Last month, I mentioned that JCDFitness turned 3 years old in October and I had an awesome time celebrating birthday month with friends such as John Romaniello, Roger Lawson, Kenneth Yim, Dick Talens and others in New York City.
But that’s not the exact reason for this short post.
You see, there are a few things I discovered on my trip to New York City. One thing is there’s an endless amount of awesome food in Manhattan and I think I could eat pizza everyday and never get sick of it.
Something else I learned is getting lost on the subway is not the most fun way to kill time, but it will sure keep you from biting your nails (ever hung onto one of those rails??).
Okay, but seriously – the main thing I learned whilst being gone was that our time is very valuable. I mean, I’ve always known this, but I really got it on this trip.
How?
My days were full of meetings, work, and exploration of the city. My nights were usually spent out making new friends, getting food with Kenneth or John.
To say my diet was monitored and controlled would be an outright lie. I ate so much food, but thankfully I was walking just about everywhere, so it all balanced quite nicely.
So what was my training like?
It was all over the place. In fact, I trained very sporadically, but when I did, I made it count. I trained hard and heavy because I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to get back in the gym.
Some might suggest I simply take a training break, but going 11-12 days without some type of heavy lifting didn’t jive with me.
Many people make the mistake of throwing their training and diet out the window when going on vacation, only to come back chubbier and weaker as a result.
I’ve done this in the past, and knew I wouldn’t do repeat that mistake this time – so what kept me in check?
A few things, actually.
The Keys to Success
In my opinion, those things are structure, good record keeping, a solid plan of action, and the tenacity to accept an imperfect schedule.
Structure – for many people, beginners and even intermediates alike, structure is often foreign. As long as I’ve been training, I’ve even had periods where I’d just go into the gym without a structured plan to follow.
And trust me – it didn’t turn out well. Sometimes, I’d go two days in a row, then take 3 days off, only to go back for a single session, then not train the rest of the following week.
Record Keeping – I remember pulling out my logbook from my backpack and hearing Kenneth saying something like “the secrets!” You know, keeping a logbook seems so simple, yet many people still never use them. I can count on one hand the amount of people in my gym who are using one and they’re bigger/stronger than most.
Even in our time, with all the mobile apps there are to track our workouts, etc., I still use the trusty pen and notebook. Well, that and the fact that I gave up my smart phone as I’m on a mobile social media fast for some time (might write about this on another blog later).
But still – even if I had a smart phone, I think I’d still use my notebook.
My records kept me in check – there was no guesswork; only my previous bests to give me a starting point for the training session I was about to embark on.
My Plan – Without a plan, we all fail – we’ll never hit our mark if we have nothing to aim for. As of late, my plan has been to continue improving my raw strength on the box squat and RDL, while bringing up my upper body size.
If I didn’t have written goals with structure and records from my logbook to ensure my improvement, I’d not have made the progress I have over the last year.
Problems I’ve Encountered
For myself, one of the biggest problems I’ve faced is treating myself as a client – I spoke much about this in my article titled Why We Fitness Folks Suck at Coaching Ourselves. We oftentimes get this ideal that we’re different – that we’re some unique little snowflakes. The truth is, outside of genetic disorders and diseases that may limit our ultimate potential, most of us are very similar metabolically.
To fix myself, I either have someone else write my programming, or when I do, I have it approved by others.
Another problem I’ve seen with friends, clients and readers is lack of being able to set up a guided plan – regardless of the crazy amount of information at our disposal. It’s hard to sift through all the literature, blog posts and online articles – and even harder to piece everything together with the confidence that it often takes to make it actually work.
Along with this issue is the amount of choices we have. Do you do the classic 5×5, a Westside variation, Doggcrapp training, 7-day bodybuilding splits, or the popular HIT training? How do we make a choice? Should we possibly limit our choices?
And this leads me to the big question…
What’s Your Biggest Fitness Struggle?
I know I mentioned in my latest update that I may begin working on a JCDFitness manual for body recomposition – one that would give you the tools to lose fat, build muscle and continue doing it – a long-term approach.
