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Why Isn't My Fitness Program Getting Me Results, Even Though I'm Spending Hours In the Gym (Part 1 of 3) !!!

By Randy Gruezo

My fitness program consist of weight training five times a week (5x/wk) doing a different body part everyday which takes me about 1 1/2 hours to finish. After I'm done with weights I do cardio for another 30-45 minutes depending on how I feel and if I have time afterwards. Does this sound like your fitness program? You would think with all that work put in you should see good if not great results. Right? For most, the answer is probably a big NO!!!

Ok already, tell me why I'm not get any results?

The reason you're not getting results is due to G.A.S. Huh, what the heck? The reason I'm failing is because of what I get after eating a burrito? No I don't mean that gas. The G.A.S. I'm referring to is Hans Seyle's General Adaptation Syndrome Principle (aka G.A.S. Theory).

[Sidebar] It is my goal that by the end of this article series you will understand the basic concept of what this principle is and know how to apply it to your fitness program. It is not my intent to give you all the intricate details because the last thing I want is to drown you with scientific jargon and get you electrocuted because you fell asleep and drooled all over your computer. So now that we have that squared away let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

The simple rationale behind the G.A.S. Principle is when the body is exposed to an external stress, the body goes through a specific set of responses and adaptations. Okay simple English please. When you go to the gym and lift weights or do cardio (external stress) you give a signal to your body to adapt or not to the stress imposed. For the purpose of this article you want your body to adapt.

The G.A.S. Principle is divided into 3 stages which are: Stage 1- Alarm/Shock, Stage 2- Adaptation/Resistance, Stage 3- Exhaustion.

[Sidebar] I will focus on Stage 1 in this article. I will address Stage 2 and 3 in the following two articles of this series. This will allow me to go a little bit more in-depth into each stage's importance for your understanding of this principle.

Generally, it's the Stage 1 phase (Alarm/Shock) that most people focus their efforts on. If you don't believe me go to your local bookstore and see what's on the magazine rack in the fitness/health section. Main headlines of magazines focus on the "BEST WORKOUT FOR...." I'm sure you get my point.

Why is it important that I know this again?

Glad you asked and that you're still with me. The reason this is so important is because you're body will only adapt if the right amount of stress is placed upon it. Not too much because you'll be in Stage 3 Exhaustion (aka Overtraining) or not too little because you won't even force your body into Stage 1 Alarm/Shock. Again you will see with the later articles how all the stages connect with each other.

Coincidentally from my experience, most people who start working either fall into two categories. People who either do too much too soon or who don't even do enough. More the former, because beginners are so excited to get started. Either way it's both a waste of time and energy because you don't get the desired results from your program. If people do get it right it's by accident and that's not a good situation either. You can't repeat the results you achieved because you don't know exactly what you did to get it in the first place. Sounds familiar?

To induce Stage 1 (Alarm/Shock) phase you must provide enough stress to your body to disrupt homeostasis (a state of equilibrium). The way you do this is by imposing an overload (unaccustomed stress) to your body. Simply put, you have to give a reason for your body to want to get stronger and improve. There is no point of getting better if the body doesn't have to. However, that begs the question what is enough?

For beginners you don't need to do to much to disrupt homeostasis. You are already in a detrained state. That doesn't mean I'm saying you're out of shape and overweight, although some of you maybe. I'm only saying that your body hasn't developed any type of resistance to performing work. Many beginners fall prey to doing so much so soon when in fact it should be quite the opposite.

Pssst...Come close I'm going to give you a closely guarded fitness secret...Come a little bit closer...Okay here it is... Initially, just about anything that you do will provide sufficient overload to your body to improve your fitness levels. Man, I just spilled the beans. No more business for us fitness coaches... All jokes aside, it is the truth.

There must be a catch here Mr. Randy Gruezo?

Nope no catch, it's the truth. Initially anything you do will get you results. However, your body ultimately starts to adapt. At that point the results start coming slower and slower until you hit a plateau (no change in progress). Generally this happens around the 8-12 week mark of a fitness program depending on the individual. Conversely this is the same time when most people abandon their fitness program and/or quit the gym. Hmmm... I wonder why?

By the way you haven't mentioned anything about intermediates or advanced individuals?

I actually did mention a lot for you intermediate and advanced fitness individuals out there. Remember the G.A.S. principle applies to your fitness program as well. The only differences lie in the quality of the stress and length of time you impose the stress to your body. You will need to provide a greater level of overload for a longer period of time (days, weeks to months) to induce Stage 1. While the beginner can pretty much disrupt homeostasis with lighter stress for a shorter period of time (the workout itself).

So what should I do now, now that I know that I need to provide sufficient stress for my body to adapt?

Unfortunately, I can't give you any sample fitness program right now. I could, but you won't understand the logic behind it without understanding Stage 2 (Adaptation/Resistance) and Stage 3 (Exhaustion) of the G.A.S. Principle. I won't be doing you any good if I just give you a fitness program to follow without the premise of how I put it together. That's just not me. I'm a teacher and a coach. I'm teaching you how to fish instead of giving you a fish. For now be on the lookout for Part 2 and 3 of this article series.

About the Author:

Randy Gruezo helps dedicated and busy individuals achieve, at once unbelievable, elite levels of fitness in Miramar, Florida and surrounding neighborhoods. His unconventional, yet highly effective and time efficient fitness solutions are all backed by a 100% money back guarantee. Get his Free Report "5 Deadly Mistakes That Will Stop Your Fat Loss Attempt Dead In It's Track, and What To Do About It!" and more by going to his website www.randygruezo.com