Throughout years of training and coaching clients, I recognize that their lackluster results rarely stem from a lack of intensity or frequency in their workouts. Quite frankly, in women who work out regularly, it’s almost always the opposite. The reason for lack of progress is typically because women are training too hard and too often!

  1. The Sweat And Soreness Myth – Neither sweat, nor soreness, is necessarily indicative of an effective workout. It can feel good to work up a sweat, and a bit of soreness can serve as a nice reminder that we moved our bodies. However, the sad truth is that neither of those things means much, if anything, with regard to how beneficial the workout was.
  2. Out Training Your Diet – A lot of people see an increase in their weight when they begin working out. That’s often because they dive into exercise a little too aggressively, lifting weights several times per week and doing cardio like crazy, kicking their appetite into overdrive. When it comes to fat loss, the only thing that a ton of really intense training will do for most people is make them voraciously hungry.
  3. Stress – Maybe it’s because we’re naturally inclined to assume that if some exercise is good than surely a whole lot more is better. Or maybe the old, “Go hard or go home” is to blame. For the record, we’d actually advise you go home than go hard, and that is because of what it does to your hormones.
  4. Do NOT Sacrifice Your Health For The Sake Of Fitness – Any time my clients get stuck and stop seeing progress, I’ll look at a few other pieces of the puzzle before looking at their training. I believe that the list of priorities for fat loss and optimal health looks like this:
    1. Nutrition
    2. Sleep
    3. Stress Management
    4. Training

Sound nutrition, plenty of high-quality sleep, stress management, and daily movement should, in my           opinion, precede training when it comes to fat loss and optimal health. Training is meant to enhance             and optimize. It’s a way to develop strength to enable you to better engage in, and enjoy, life and all               that it has to offer. The most effective training is smart training, not unnecessarily training hard.