The response in the comment section was good, but the emails solidified the idea – I want to go ahead and begin piecing it together. I’m making some final decisions on the content currently, so please, if you’ve experienced any issue at all with your training and/or diet programs in the past – let me know in the comments or email me.
This is for you – so I want it to be as awesome as you deserve it to be.
I know I’m a little late coming to the party, but thought I’d add my 2 cents. I just came across your site today and saved your blog on my Android reader to follow your articles. Good stuff, man.
My biggest struggle is getting enough rest for recovery. Between being a PE teacher, coaching and 2 young children of my own, I don’t think I’ve gotten a full night’s sleep in over 2 years. I know it is hindering my progress. I’ve been stalled at a 225 deadlift and 105 bench forever.
thanks for chiming in. I would take some time to figure out how you can improve your rest periods.
Consistency, as far as goals, with a hint of stubborness, is my biggest struggle.
Back in May I decided I was going to do a slow bulk for a year, this has been difficult as I tend to flip flop a lot between losing fat and trying to gain mass. But I’ve stuck with it, this is the longest I’ve gone with one goal in mind, muscle building. I’m being more consistent now. But within that goal I’m trying to be vigilant of what is working and what is not. So for example, I’m progressing on many lifts but my bench is stalled. So, no progress for that bodypart will definitely not help in my muscle building goal. While it was quite difficult…I gave the bench up and switched to DB bench. My lifts are going up on the chest now.
I have been very stubborn in switching exercises because I WANT big numbers on the bench, squat, and deadlift. But after a while you do need to really look at things and see why you may not be progressing on some lifts, especially if you are in a sulplus. Maybe you’re just not built for it. I know people that don’t deadlift because the exercise just feels wrong so they find an alternative. People that don’t squat because they feel hack squats give them more bang for their buck, or the exercise just plain hurts them. DB squats can build quads as long as you progress. In the end progress on the exercise you can do is much more important than struggling along on exercises you can’t. Simple, but hard to implement.
My biggest struggle has been trying to ignore the inner voice of self-doubt that tells me “you can’t do this, you’re not strong enough.” I’ve always let my fear of failure get in the way of achieving the body that I’ve dreamed of since I can remember. I have to let go of the self-doubt by just jumping in and not overthink…stuff so much. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Suffice it to say, it’s easier said than done but I’m trying to have a different mindset.
My biggest struggle is writing programs for myself – like you said, we trainers think we’re different! I just have this problem of writing a plan and sticking to it, mostly because of either not putting in enough things that I suck at, or getting bored too easily and not wanting to stick to it that way OR putting in TOO much. More isn’t always better, but when I start writing a program for myself, I somehow feel like suddenly I want to throw in everything I can remember.
My other problem is diet consistancy. I was so disciplined for so long it ended up backfiring on me. Now that I’m out of that place, finding the balance between consistant healthy eating habits and enjoying some junk, while not as difficult as it sounds, I MAKE it too difficult. That’s my problem in general, I make things a lot more difficult for myself than it should be. I do NOT want to eat the same thing every day or every other day, even though I know that would make it simple for me, so finding that balance between simplicity and choices, needing variety without going off the deep end….I cannot afford to have someone write out my training plans for me and I’m not sure I would stick to it any way, since my situation seems to change week by week ( and aren’t we all convinced that WE know best?) and while it would be helpful, same goes for someone writing a diet plan for me. I know I just need to get with it and be consistant.
You understand.
oh darlin, yes. I do understand, 0_o
The biggest struggle is succumbing to the Weightrix, the invisible but very real force which is a subcomponent of the Occult of Commerce. The Weightrix can be described as the social, economic, and psychological factors which prevent people from obtaining and/or maintaining a naturally lean body. It is the sum total of all the bullshit and propoganda that is issued to us by higher authorities and other commerical interests. It keeps the people buying and constantly struggling in vain.
John
one of the best comments ever on here!
