get results in the gym.  After asking the question people just stare.  They expect you to come up with some complex answer.  However, the answer is much simpler than people expect.  I have come up with 3 important points that will lead to success in the gym for anyone who listens—Focus, Intensity and Consistency.

What is Focus?

Anything worth doing is worth doing right.  When it comes to something like fitness, something that is not an overnight endeavour, you need to do some careful planning.  You get out of it what you put into it.  The more time and effort you give to planning for your success the better you will do.  This is what focus is all about.  You create a plan and then you work the plan.  You don’t let anything distract you from the plan.

Nutritional Planning

Tom Venuto, author of The Body Fat Solution has stated that counting calories is essential to the success of any nutritional program.  I hear you all groaning at once!  Nobody likes to count calories.  It is time-consuming and dull.  You have to write down everything you eat and track the calories from that food.  It gets pretty complicated.  But does it have to be so complicated?

Planning in Advance – The Secret to Calorie Counting

The best way to count your calories is to create a menu and then stick to it.  What I do is sit down on Saturday and plan the next week’s meals.  I then do my absolute best to stick to that menu for the entire week.  In doing so, I am able to count my calories as I plan the menu.  I don’t have to track everything I eat.  I don’t have to carry around a log with me.  All I do is plan and eat.  If something happens to change in my menu, I just go back and add that little change and recalculate the calories.  It is alot less stressful this way and it helps me insure I am eating enough, but not too much.

Exercise Planning

It is extremely important to be focused with your training.  Take the time to plan your workouts well in advance.  Carry a log into the gym and write down everything you do.  You are collecting some very important information that will help you with the Experiment of One at a later date.  If you are unsure what the Experiment of One is, please sign up for the Fitness Expose eNewsletter and free Fitness Basics eCourse.  You will learn some valuable information that will help you with your exercise planning.  Some of the topics covered are where to start, the Experiment of One, repetition inroad, and High Intensity Training.  It is completely free when you sign up for our mailing list.  We never sell your information to anyone ever.

Make Changes

Use your log and make changes as necessary.  Maintain an intense focus in the gym and you will get intense results.  Take measurements regularly to assist you in determining how you are doing with your planning.  Don’t let your results get you down.   We produce results 100% of the time.  Sometimes those results are what we want and other times they are not. Either way, use the feedback you get to fix anything that is wrong with your plan.

Stay Tuned

My next article will discuss the role of intensity in achieving your success.

Related Posts:

• Mission Accountability Update: Week 5
• The Beat Goes On
• Dealing With Distraction
• Keys to Your Success: Intensity
• Saturday Sharing: A Rant on Bad Personal Trainers