My biggest struggle comes from wrestling with my various mindsets. One one hand, I’m always looking to get stronger. I have defined strength goals that I set for myself. Breaking PR’s in the gym is extremely motivating to me. The problem lies with my fear of losing ground in my lifts. As a result, I tend to overeat (or so I believe). I have never had a full six pack, even at my leanest. I’ll see photos of myself on vacation, at the beach, etc. and think to myself: “damn, I look greasy!” I want to look better, but I also enjoy being strong. Therefore, finding the “nutritional groove” that will allow me to continue making progress on my lifts yet carry less bodyfat has been the biggest struggle for me.
As others have said, I also struggle with applying proper dietary principles to myself. I’ve done plenty of reading on how fat loss works, and I’ve advised others on such principles. However, when it comes to applying the same principles to myself to achieve my fat loss goals, I have yet to see success. It goes back to, as you’ve written about multiple times before, how it’s hard to coach yourself.
As an older lifter (38) I find myself pushing more than I’m able to handle. I find that age, work, kids, life, etc seems to reduce my ability to recover. This is especially true when I try to lean out. I’ve never seen my abs clearly. I’ll find myself getting leaner and I get excited. Then I think I push things too much and I can see the effects of stress on my body when my waist actually starts getting larger in a calorie deficit. Definitely seems to be some cortisol related stress. So my biggest challenge is figuring out how to keep my body getting leaner and controlling stressors to do that. I definitely get enough sleep, but I always seem to have a hard time balancing out my training volume / intensity and eating enough vs over or under eating.
I tend to spend too little time on warm-ups. Thinking of them as “training foreplay” helps, though.
Also, I train alone and the people I spend time around, despite also being fitness enthusiasts, are fat or weak, so occasionally I wonder why push myself if I’m better off than anyone I know, but I’m starting to get more involved with online fitness communities, and now it isn’t really an issue anymore.
Hey JC
My biggest struggle is my eating habits on the weekend.I go well during the week and then beer,chips and chocolate become the weekend main foods.Countless times I wake up feeling bloated and sluggish but I continue the cycle.
Brendan
Lack of sleep is at the heart of all of my struggles. It’s been a ghost year for me–my mother died in March, then I was deep into work, then my mate and I moved into what has become our very own house of horrors. Oh and today I was told my hours were being cut at work. One shoe after another keeps dropping. I sit down make a workout plan that I believe I can stick to and do one or 2 days then it’s cookies for breakfast! (I know when I want cookies for breakfast I’m out of control–even tho the cookies have lots of fiber in them). When I try and figure out what is at the heart of all of this I always come back to not sleeping restfully. Oh well maybe only working less will give me more time to workout and I’ll be less stressed.
I feel for you and sincerely hope things start looking up for you soon.
best
JC
My biggest struggle is definitely my fear of getting injured.
I’ve gotten a lot stronger ever since I first started working out, and I’m still constantly hitting new PR’s every workout session. But my fear of getting injured is stopping me from pushing myself even harder.
With the incline bench press for example, I’m afraid of setting a new PR and having the barbell fall on me because of the heavy weight. Not to sound boastful, but I can lift more than a lot of people at my gym so every time I see that other people don’t lift as much as I do, I think to myself that it’s okay not to add any more weights on my next workout sessions.
Even with a spotter I get nervous. I’m just really scared to get injured and never be able to lift again for a while.
Hey JC!
First and foremost, love your website and all the awesome info that it contains! I would say my biggest struggle is that I work out by myself at the University gym, and I’m sure you can imagine that the vast majority of guys there are “bro’s” that work chest and arms 7 days a week. Seeing how it is like that, I have still yet to find a good training partner who is crazy enough as me, and willing to bust their a** on squats, deadlifts, chins, etc. So it can be hard at times to get motivated for a top set and go all out, but I just have to remember to hold myself accountable, and I have to earn those post-workout carbs! The looks I get from all the bro’s are pretty nice, but it does get hard often when your going it alone. Anyways, keep up with the great writing and awesome website!
My evenings are spent fighting crime in Gotham City – comes in the way of my workouts.
I have said too much.
lol – Batman reads my site? I am humbled.
Hey JC. Great article, as always! My greatest fitness struggle is eating enough for my workout efforts. I have dealt with an eating disorder in the past, which still lingers at times. It is hard for me to get down the appropriate calories and macronutrients without worrying how it will effect my body. I am much more realistic than I use to be, but I have experimented with so many different “diets”/ways of eating and fitness philosophies that I have become hyper-intune with my body. I can instantly tell when I am holding water, or getting “soft.” This has caused me to derail in the past when trying to add more muscle mass/size. It can be very frustrating. I train very hard nowadays and I require more calories than I ever have in the past. I have been overweight and also been underweight, so I have a hard time mentally justifying eating the appropriate amount of food. It has been a daily battle, but is slowly improving!
I may email you eventually – I’m about to start working with a girl who’s had similar experiences.
My biggest struggle at this point is losing the last 5 lbs and sticking to my routine. Doing this on your own is a struggle. It would be great to have a partner to keep me motivated and accountable. Everyone looks at me and says ” You don’t have any weight to lose!!” I see it and know its there and know what I’m capable of. Eating the right things isn’t my issue. Its actually eating that is getting in the way! lol I forget to eat when I’m busy during the day and by the time I remember to eat, Its time for dinner.
Accountability is HUGE. Thanks for contributing.
Unrealistic expectations.
I want to be bigger/faster/stronger/leaner all at once.
I’m also horrible at taking breaks – even when I know it’s in my best interest, I can’t seem to take a rest.
thanks, Rod. This is totally something I’ll be addressing for certain.
Constantly focusing on food, when dieting or bulking, it’s the same.
Good Morning JD!
I’m not gonna lie, lately I’ve been struggling quite a bit with my fitness/eating. I find one of the hardest things is the people that you associte yourself with. And i know thats no excuse but when your childhood friends dont have fitness as their priority and love playing video games, eating pizza, fast food, etc… daily. without having someone there to do it with you and call you lazy, makes you, encourages you, and pushes you, to go to the gym, or any sort of exercise; it’s pretty hard to stay motivated.
To shirtless nation: Thanks for the great read and the article you provided. I think day and night of things I want to be. The person I want to become. I really dont know what stops me other than myself. I must take action.
Nicolas, what you’re stating is the reason many people join forums and online communities – it’s because they don’t have anyone in close proximity that shares a similar focus. Thus, they gather their strength and motivation through other like-minded people, although they’re from the internetz.
My “All or Nothing” perspective when it comes to food. I’m either completely Spartan, meticulously counting my macros and weighing every gram of food that goes in my mouth OR I’m a ravenous eating machine that can easily down 10k calories in a day.
hmmm, moderation – ye must learn it!
1. Flexibility: all-or-nothing mindset and especially with dieting this can be disastrous for progressing with fat-loss. It’s still something I need to learn; enjoy normal healthy yet tasty foods in the right amounts. It’s especially difficult when I am not at home i.e. I eat somewhere where I cannot monitor my intake, which makes ‘oh well, might as well enjoy it now anyways’ thoughts come up quickly. Freely available foods =/= going all out crazy.
2. Patience: no matter who you are you always want quick results. The key for me here is to focus less on what I am doing, looking in the mirror/scale daily doesn’t make it easier to deal with the impatience. In other words I give less focus to diet/training in the sense that I spend less time thinking about it, spend more time doing useful things like studying, socializing, etc.
you too also need to learn moderation.
as for the other statement about patience – this is something I will definitely touch upon and make mention of. None of this fitness stuff is a sprint. there are no shortcuts and no free lunches. We all have to pay a price – that price can be very expensive in the monetary sense, or very time consuming when it comes to hours spent learning. Either way, we have to pay a price to be good at something and to excel.
One strategy I like to use, especially with clients, is the “I do the thinking, you focus on the doing” and in time, I teach them what’s going on, but for the short-term, it allows them to focus on things outside of fitness which seems to help with the patience part.
Getting motivated is my issue. I have plans and promises but can’t seem to get to the gym. So, I have a little gym at the house; barbells, dumb bells, videos, floor mats, small Hoist weight machine in the garage. Now I have a hard time getting to the stinking garage.
you need a bigger, more important WHY it sounds like to me.
The binge fests I have. I can go low on kcals for a couple of days and then ruin it with a bender of food. I can’t stop eating until I hurt. My mind turns off and I stuff myself. I am pretty lean like 10% or so(abs visible) but I am never happy with the way I look. I say I want to be brad pitt lean fight club, but my mind turns off and its too late damage is done. Any tips would be great.
Okay … Did you have to bring up a log book? Really? That’s just convicting and even a bit uncomfortable. I can see the benefits, but it still seems like such a pain. Ugh.
I do struggle with programming. I don’t mind making programs and sticking them. BUT then I hit the end of a program right as life gets busy. So I want to work out but don’t have a “program”. That’s just terrible.
Then recently I was reminded how even when trying to train for a sport there always seems to be some small muscles I miss. Grip for water skiing. Or from just last weekend … shoulders for snowboarding. Who knew trying to nail that 360 would use my shoulders?
JC,
For me, being in the fitness industry, the hardest aspect is coaching myself as you mentioned. Really it comes down to the paradox of choice (the more options someone is presented, the less likely they are to choose anything) – when I’ve spent years researching and learning about fitness picking the “correct” option seems daunting and often leads to inaction.
I’ve found the best thing I can do is to make a choice, then make corrections later. Taking any action is better than doing nothing at all. Limiting choices is also a good idea, and simpler is usually better in my experience.
yeah – this is why I either get my programming from a reliable source (a program pre-made or to hire someone) or I make my own and get it approved.
Getting into too much of a hurry to do a workout so I can do something else and not warming up properly. The only injuries I’ve sustained are from a lack of warm up.
hmm. thanks – I’ll take this into account for sure.
Frustration? Not seeing fast and significant enough results. I work hard enough. I think I generally do the right stuff. It’s probably not eating enough.
Always great info!!!! Thank you JC , I’ll say mi biggest struggle is lower abs fat
Trying to loose last few pounds, cutting calories to hard. Always gets me in trouble!!
My biggest problem is getting past that fat loss plateau. I hover right now between 180-183 at somewhere between 10-12% bf and I can’t seem to get down to 8% no matter what I do. It’s very frustrating.
Also, I guess you could say I have a problem with my perception of food. Basically, I hate wasting food so when I go eat with friends or family I endeavor to finish ALL of the food on my plate. I can’t just..stop if that makes sense. I really hate wasting food.
My biggest struggles always come after I set a certain goal, say two months or something and get there. Once I really start looking a lot better, I start allowing small concessions to go out and show my results off. I just have to push through, and keep tweaking my diet/exercise plans until I figure out how to best build a system that works for life
That old body fat thing again. It’s all about those last few pounds of fat………….
I hit my protein, train hard and consistently……..lifts are improving, strength is up, and there has been a noticable change in my physique….chest is more developed, arms are thicker etc, even my legs are growing bigger ! Try as I might though, I just can’t find the dedication/method to shift the last few pounds from my abdomen/lower abs…….
People say I shouldn’t worry about it as at 48 years old I can’t expect to see my abs………
I don’t believe that, but still I can’t quite get there.
#1) As soon as my plan starts working (about 2 weeks usually), I switch things up, thus not getting enough momentum to make big gains.
#2) I don’t eat enough. Partly this is because I’ll slack off and eat things that upset my stomach and then not want to even SEE food. (I know you’re not big on clean eating, but a very sensitive stomach and tendencies towards high and low energy levels, I have lots of feedback to motivate me to eat clean.) Partly this is because when I’m worried about money (at least once a month) I don’t want to spend money on food. And partly this is because I don’t plan my lunches enough (breakfast and dinner are usually fine).
My biggest trouble is managing my training and diet while focusing on school. Well actually i take it back I’m handling my training fairly well it’s my diet that has gone to hell. I find that my eating schedule is very sporadic and occasionally i have to turn to calorie dense food more than i did when i was in high school. It’s probably because i live in a dorm and have no food in my dorm so i end up going to the cafeteria all the time which can be time consuming when you have better things to do such as studying. But overall not bad, thanks to mark berkhan I learn that it’s okay to not eat for a long period of time.
My dad suggested that I bring my weight down to 180 lbs. I am currently 230 lbs, and changed my diet as it was necessary that I get my blood pressure down and prevent any high blood pressure spikes. I’ve removed from eating 3 big meals through out the day to the following:
meal 1: coffee, oatmeal w/nuts, banana
meal 2: fruits, granola bar, juice drink
meal 3: Chicken or Fish protien, 1 scoop of rice, Veggies to go along with my protien.
as for exercise, you can look at my profile on fitocracy: http://www.fitocracy.com/canoy07
Well ever since I got involved with this whole “fitness” thing I’ve definitely suffered from FFB Syndrome. That article was literally me in a nutshell.
Luckily, I’ve managed to shift my focus for this current “bulk” to just getting stupid strong and not worrying about the extra fluff that will come along. Instead of waking up and saying “man I’m getting puffy” I just focus on the fact that my lifts are all going up and to stay the course.
The problem I always run into whenever I decide to try and gain some muscle is how sloppy I’m willing myself to get before I reign it in a bit (which normally isn’t much). This time I’ve decided to not stop until I hit certain strength goals, instead of just “going by the mirror”, since my FFB tendencies will always tell me I’m getting fatter than I really am.
Getting de-railed by things that shouldn’t de-rail me, i.e., having an all-or-nothing attitude.
I was recently stripping off some fat really well. Then my back started acting up & I couldn’t deadlift or do any leg-training (including single-leg) really for a couple of months. Instead of just taking the time to heal, I tried every way to train & diet around the injury, I prolonged healing time, realized I shouldn’t diet any longer for fear of leg muscle loss, got “depressed”, and totally overate for about 3 weeks. Basically I undid everything I had worked so hard to achieve.
Now, 3 months later, I’m not where I want to be fat-loss wise but I’m working on the whole all-or-nothing attitude first before I even think about dropping fat again.
My day to day life is my biggest struggle because I get complacent. When I go on vacation I’m so paranoid at having a change in routine I actually tighten things up a lot and usually get leaner.
The biggest fitness thing I struggle with is pushing myself hard enough to increase my fitness. I’d like to think that simply doing plenty of cardio and thus increasing my fitness happens on a linear scale. The reality is that without pushing myself, it stays the same or actually decreases. Luckily for me I workout with a friend who is a fit bastard and helps me push through.
haha, fit bastards always help!
1) My biggest struggle was that I know some stuff (i’m not arrogant) about fat loss and i fail to apply it on myself. Or worse, i don”t take action. This was described better by Martin Rooney in this post: http://www.trainingforwarriors.com/2011/10/the-3-biggest-lies-you%E2%80%99ve-ever-been-told/
“You have been convinced that as long as you know something or continue to accumulate knowledge, your life are changed for the better. Not true. Your knowledge only tells you what you know. Your actions tell you what you will get. And I will be as bold to say that a person with less knowledge that takes more action will be more successful than the most knowledgeable person that does nothing. Action is more powerful than knowledge. A knower has less power than a doer. In fact, I am often amazed how knowledgeable people are irritated when less knowledgeable people become more successful than them. My suggestion would be instead of complaining about it, DO something to become more instead.
If you know what to do but never do what you know. it is actually worse that you know it. This leads not to power, but to guilt. You don’t need another diet or nutrition book, you need motivation like this to take action and change your behavior.
Rooney Rule: Do what you know. It doesn’t matter that you know broccoli, blueberries and spinach are good for you if you never put them in your mouth!
Rooney Upgrade: Knowledge Plus Action is Power”
As Martin puts it, reading another fitness books creates guilt I/O power if you fail to take action
***************
Another big struggle is staying up till late. It’s OK to do this if you don’t have a 9=5 job but when you’re training and have a full time job. you should be in bed at 11:00 PM. Otherwise this is the ticket to over training land.
I’m still fighting with this but a friend of mine got rid of staying late by waking up each day at 6. It was very hard the first 2 days but after that the sleep hour regulated by herself
that’s it for now, might post something else